Geoff Keighley
Encyclopedia
Geoff Keighley is a Canadian video game journalist
. His work spans online, print, and TV outlets, and he has been writing about games since 1992.
He is the host and executive producer of the video game show GameTrailersTV (formerly known as Game Head). He was also one of the co-hosts of the now-defunct G4
show G4tv.com
. Keighley is also a freelance writer
whose work has appeared in Kotaku
, Business 2.0
, Official Xbox Magazine
, Electronic Gaming Monthly
, and Entertainment Weekly
, among others. As of January 2008, besides hosting GTTV, Keighley can still be seen as a correspondent on another G4 show, The Electric Playground
, and his work can be read in monthly columns on the GameFly
website. Keighley is also the executive producer of the Spike TV
Video Game Awards.
He is known for not just writing reviews and previews, but going behind the scenes of the game industry for in-depth business profiles and lengthy feature pieces. In a July 2008 interview on The Jace Hall
Show, Keighley spoke about the importance of this process, stating "There's such a lack of investigative journalism. I wish I had more time to do more, sort of, investigation. Really dig into some of these bigger issues, so I could look at like, the 'Red Ring of Death' problem. That's never really been properly reported about, like what really happens." In 2005, GameDaily named him as the best journalist of the year, and in 2004 NewsBios.com named him one of the best 30 business journalists in the world under 30. He is also only one of two journalists, the other being 60 Minutes
correspondent Mike Wallace
, profiled in the Harvard Business School press book "Geeks and Geezers" by noted leadership expert Warren Bennis
.
In addition to GTTV, Keighley has had a hand in almost every other video game-related project on television. On Comcast’s
G4
network, he appeared as the network’s lead anchor for its E3 press conference coverage, interviewing CEOs from companies like Sony
and Electronic Arts
. For MTV
he created the concept and produced (with LivePlanet) “Gears of War: Race to E3” and “Gears of War: Race to Launch,” two high rated specials that took viewers inside the development of the hit Xbox 360 game from Microsoft
. And in 2007, the Discovery Channel
aired a landmark five-hour documentary about video games from World of Wonder Productions, based on a treatment by Keighley, who also served as consulting producer. Geoff has also hosted and co-produced a number of video game launch specials for Spike TV, including “Madden NFL 08 Kickoff” featuring a performance by Ozzy Osbourne
and “Halo 3: Launched!” featuring a performance by Linkin Park
.
In 2007, Keighley was interviewed on Larry Hryb
's podcast, Major Nelson Radio "episode 218", in which Larry made reference to this Wikipedia entry in his show. He also was on "show 231" discussing E3, and "show 276" talking about the imminent GTA4 release. He was also interviewed on Fox News' controversial segment on Mass Effect
, and was later praised by gamers online for being the only one on the show who had actually played the game.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. His work spans online, print, and TV outlets, and he has been writing about games since 1992.
He is the host and executive producer of the video game show GameTrailersTV (formerly known as Game Head). He was also one of the co-hosts of the now-defunct G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
show G4tv.com
G4tv.com
G4tv.com, also known as G4tv: The Show or simply G4tv, is a weekly video game talk show that aired on G4 and was produced by Laura Foy. The questions and polls used on the show were from the G4tv.com discussion forums live chatroom and were on any topic concerning games or the technology of gaming...
. Keighley is also a freelance writer
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
whose work has appeared in Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
, Business 2.0
Business 2.0
Business 2.0 was a monthly magazine publication founded by magazine entrepreneur Chris Anderson, Mark Gross, and journalist James Daly in order to chronicle the rise of the "New Economy"...
, Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
, and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, among others. As of January 2008, besides hosting GTTV, Keighley can still be seen as a correspondent on another G4 show, The Electric Playground
The Electric Playground
The Electric Playground is a daily news television show on the cable TV network G4 that covers movies, TV shows, comic books, collectibles and gadgets...
, and his work can be read in monthly columns on the GameFly
GameFly
GameFly is an American online video game rental subscription service that specializes in providing games for game consoles and handheld game consoles....
website. Keighley is also the executive producer of the Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
Video Game Awards.
He is known for not just writing reviews and previews, but going behind the scenes of the game industry for in-depth business profiles and lengthy feature pieces. In a July 2008 interview on The Jace Hall
Jace Hall
Jason "Jace" Hall is an American film, television and video game producer, best known for being founder and Chief Executive Officer of Monolith Productions Inc and President of...
Show, Keighley spoke about the importance of this process, stating "There's such a lack of investigative journalism. I wish I had more time to do more, sort of, investigation. Really dig into some of these bigger issues, so I could look at like, the 'Red Ring of Death' problem. That's never really been properly reported about, like what really happens." In 2005, GameDaily named him as the best journalist of the year, and in 2004 NewsBios.com named him one of the best 30 business journalists in the world under 30. He is also only one of two journalists, the other being 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
correspondent Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
, profiled in the Harvard Business School press book "Geeks and Geezers" by noted leadership expert Warren Bennis
Warren Bennis
Warren Gamaliel Bennis is an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies....
.
In addition to GTTV, Keighley has had a hand in almost every other video game-related project on television. On Comcast’s
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
network, he appeared as the network’s lead anchor for its E3 press conference coverage, interviewing CEOs from companies like Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
and Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. For MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
he created the concept and produced (with LivePlanet) “Gears of War: Race to E3” and “Gears of War: Race to Launch,” two high rated specials that took viewers inside the development of the hit Xbox 360 game from Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. And in 2007, the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
aired a landmark five-hour documentary about video games from World of Wonder Productions, based on a treatment by Keighley, who also served as consulting producer. Geoff has also hosted and co-produced a number of video game launch specials for Spike TV, including “Madden NFL 08 Kickoff” featuring a performance by Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
and “Halo 3: Launched!” featuring a performance by Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
.
In 2007, Keighley was interviewed on Larry Hryb
Larry Hryb
Lawrence "Larry" Hryb , also known by his Xbox Live gamertag Major Nelson, is the Director of Programming for the Microsoft gaming network Xbox Live. His blog "Xbox Live's Major Nelson" provides an "inside" look at operations at Microsoft's Xbox division. He picked the gamertag Major Nelson after a...
's podcast, Major Nelson Radio "episode 218", in which Larry made reference to this Wikipedia entry in his show. He also was on "show 231" discussing E3, and "show 276" talking about the imminent GTA4 release. He was also interviewed on Fox News' controversial segment on Mass Effect
Mass Effect
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...
, and was later praised by gamers online for being the only one on the show who had actually played the game.