Sony Announces Cast of The Tester, Online Reality Show

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
12,070
0
0
Sony Announces Cast of The Tester, Online Reality Show



The cast of the PlayStation Network's reality TV experiment, The Tester, is a diverse crowd of folks all vying to become one of the most sought after positions in the industry, a QA goon.

In September, Sony held an open call for people to submit a video explaining why they want to be an official Sony videogame tester. The submissions were whittled down to 11 cast members, who are now poised to undergo 8 episodes of physical and mental tests to see if they have what it takes to fulfill the basic job requirements of the entry-level position. The Tester will be shown on the PlayStation Network, but there are no details on whether you will be able to watch the video for free, whether it will require a subscription or if you will have to purchase individual episodes. Unlike hit reality series such as MTV's The Jersey Shore or those Real Housewives shows, the cast members of The Tester are an extremely diverse group, with every body type and ethnic background represented. Sony did copy the recent trend of giving each cast member a catchy nickname like "Barmy" or "Big D" or "Please God, Don't Make Me Watch This Show."

Here is a sampling of the downright fascinating characters in The Tester:

"Star" is a professional gamer from Michigan who realizes that she can't make a living like that forever and is competing in The Tester for the long-term job stability. Favorite quote from her audition video: "I have 9 tattoos. I have a chest tattoo which is pretty cool... This black gamer tee shirt is toned down for you guys, I'm usually wearing fishnet stockings."

Danny Nguyen is a 26 year old used car salesman from Columbia, MD, who doesn't have many friends but still manages to keep it goofy. "I don't like to take advantage of people but if something needs to get done, it gets done. If I need to put food on the table, I need to sell."

"Cyrus" is a bartender from Raleigh, NC who sounds like everyone's favorite frat boy. "I've broken a couple of controllers," he said with a laugh. "Not necessarily from anger at the other players, more from players on my own team because I knew they should have done something."

Darrell Shelton is P.A. with TV from New Jersey, who describes himself as a nice guy but said, "I can be stubborn and, especially in a competitive setting, I can get a little ignorant."

There are 11 cast members in all, and they are coming soon to a PlayStation 3 near you. It's up to you if you really want to pay attention. Sony's website for The Tester is here [http://www.thetester.com/home/AboutTheTester.jsp].

Permalink
 

Jonci

New member
Sep 15, 2009
539
0
0
Breaking News: Sony invests in show aiming for "train wreck" ratings.
 

IamQ

New member
Mar 29, 2009
5,226
0
0
I will probably watch at least the first episode, but if I have to pay for it, I'm not gonna bother.
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
5,630
0
0
Jon Etheridge said:
I can't wait to not watch this.
Yeah..

Looks absolutly terrible...and I thought Big Brother couldnt get worse...
 

Cousin_IT

New member
Feb 6, 2008
1,822
0
0
I wonder if they'll attach a high score achievement to watching this show?

Not that I'll watch it, but I can't imagine that the contestants will be anything but exciting, interesting & varied as they strive to get the golden job of testing Sony games, & then promptly get fired in the next round of QA cutbacks. Indeed, maybe the sequel will be to see who keeps their job.
 

SMOKEMNHALO2001

New member
Sep 10, 2008
245
0
0
Cousin_IT said:
I wonder if they'll attach a high score achievement to watching this show?

Not that I'll watch it, but I can't imagine that the contestants will be anything but exciting, interesting & varied as they strive to get the golden job of testing Sony games, & then promptly get fired in the next round of QA cutbacks. Indeed, maybe the sequel will be to see who keeps their job.
Now that I would watch!
"Sony's: The Pink Slip".
I was going to enter this contest but ended up saying "F it I don't care." I wonder why?
 

StarSlay3r

New member
Jan 26, 2010
1
0
0
Star here. Just wanted to say that I hope you guys can give this show a shot. I know how horrible you guys all think it will be considering the prize... but just give it a shot. See the show for what it is... entertainment... and take your mind off the big brother aspect of it. :p

I know exactly what being a game tester entails and I know its not the "ultimate gamers dream job" but a one year contract testing is a lot more or a long term thing then any other testing job right now (EA has 3 month contracts). Also testing is the foot in the door in the gaming industry to bigger and better jobs like my personal goal... marketing. :D

Oh and also, Sony didn't give us our names. We gave ourselves nicknames based off our gamer tags. :D Just about all of us are using part of our gamer tags. :D

I ask you give the show a chance. At least watch one episode! Thanks!!!

p.s. thanks for the write up and the mention in your article!
 

UNCyrus

New member
May 14, 2009
3
0
0
Jonci said:
Breaking News: Sony invests in show aiming for "train wreck" ratings.
For real... at least give the show a chance man. It's going to be really entertaining and a lot of fun to watch. To clear up a couple of things, the show is going to be "subscription based" where you can purchase by the episode or a season pass at a discount. Anyways, just wanted to say thanks for the writeup and including a little snippit about me. I've been a big fan of you guys since I met some of your staffers from your East Coast office at last year's Triangle Gaming Conference.

Keep up the good work,
-Cyrus (really? everyone's favorite frat boy?) At least ask some of your staff for information/sources... I'm friends w/ them on FB/Twitter
 

Jonci

New member
Sep 15, 2009
539
0
0
UNCyrus said:
Jonci said:
Breaking News: Sony invests in show aiming for "train wreck" ratings.
For real... at least give the show a chance man. It's going to be really entertaining and a lot of fun to watch. To clear up a couple of things, the show is going to be "subscription based" where you can purchase by the episode or a season pass at a discount. Anyways, just wanted to say thanks for the writeup and including a little snippit about me. I've been a big fan of you guys since I met some of your staffers from your East Coast office at last year's Triangle Gaming Conference.

Keep up the good work,
-Cyrus (really? everyone's favorite frat boy?) At least ask some of your staff for information/sources... I'm friends w/ them on FB/Twitter
Well welcome to the Escapist. And no, I will not be giving it a chance. I wouldn't pay to watch a reality show, and frankly, I dismissed it the moment the prize was the least desirable job in the game industry. The only people that get excited to be testers are people that usually don't know anything about game production. The position would be better off given to some programmer that can't break into development and needs a testing job to get his foot through the door.
 

Amnestic

High Priest of Haruhi
Aug 22, 2008
8,946
0
0

If I wanted to get my foot in the door in the gaming industry, games tester isn't where I'd want to be frankly.

I'll struggle against the thousands of other applicants for a journalist position if I want anything :p
 

UNCyrus

New member
May 14, 2009
3
0
0
Amnestic said:

If I wanted to get my foot in the door in the gaming industry, games tester isn't where I'd want to be frankly.

I'll struggle against the thousands of other applicants for a journalist position if I want anything :p
Yeah, but how many people out there would take this as a foot in the door into the industry. Granted no one WANTS to be a tester, but it's an opportunity nonetheless. And there aren't many better companies to be a tester for.

Sidenote... I've been a member here for 8 months now, but for some reason just never found the time to post/comment in the forums