What is Digg?117 Comments
- UltraDavid, on 08/06/2008, -2/+27?? It is, and has been for years. This is like asking, will cricket ever become a popular spectator sport? Might be that nobody cares about it where you live, but guess what, it's been a popular spectator sport for a long-ass time in other parts of the world.
- Slashered, on 08/07/2008, -0/+13As a journalist and commentator that covers competitive gaming, this debate has been discussed internally within the eSports community for years now. I do not have any qualms about identifying competitive gaming as a sport, but the line does get hairy when we throw in 'physical exertion'. Does moving your hands and fingers at the speed of light count as athletic activity? Probably not, but that's still debateable, and I don't put so much emphasis into that part when comparing it to defined sports. Competitive gaming has everything that's needed elsewhere. Players, teams, sponsors, and the drive to be the best. The amazing thrill of an overtime victory and the heartbreaking crushing loss in overtime that knocks your team out of the bracket. To play with the best of the best and settle for no less than first. Regular people who think they can compete with professionals they see on TV/Online in games like Halo 3, Quake 3, StarCraft, Street Fighter 3, Counter-Strike 1.6, Call of Duty 4 and so on really have no idea what they're getting into or what they're talking about. It takes natural skill above and beyond what's found in most people, and the dedication to be the best.
On the topic of will gaming become a popular sport or not is much harder question to answer. Professional StarCraft matches have been happening in South Korea for nearly a decade now. Two entire TV stations are dedicated to showing matches 24/7, player salaries can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, there are 2-3 main leagues, several recognizable players, and several new players to take away the spotlight from the old gods. In America, the Championship Gaming Series has player drafts similar to the NBA/NFL/NHL and pays salaries to 12 teams around the world, and six North American franchises. this includes the article-mentioned Los Angeles Complexity, New York 3D, Carolina Core, Chicago Chimera, San Francisco OPTX and Dallas Venom. All matches are broadcasted live on DirecTV as well as thecgs.com. $500,000 in cash has been awarded amongst the teams at the end of the grand finals for season one and two. Games used are Counter-Strike: Source, Forza Motorsport 2, Dead or Alive 4 and FIFA 08. Major League Gaming has several players and teams signed to contracts upto $250,000 a year, and numerous more players within the 50-200k range. Every event MLG throws is packed to the brim with team signups and spectators, and has become the leader in open events. Tens of thousands are given away on top of salaries at every event including major bonuses at the grand finals. Games used include Halo 3, Gears of War and World of WarCraft. ESPN covers matches every event on video. In Europe, the Electronic Sports League runs the show as the longest running eSports entity with some of the biggest following in the world and the best organizational skills. Hundreds of thousands are given away by the league, and mostly all the top players have salaries paid by their independent teams/sponsors. Games used are Counter-Strike 1.6, WarCraft 3, and World of WarCraft.
As the author stated, there is a very good chance that everything will take a turn for the worst and that competitive gaming will continue to go through struggles. I really don't think (and hope) this will happen though. This is mainly due to the game developer's awareness to competitive gaming. When valve made Counter-Strike, they had no idea about eSports. When Blizzard made StarCraft, they had no idea about eSports. When id made Quake, they had no idea about eSports. And so on and so forth. A decade later, Blizzard has an entire team for eSports and has started development on StarCraft multiplayer before Singleplayer with the help of the Korean pro-gamers. Valve hasn't put so much emphasis on it but Team Fortress 2 is a step in the right direction and you never know when Counter-Strike 2 may hit. Id is producing Quake Live with the intent of a massive player base, but also to continue the legacy of the professional gamers of the past decade that have been playing Quake 3.
With games such as StarCraft 2, Quake Live, Street Fighter 4 on the horizon, and the increased development of games like World of WarCraft, eSports does have a bright future ahead of itself if it can finally consolidate a game list between the multiple organizations around the world. A single team-tacical shooter is needed so the community isn't split between Counter-Strike 1.6, Source, Call of Duty 4 and Team Fortress 2, but this will come in time I think. - bagboyrebel, on 08/07/2008, -0/+12Maybe not in the US, but it's huge in Korea.
- sock2828, on 08/07/2008, -2/+14It's a hell of allot better than watching baseball!
- FlyingPhotog, on 08/07/2008, -2/+10Gaming is like golf: fun to participate, lame to watch.
- inactive, on 08/06/2008, -3/+10Girlfriends and Little Brothers of the world: "It already is."
- patriotsfan82, on 08/07/2008, -0/+6I actually watched the Gaming World Series or whatever it was on G4 and I found it fairly enjoyable, with some good games in the lineup.
However, One problem they need to address is exploits in games and how they are used to compete.
For example, in Forza 2, you have to have knowledge of specific areas on the track where you can cut or jump over the dirt sections in the track. In otherwords, shortcuts that they developers did not intend to create, and that just ruins the game for me. Not to mention that Forza 2 is played without damage, so 50% of the tactics involve smashing opponents off the track to pass them.
In my opinion what competitions like these really need is some way for the fan to interact with the game. And I would recommend giving them the ability to control the camera view from which they watch the action and/or providing them with a teams tactics (being able to hear what a CS:S team is saying for example). Simply showing the footage on the screen isn't enough.
And yet I take that all back, and conclude that they would need to have some recognizable players prior to implementing anything else. Would we watch our favorite baseball team if their players were changed every day? - LunaticFringe, on 08/07/2008, -0/+6South Korea.
- chaosblade77, on 08/07/2008, -0/+6Depends on the games... fighting game tournaments can be fun to watch.
- tehjabba, on 08/07/2008, -0/+6Depends on if developers start adding good enough TV spectator aspects to their games. Watching games played by gamers from their gameplay view can get dull fast but if games had some sort of dedicated TV/director speccing tools then it could get interesting.
- Taiyoryu, on 08/07/2008, -0/+6Ummm you can play "real" sports. Just get a group of friends and the proper equipment together. I don't understand what your point is. If you mean, not everyone can play at a professional level and get paid for it then yeah you're right. Same can be said of video game players. Not every video game player gets a product endorsement contract or wins consistently enough at tournaments to make a career out of it. I'm sure you can start playing poker today (assuming you don't), but it's not like you're going to be at the final table at a Poker World Tour tournament anytime soon.
- MasterGrief, on 08/07/2008, -0/+5http://xkcd.com/37/
- lukemorris, on 08/07/2008, -1/+6I'd rather be playing than watching somebody play. And I'm not the type of person who's going to sit there and study the top Halo players when I could be playing on my own and getting better with experience.
But I'm just a causal gamer. Not too competitive. - ShadowMarth, on 08/07/2008, -0/+4Starcraft is practically the national passtime of South Korea. And rightfully so, have you ever watched those pro tournaments? Crazy ***** left and right. It's ***** exciting.
- SportsAnna, on 08/07/2008, -0/+4flashbacks of the movie 'The Wizard'...
- versualize, on 08/07/2008, -0/+4You're just an *****.
- chaos7, on 08/06/2008, -1/+5i hope it catches on more here in america. i'd love for it to be like it is in asia.
- jfinke, on 08/07/2008, -0/+4I think that part of the problem is the attention span of gamers. If you look at the majority of sports: football, soccer, hockey, baseball, cricket, etc. you will see that they have been mostly unchanged for a hundred years. Video games tend to change with the flavor of the month.
Another issue is the sponser issue. Most sponsers are gaming hardware companies. Those companies are pushing their top of the line products for the latest games. They don't want to sponsor pong. They want to sponsor Crysis 3D.
The only exception I can see to this is CS. That game has been able to maintain traction for several years now in the competitive scene. And that may be what it takes, one FPS is competitive and the rest are filler. You would like to see an update of graphics, etc. every now and then. But, you know companies can't keep well enough alone. Imagine if FIFA changed the weight of a soccer ball every 5 years. That is not going to fly. - Buelldozer, on 08/06/2008, -1/+5It's been a popular spectator sport in U.S. basements for close to three decades!
- copaceticZ, on 08/07/2008, -0/+4oh its as much fun to watch or more fun than POKER which is on every night of the week. I mean the top level stuff is really fun to watch I mean specifically MLG halo....Halo 2 was amazing to watch the level of competition was pretty high i think. Halo could be a true sport but i almost think that MLG is going to come out with an MLG game eventually. Love MLG never heard of these CGS dudes but they are lame
- bagboyrebel, on 08/07/2008, -0/+3Video games were invented in asia? That's news to me. So I guess that this article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_game ... in just completely inaccurate then, huh?
- patriotsfan82, on 08/07/2008, -1/+4If NASCAR is a sport, then gaming is a sport. At least the name "Video Games" accurately describes what it is, where NASCAR is anything but Stock Car Racing by the old/accurate/actual definition of a "stock car".
If Nascar drivers can sit on their ass and drive with their hands and have what they do considered a sport, than gamers who sit on their ass and play games with their hands can have what they do considered a sport also.
So by our public (read: redneck Nascar fans) belief in what a sport is, gaming is indeed a sport. - artfuldodga, on 08/06/2008, -4/+7I doubt it, not unless there is some sort of physical aspect to the gameplay
- Darkgarion, on 08/07/2008, -0/+3I am no fan of NASCAR, but they drive around in a car that has no AC for hours on end. If they don't faint because of the heat, then you have to have a strong will just to not fall asleep.
- sock2828, on 08/07/2008, -0/+3Watch out everyone the grammar police are on patrol!
Oh and by the way I do have a learning disability that causes me to have trouble writing. and besides A LOT is in my vocabulary.
I just missed spelled it
So ***** off! - bagboyrebel, on 08/07/2008, -0/+3why?
- inactive, on 08/07/2008, -0/+3North America needs more tentacle rape porn.
- analogkid01, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2"It's called a Power Glove..."
- mdnghtblue, on 08/08/2008, -0/+2yep. i have. i'd rather watch chess.
- solesoul, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2As an older brother and boyfriend...sorry bout that.
- Haysoos, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2CGS is GARBAGE. First, I don't want my professional gaming to be like the NFL. I think the tournament scene is much better for gaming because its how us gamers were doing it before ESPN saw a way to profit from us. Maybe I'm just more of a grassroots guy myself, I remember when being a video game spectator meant you were standing behind the guys in a tournament at the BYOC lan event you were at.
Another pet peeve with CGS is they make CS look beyond boring. I don't care if the feed is 30 seconds behind play, but don't show me some wide out view where you can't tell who is being shot at by who. Show me first person headshots, show me wicked camera angles, highlights. Show me the things that made me stand behind an awesome player at Million Man Lan 2 watching simply because I couldn't stop. Forza gets a good mix, but CS, the game that has pushed "professional gaming" in the US the most gets no love.
I also think the scoring system is dumb. Aside from it being silly to have a general tally of points like that, the games are unevenly scored.
But I guess this is all what it takes to get that "mainstream" audience I guess. Which, to me, defeats the purpose. We aren't beinging OUR gaming world to the mainstream, we're making a new mainstream friendly gaming world. It exists on G4, where gaming is "hyped". So instead of being something new, we're just making gaming same as the old, which is about as exciting as watching your childhood dog get put down. - tgelston, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2I recently watched the OSL July vs Best Starcraft stuff online. I have to say it was enjoyable to watch. I would be into watching some other games from time to time. As others have said it is at least as exciting as poker. I think we will see more of this in the future as gaming becomes even more mainstream.
- Naryuu, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2itll be like hockey. people will go there just for the fights.
- erichw1504, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2sorry dude, I'm married and have long since lost my virginity. maybe i should back off the caffiene a little.
- eSentrik, on 08/07/2008, -1/+3MLG > CGS
- thenoblesheep, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2Maybe it will someday, but certain genres I don't have much faith in. Such as fps games, these really aren't suited for presentation in their current state, and watching these live will likely never be enjoyable, to much twitch action to tell whats happening. I think they should record these matches work with the presentation and get commentators who know their stuff. Fighting games and rts games I think would work better in live situations because their action is focused and easy to follow. In all categories I believe commentators who know their stuff are absolutely necessary, I think that is what will draw people into something as alien as high level gaming. For example, I haven't played a pokemon game since the rby generation, it got weird after that, but recently I searched it on youtube and found competitive matches of the latest generation, I could stomach and actually found myself enjoying those with good commentary. I was being educated on something I knew nothing of, so I could follow the action.
- Ramez05, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2it's possible, i mean there are actually people who watch random people play poker on tv.
- reichg, on 08/09/2008, -0/+1NO because its boring watch CVG on directtv or (sigh) G4 and you will see why
and i really dont get the team coach thing.. " Yeah baby, yeah baby, Oh yeah, bring it" over and over is coaching????? - eSentrik, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1From wikipedia: "On January 14th, 2008, ESPN.com announced it has entered a content agreement with Major League Gaming."
Obviously ESPN is recognizing the potential of professional gaming. - GJ92, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1What about porn?
- MaC505, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1I agree with Scooter. Some exploits actually take skill to use, for example the BXR in Halo 2 or weapon sliding in Gears of War. By hitting the B button (Melee), X (reload), and then R, you can execute a melee and a shot from your Battle Rifle (or any other weapon in Halo 2), instantly killing an opponent. It's typically used in clutch situations when your health is considerably lower then the person you're battling.
Weapon sliding in Gears, you can pick a weapon and automatically slide to the nearest wall, avoiding exposing your self to a possible headshot. - clsslc, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1All sports are lame to watch.
- Slashered, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1If something is 'TL;DR' then don't read (and reply) to it in the first place.
Secondly, although I agree, and I'm the biggest deathmatch fan on the planet, you're not being fair. I don't like WoW or Halo 3 but that has nothing to do with their competitive elements. Your opinion does not define what is happening. - copaceticZ, on 08/09/2008, -0/+1See I don't think you understand 99% of people will never be able to play like I can. I have reaction timing that is so much faster than yours that i could play against 75% of people in halo 3 in FFA and still easily defeat them. The joy of MLG is not the game its the competition between the elite. That is what sports is all about. Videogames will be a sport where men and women can compete equally. That is the draw.
- adiyo011, on 08/09/2008, -0/+1CGS ruined CS:S for me. Freaking 16k sm? Shorter rounds?
That leads to less strategy and changes the way the game is played. I don't mind if Gaming becomes a popular spectator sport but don't dumb it down for the masses. - cptchaos, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Don't forget Starcraft
- themastersb, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1I'm going to go ahead and use Korea as an example which I thought someone already would have and say Yes.
- bipolarruledout, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1Yes, and they will drug test. No, becuase they would drug test.
- bagboyrebel, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1no, you're still wrong, while Asia currently is the location of a lot of the top developers, the industry got it's start in the US back in the Atari days. It wasn't until the NES was released that Japan took over.
- Jeffler, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Hockey, Soccer, Football, and Basketball? (Though I do admit, Baseball can get lame to watch sometimes)
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