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CUJOXXL
B.V. VIP - Adventurer
Joined: Jan 29, 2003
Posts: 7100
Location: Nor-Cal
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 Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:20 pm Post subject: Pro Gaming League........Finally!!! |
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League beginning for video gamers
Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, June 11, 2007
Professional video gaming has developed along the lines of the professional tennis tour, with individuals representing themselves and their sponsors at a series of competitions.
That's about to change this week with the introduction of a professional league that will feature 10-person gaming teams representing six cities, including San Francisco. The Championship Gaming Series will feature live matches on DirecTV and a season that culminates in a round of playoffs. The top two North American teams will ultimately be pitted in a world series against teams from the Gaming Series' four other international regions, which will begin league play next year.
For the first time, cities or regions will have so-called cyber athletes representing them, in the same way the 49ers represent San Francisco. Other teams are Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas and one representing the Carolinas. Their names will be announced this week. Whether it catches on remains to be seen. But officials with the CGS, which is sponsored by IGN Entertainment, Mountain Dew and Microsoft's Xbox 360, have little doubt the time for a full-fledged professional video game league has come.
"If pro gaming has any chance to make it, this is our chance," said San Francisco's manager, Kat Hunter, a former professional gamer and freelance journalist. "I really believe this is the shot we've all been waiting for."
The official action kicks off Tuesday with a player draft, in which the general managers of the six teams select their 10 players. The GMs will use data culled from a "combine" held over the weekend to help select the players. Once chosen, the teams will compete in four games: Counter-Strike: Source, Project Gotham Racing 3, FIFA 2007 and Dead or Alive 4.
The matches will start July 9 on a soundstage in Los Angeles. The payroll for the league will exceed $5 million, with players earning at least $30,000 for the season. The players will not be expected to live in their home cities, but will be required to travel often to their cities for training.
Local game enthusiasts got a glimpse last year of what the CGS will look like. In preparation for the league, organizers mounted an invitational tournament in a plane hangar on Treasure Island in July, featuring 60 top gamers.
The event, televised on DirecTV, featured elaborate glowing sets, announcers and advanced spectator technology, allowing viewers to watch the action from within the game. Viewers will also have the option of tuning in on the Internet, via the video game Web site IGN.com, which will stream video of the matches. The event featured dozens of cameras, about what the NBA uses for a typical playoff game.
Video game analyst Billy Pidgeon of IDC said the multidisciplinary teams are a twist on pro gaming, but he doubts that the league will build enough viewership to sustain itself. He said the action will likely be too inaccessible or boring for non-gamers and could be unattractive for hardcore gamers, who would rather play than watch.
"Video games are a participatory activity," Pidgeon said. "I'd personally rather play than watch. I think that it's going to be hard to make a business out of it."
Televised video gaming has found success abroad, most notably in South Korea, where top gamers play on dedicated video game cable channels and are treated like celebrities. In the United States, the reception hasn't been so warm. Some outlets like MTV and HDNet have covered events like the World Cyber Games, but there hasn't been consistent coverage of video game tournaments.
Cable channel G4TV began life as a 24-hour video game station, but has had to broaden its focus to technology and men's lifestyle to attract viewers.
Hunter said that if the CGS can nail the execution and make the sport attractive to non-gamers and gamers, it has the ability to succeed and define televised professional gaming in the United States.
San Francisco residents, she said, should be able to rally around their fledgling team, which will eventually build a training center in the city and offer outreach and workshops for local players.
"I plan to make it a team the city can be proud of," Hunter said. |
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starman_
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Joined: Jun 16, 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:09 am Post subject: |
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Well it's about time! With the sponsors mentioned, I think it will have a good chance to succeed. Hope so anyway. I enjoy playing video games, but I also like sizing up the competition .  |
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KingYaba
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Joined: Dec 01, 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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| I find this utterly pathetic. |
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MIB
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Joined: Oct 02, 2001
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Location: Innsmouth
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| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:24 pm Post subject: |
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| KingYaba wrote: |
| I find this utterly pathetic. |
I'm guessing you can also explain why. |
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KingYaba
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Joined: Dec 01, 2004
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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I have found that there are individuals who take video gaming way to seriously. Having a competition among individuals seeing who can move their thumbs the fastest does not strike me as an appealing event.
The term "cyber athletes" made me chuckle.
athlete |ˈaθˌlēt|
noun
a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.
• chiefly Brit. a person who is skilled in competitive track and field events (athletics).
I didn't realize moving one's fingers counts as exercise. But the funny thing is HGH won't help them here. Or will it? Cyber althletes will use those "aimbots" and "wallhacks" and the "wtf omg m8 u haxxorz."
| Quote: |
"Video games are a participatory activity," Pidgeon said. "I'd personally rather play than watch. I think that it's going to be hard to make a business out of it." |
This Pidgeon person speaks the truth. As if watching Golf isn't painful enough.... |
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MIB
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Fair enough, I don't like it either but to call it pathetic... |
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Kadara
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Joined: Mar 08, 2008
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:39 am Post subject: |
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| To King Yaba: Ever Heard of a Wii? Or are you too lost in your own little world? If played correctly it can give you a hell of workout. Plus videogames are more of a workout for your brain, you know, hand-eye coordination and stuff like that. All though you do make a very good point, who the hell wants to watch other people play video games? |
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KingYaba
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:00 am Post subject: |
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Wa eee ? ¿¿??
I know what a Wii is. My young cousin plays one. The graphics are not spectacular. I understand your point and it would not surprise me if the Wii influences the future of video games. Move on from the uniformity of a t.v. screen and your controller to a full immersion of virtual reality where one must move his or her entire body to manipulate the character(s) at hand. A fascinating piece of technology that will be.
I feel video games are a distraction. Leaving many detached from the world and its pressing issues. The same can be said about television and the internet. Come to think of it, Ray Bradbury has it right with the whole iPod thing. |
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MIB
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:50 pm Post subject: |
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| KingYaba wrote: |
| I feel video games are a distraction. Leaving many detached from the world and its pressing issues. The same can be said about television and the internet. Come to think of it, Ray Bradbury has it right with the whole iPod thing. |
I play videogames for 13 years now. I'm sorry but you got it completely wrong. |
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mr_headshot
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:42 am Post subject: |
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He's somewhat right, Bradburry DID have it right kind of. You don't see people with bluetooth and who absolutely forget about the rest of the world.
That being said, read his short story "the veldt" mildly scary.
However I must disagree with you; I play video games (in a league as well [UGC and STA]) and I've become no more detached from society other than the means by my own choice. True, I like to think of myself as somewhat distant from society but only because people piss me off and I don't want to deal with it. Video games and the Internet aren't the cause of that but more of a device I use to get away from everyday life.
What games will these guys be playing?? |
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Yinmaren
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Joined: Feb 04, 2007
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:55 am Post subject: |
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| KingYaba wrote: |
| I feel video games are a distraction. Leaving many detached from the world and its pressing issues. The same can be said about television and the internet. Come to think of it, Ray Bradbury has it right with the whole iPod thing. |
There is a difference between being detached and immersed. In my 20 years of gaming I've often become immersed in the world of the game I am playing (Myst and UO are two examples) but I've never become detached from the world.
You'll find that, regardless of whether video games existed or not, you'd find people who would become detached from society regardless and in the same, or similar, quantities. This, however, is not a bad thing.
Religion detaches many people from the world on a massive scale. It's not always a bad thing.
But video games are not something that detaches people from the world. |
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mr_headshot
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:03 am Post subject: |
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| Have you ever actually played a game Yarba? |
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Kadara
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:39 am Post subject: |
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| As far as being detached from the world, when video games get to when they are all virtual reality, however fascinating it would be, there would be much more withdrawal because then people could live live their video games. Who's Ray Bradbury? And what'd he say about Ipods? Is there link to that article or did I just miss something? |
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Big_Aaron_Dog
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Joined: Mar 11, 2008
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:33 am Post subject: |
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| I was sharing an email address with kadara which may or may not be illegal on this site but if it is I didn't know and am sorry. anyways all previous messages from kadara are from me because I started my own. |
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KingYaba
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Joined: Dec 01, 2004
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Location: My own mental hell
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:00 am Post subject: |
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| mr_headshot wrote: |
| Have you ever actually played a game Yarba? |
If we are to engage in a serious discussion at least spell my name correctly.
Have I ever actually played a video game Yarba?  Why, yes I have. My original complaint, and I stand by it, is these video game competitions are pathetic. It is my opinion and I am entitled to it. I will never hold video gaming on the same level as athletes who participate in the triathlon. I am not apart of the intended audience whenever this "show" will air on television. End of story.
I am not saying video games do not have their use. Flight simulators use this technology to train pilots. The military uses "America's Army" and other such tools for their soldiers. I get it. The point I should have made is how we employ this technology.
Kadara, Ray Bradbury is the author of Fahrenheit 451. He depicted a society where people are only entertained with in-ear audio (described eerily similar to iPods) and television devices. He wrote it in the late 40s early 1950s.
| mr_headshot wrote: |
| True, I like to think of myself as somewhat distant from society but only because people piss me off and I don't want to deal with it. |
Dysfunctional society... |
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