Editing Consolevania (section)

==History==
''Consolevania'' was first released online in 2004, presented by [[Robert Florence]], former writer for [[BBC]] comedy ''[[Chewin' the Fat]]'', and Ryan Macleod.  Primary coverage was of console games; however, since the donation of a [[Personal computer|PC]] by sponsor [[Alienware]] at the start of Series Two, PC games have also been reviewed.  Much of the audience for the early episodes came from various online [[Internet forum|discussion forums]], in particular [[RLLMUK]] (itself seen by many as the spiritual home of Consolevania) and NTSC-UK.

The show gradually gained a substantial [[internet]] following, largely by [[word of mouth]], and began to attract the attention of both mainstream and video gaming media. Following the description of the show by [[Sky News]] as having "something that almost every other games show ever created has lacked: true passion for the subject matter," <ref>[http://www.gpforums.co.nz/showthread.php?s=&threadid=279810 GP Forums - Etqw Beta 2!!<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> the BBC expressed interest in the show, reportedly since it garners "more viewers than some shows they produce already.".<ref>[http://pc.boomtown.net/en_uk/articles/art.view.php?id=7646 Boomtown – PC<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The show received widespread underground popularity and is now a global entity.

BBC Scotland commissioned a games review show from First Person Shooters in a similar vein to ''Consolevania'', titled ''[[videoGaiden]]''. This was broadcast on BBC Two Scotland from November to December 2005 for six weeks.

In April 2006, it was reported that ''Consolevania'' had acquired the movie rights to the Jeff Minter computer game [[Hover Bovver]].<ref>[http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=63838 Consolevania gets movie rights News - Page 1 // None /// Eurogamer - Games Reviews, News and More<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Though they had claimed that the adaptation would be released <ref>{{cite web|url=http://thefraudcast.com/site/?p%3D272 |title=CvGaiden has moved |accessdate=2006-12-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928193046/http://thefraudcast.com/site/?p=272 |archivedate=2007-09-28 }}</ref> at some point in 2007, there have been no further updates since. With no statements issued by Minter about the status of the arrangement, it is presumed that the movie did not get any further than [[pre-production]], or even enter it.

New episodes of ''Consolevania'' were released online on an irregular basis, and, in response to much critical acclaim, a second run of ''videoGaiden'', featuring lengthier episodes, was commissioned by BBC Scotland and aired in late 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thefraudcast.com/site/?p%3D80 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2006-04-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506013914/http://thefraudcast.com/site/?p=80 |archivedate=2006-05-06 }}</ref> The third series however, has hugely focused on internet-only episodes of which 18 were made and released over a six-month period.  The only material that was made specifically for broadcast were just three "TV Specials". The decision to focus so heavily on internet output seems to be in line with a soapbox piece from the second series. In this segment, Robert Florence stated that television is a dying medium and that the BBC needed to accept this and embrace internet programming, an area they currently do not understand.

On 10 October 2008, Series 4 premiered on Consolevania.com, alongside a newly redesigned website. Series 4 was presented in a new way, with separate segments being uploaded frequently to [[YouTube]]. These segments were also used in new "high quality digest" episodes of compiled and exclusive content.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080629094300/http://www.consolevania.com/seriesFour/seriesfour.htm Consolevania Series 4 page]</ref>