CO-OP (video podcast)
Encyclopedia
CO-OP was a weekly video podcast
Video podcast
Video podcast is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures...

 produced, written and directed by Area 5 Media LLC and distributed by Revision3. The format of the show usually discusses two or three upcoming or recent videogame releases in detail. Instead of using review scores, CO-OP uses a conversation style with industry representatives and video gaming journalists in order to "share in the critique, love and bashing".

The production team is made up of Cesar Quintero, Matt Chandronait, Jay Frechette, Ryan O'Donnell, Jason Bertrand and Rob Bowen. The production company was formed from the team previously responsible for The 1UP Show
The 1UP Show
The 1UP Show was a video podcast that was updated weekly on the video gaming website, 1UP.com. It featured editors of 1UP.com along with the magazine editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly and Games for Windows: The Official Magazine. Like the website, the podcast focused on various aspects of modern...

, a video podcast twice nominated for Min (Media Industry Newsletter) awards. The intro sequence was created by Eden Soto, who also did the intro sequence for Diggnation
Diggnation
Diggnation is Revision3's flagship video podcast produced weekly. It is hosted by Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht, who had previously hosted TechTV's The Screen Savers together. Its main purpose is to discuss some of the top stories from Digg, the social news and bookmarking website developed by Rose...

.

History

At the same time as the sale of 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....

 from Ziff Davis Media to UGO Networks (owned by the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...

), publications such as 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 The 1UP Show
The 1UP Show
The 1UP Show was a video podcast that was updated weekly on the video gaming website, 1UP.com. It featured editors of 1UP.com along with the magazine editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly and Games for Windows: The Official Magazine. Like the website, the podcast focused on various aspects of modern...

were closed down and the contributing staff laid off. In response to the layoffs the team behind The 1UP Show formed their own production company, naming it Area 5 Media after the final stage in the game Rez
Rez
Rez, developed under the codename K-Project, Project Eden, and Vibes, is a rail shooter video game released by Sega in Japan in 2001 for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, with a European Dreamcast release and United States PlayStation 2 release in 2002...

. The new company started accepting donations in order to fund a new show, releasing the first episode of CO-OP on January 21, 2009. A strong response by fans resulted in $18,000 of donations through PayPal and over 60,000 viewers.

On March 10, 2009, Revision3 announced that a distribution deal had been signed with Area 5 Media to bring CO-OP to the Revision3 network. At the same time, a new intro sequence by animator Eden Soto and theme song were introduced. Revision3 stated that this represents a "strategic shift" to providing niche content. They also hope that the show will lend itself to further advertising agreements, building on ones established with 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...

 and SquareSpace.

Starting on 2/9/2010, CO-OP was streamed live.

The final episode of CO-OP Live aired on 4/13/2010 after only six episodes.

Season 4 Episode 1 was posted to YouTube on October 06, 2010. This introduced a service in which viewers would pay to download new episodes in an attempt to get more revenue from CO-OP. No more Season 4 eps were produced.

CO-OP-like segments are now a part of the monthly iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...

 videogame magazine Atomix, which costs a dollar an issue and is available through an app on the iPad app store.
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