The Tester
Encyclopedia
The Tester is a serialized reality program
created by Sony Computer Entertainment
and produced by 51 Minds. Notable as the first original live-action series distributed on a video game console, The Tester features eleven or twelve contestants, selected from thousands of applicants, competing in a variety of challenges to win a career at Sony Computer Entertainment in quality assurance
as a game tester
with a $5,000 signing bonus
. The winner of the second season also received a PlayStation 3
video game console and a Sony
BRAVIA
3D Television. The first season launched in North America on February 18, 2010 and new episodes were released weekly until the finale aired on April 8, 2010.
The program is available as a free download exclusively on the PlayStation Network. The host, Meredith Molinari, guides the contestants through physical challenges based on skills required of game testers, such as a critical eye for detail and effective communication. Each week, with the exception of the finale, at least one contestant is eliminated by a panel of three judges: release manager for Sony first-party quality assurance Brent Gocke, actor and comedian Hal Sparks
(Adrianne Curry in season 2), and a special guest judge. Eliminations are based on performance in the weekly challenges. For the finale, the three remaining contestants race each other in a final challenge with multiple chapters with the first contestant to complete all chapters crowned "the tester." The show has since produced two winners: Will "Cyrus" Powers from season 1 and Matthew "Gaymer" Brown from season 2.
After commenting on the success of the first season, Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Jack Tretton
announced a second season on June 14, 2010 at Sony's keynote address at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
. Auditions were accepted through July 6, 2010, at which point community voting began. Among the 11 contestants chosen by Sony, the community-vote winner, 8-bit Mickey, also joined the cast as a twelfth member. Season 2 began on November 2nd with twelve brand new contestants. The first episode of the second season was made available to PlayStation Plus subscribers on October 29, 2010. The series premiered on November 2, 2010 with the finale on December 21, 2010.
The Casting Call for the show's third season began on August 4, 2011. Auditions and voting ended on September 17, 2011 at 3:00 AM. The Top 100 were revealed on September 30th, with voting ending on October 5th. The Final 20 was revealed on October 18th, with Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson finally being revealed as the winner of The Casting Call on October 20th, 2011, after voting had ended.
: The premiere was a double elimination episode.
: From episodes 2 through 5, the gamers were separated by teams each week.
: The premiere was a double elimination episode.
: From episodes 2 through 6, the gamers were separated by teams each week.
: In episode 6, Big Fazeek was eliminated due to a break of the rules through unsportsmanlike conduct
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
created by Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
and produced by 51 Minds. Notable as the first original live-action series distributed on a video game console, The Tester features eleven or twelve contestants, selected from thousands of applicants, competing in a variety of challenges to win a career at Sony Computer Entertainment in quality assurance
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
as a game tester
Game testing
Game testing, a subset of game development, is a software testing process for quality control of video games. The primary function of game testing is the discovery and documentation of software defects...
with a $5,000 signing bonus
Signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee, e.g., if the annual salary is lower than he or she desires...
. The winner of the second season also received a PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game console and a 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....
BRAVIA
BRAVIA
BRAVIA is a Sony brand used to market its high-definition LCD televisions, projection TVs and front projectors and for the PlayStation 3 , along with its home cinema range under the sub-brand BRAVIA Theatre. The BRAVIA name is an acronym of "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture"...
3D Television. The first season launched in North America on February 18, 2010 and new episodes were released weekly until the finale aired on April 8, 2010.
The program is available as a free download exclusively on the PlayStation Network. The host, Meredith Molinari, guides the contestants through physical challenges based on skills required of game testers, such as a critical eye for detail and effective communication. Each week, with the exception of the finale, at least one contestant is eliminated by a panel of three judges: release manager for Sony first-party quality assurance Brent Gocke, actor and comedian Hal Sparks
Hal Sparks
Hal Harry Magee Sparks III is an American actor, comedian, musician and television personality. He is known for his contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and the role of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but...
(Adrianne Curry in season 2), and a special guest judge. Eliminations are based on performance in the weekly challenges. For the finale, the three remaining contestants race each other in a final challenge with multiple chapters with the first contestant to complete all chapters crowned "the tester." The show has since produced two winners: Will "Cyrus" Powers from season 1 and Matthew "Gaymer" Brown from season 2.
After commenting on the success of the first season, Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Jack Tretton
Jack Tretton
Jack Tretton is the President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America , a division of Sony Computer Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation...
announced a second season on June 14, 2010 at Sony's keynote address at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, commonly known as E3 2010, was the 16th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place on June 14–17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software...
. Auditions were accepted through July 6, 2010, at which point community voting began. Among the 11 contestants chosen by Sony, the community-vote winner, 8-bit Mickey, also joined the cast as a twelfth member. Season 2 began on November 2nd with twelve brand new contestants. The first episode of the second season was made available to PlayStation Plus subscribers on October 29, 2010. The series premiered on November 2, 2010 with the finale on December 21, 2010.
The Casting Call for the show's third season began on August 4, 2011. Auditions and voting ended on September 17, 2011 at 3:00 AM. The Top 100 were revealed on September 30th, with voting ending on October 5th. The Final 20 was revealed on October 18th, with Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson finally being revealed as the winner of The Casting Call on October 20th, 2011, after voting had ended.
Season 1
| Testers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Finale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus | IN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | WIN | LOW | THE TESTER | |
| Nauseous | IN | WIN | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | ||
| Amped | IN | LOW | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | ||
| IN | LOW | WIN | LOW | LOW | LOW | OUT | |||
| Doc | LOW | IN | WIN | WIN | WIN | OUT | |||
| Big D | IN | LOW | LOW | WIN | OUT | ||||
| Luge | WIN | IN | WIN | OUT | |||||
| Fame Girl | LOW | WIN | OUT | ||||||
| Goof | IN | OUT | |||||||
| Barmy | OUT | ||||||||
| Roni | OUT | ||||||||
: The premiere was a double elimination episode.
: From episodes 2 through 5, the gamers were separated by teams each week.
Season 2
| Testers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Finale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaymer | IN | IN | LOW | LOW | WIN | WIN | IN | THE TESTER | |
| Scooter | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | ||
| Ches-ka | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | LOW | ||
| Mo Chocolate | IN | WIN | LOW | WIN | WIN | WIN | OUT | ||
| War Princess | LOW | LOW | WIN | IN | WIN | OUT | |||
| Big Fazeek | LOW | WIN | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | |||
| Tripplethreat | IN | IN | WIN | WIN | OUT | ||||
| 8bit-Mickey | IN | WIN | IN | OUT | |||||
| FantasyGirl | IN | WIN | OUT | ||||||
| Samurai | IN | OUT | |||||||
| Boo | OUT | ||||||||
| Max1m | OUT | ||||||||
: The premiere was a double elimination episode.
: From episodes 2 through 6, the gamers were separated by teams each week.
: In episode 6, Big Fazeek was eliminated due to a break of the rules through unsportsmanlike conduct
- (THE TESTER) The gamer won the season and was crowned The Tester.
- (RUNNER-UP) Runner up of the season
- (WIN) The contestant won the episode's challenge, and thus was immune to elimination.
- (LOW) The contestant was noted for being especially low-performing, however was not eliminated.
- (OUT) The contestant lost the challenge and was eliminated from the competition.