After weeks of speculation, the identity of the new GamesMaster has been revealed by Channel 4/E4. Sir Trevor McDonald OBE, best known as a news presenter on ITV's News at Ten in the 90s, but who also has a string of in-depth documentaries under his belt, will be the GamesMaster. McDonald, with his characteristic voice and temperament, seems like a canny choice to succeed the persona once encapsulated by Sir Patrick Moore being a bit tetchy.
Sir Trevor McDonald said: "I am delighted to be taking on this iconic role for a new generation of viewers." As the GamesMaster his duties will include the setting up gaming challenges for the contenders, sometimes providing tips, watching over the battles in judgment, and awarding the coveted Golden Joystick trophies as he sees fit.
Last month, we got confirmation of the presenting line-up for the show, which will consist of the following folk:
- Robert Florence: is a writer, actor and presenter who presented a computer video games show called VideoGaiden, and is half of the online video game review show team, Consolevania.
- Frankie Ward: is said to be "an established face in eSports," and she will be co-hosting with Florence, leveraging her experience in hosting and interviewing.
- Ty Logan: "Ty is passionate about gaming," says the E4 press release, has no previous broadcasting credit, but is claimed to be one of "E4’s faces of the future".
Expect to see a number of VR gaming challenges wedged into the show, with Oculus Quest 2 from Facebook being a major partner of the program. There will be just three one hour shows broadcast in this run, starting later this year, which doesn't show a lot of confidence in what should be a cheap production. The last new episode of GamesMaster was 23-years ago.
