When you look at the most subscribed channels on YouTube, something becomes abundantly clear: Man, do people love their video games. Whether it’s CaptainSparklez’s Minecraft videos, RiotGames’ League of Legends live casts, or the always stellar work of Machinima and Rooster Teeth, gaming and online video is a match made in heaven. Therefore, it’s easy to understand why one of the most popular video hubs on the ‘net would want to get in on the gaming action.
Hulu has launched a video games section featuring trailers, gameplay previews, and reviews. Hulu Video Games is styled just like the rest of the site, allowing users freely click through various subsections. The section has been strategically launched right before the holidays, and though it is currently only available on the regular Hulu service, don’t be surprised if it finds its way to Hulu Plus–which can be accessed from multiple devices–before the end of the year.
Most of the original content on the video games hub comes from shows that are, to some extent, distributed through Hulu. The video game news comes from Electronic Playground, a show that has been broadcast in Canada for the past 15 years. Given Hulu’s trend towards working with international programs, this choice is hardly surprising.
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Hulu Video Games does feature one American series: X-Play, the long-running G4 series that releases an abundance of its clips to Hulu. One of X-Play‘s longtime hosts was Adam Sessler, who recently accepted a job as an executive producer at Revision3’s Rev3Games, which seems to provide a similar service to Hulu’s Video Games coverage. I’d say that the Rev3Games audience is exactly what Hulu is gunning for with its new venture, even if the online TV giant currently lacks the exclusive content that has become a trademark of Rev3Games.
One thing is certain: the market for online video game channels is heavily saturated. Only time will tell if Hulu can make a splash.
