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Will Gaming Ever Become a Popular Spectator Sport?

1up.com — Pressing buttons, participating, interacting, doing stuff -- what makes a game a game dies when you pass the controller. How will professional gaming leagues ever manage to turn something that nongamers and girlfriends around the world dread -- spending Friday night watching someone play a videogame -- into compelling entertainment?

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  • artfuldodga, on 08/06/2008, -4/+7I doubt it, not unless there is some sort of physical aspect to the gameplay
    • Jvskill, on 08/07/2008, -1/+0I think everybody is ready for the Deathball Arena....
    • TheUngod, on 08/07/2008, -2/+2It never will because there is nothing amazing that can only be seen live. Any amazing gaming feat can be seen on video just as well as real life. Unless of course, you love to watch thumbs move back and forth.
    • Naryuu, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2itll be like hockey. people will go there just for the fights.
    • 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.
    • Wriggle, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Here's something proving otherwise.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7cW2nMf1gk
    • 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?????
  • 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.
    • Buelldozer, on 08/06/2008, -1/+5It's been a popular spectator sport in U.S. basements for close to three decades!
    • jerrycurley, on 08/07/2008, -6/+0yeah, uhhhh...no it hasn't. A few virgins with nothingbeter to do on a Friday night watching their equally loserish friends play games does not make it a "populat spectator sport".
    • bagboyrebel, on 08/07/2008, -0/+12Maybe not in the US, but it's huge in Korea.
    • MasterGrief, on 08/07/2008, -0/+5http://xkcd.com/37/
  • 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.
    • skipdog172, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0you mean south korea?
    • DarthDiabetes, on 08/07/2008, -0/+3North America needs more tentacle rape porn.
  • eggsovereasy, on 08/06/2008, -5/+5You have a false premise... gaming is not a sport.
    • 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.
      • eggsovereasy, on 08/07/2008, -1/+1I didn't say NASCAR was a sport.
      • slimthps, on 08/07/2008, -3/+1Is chess a sport? No.
        Is gaming a sport? No.
        Is NASCAR a sport? Yes.
      • jerrycurley, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2If you tried racing a NASCAR car around a track, you would be dead in the first hour. Just so you know. And I am not talking about crashing the car.
      • 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.
      • palehorse864, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1Hmm. So the best thing is have professional gamers play for hours in a heated room. Maybe crank up the heat to 103, 104 or more and then see who focuses and wins in the end.
      • patriotsfan82, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1I wasn't trying to imply that you said nascar was a sport, but most people seem to consider it one, So I thought I would use it as a comparison.

        And to those who said NASCAR is tough physically, I don't think I consider moving your upper body in high temepratures too demanding. Doesn't mean I could go out today and do it, but that doesn't mean its incredibly difficult. Like palehorse said, if driving in extreme heat makes you an athlete, lets make these gamers play Forza in a greenhouse in texas and marvel at their amazing athleticism.

        Yeah, right.
    • scooterbaga, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1If there's any sort of competition it can be called a sport. And NASCAR is actually very physical. It takes some serious stamina to do what they do.

      Not even a fan FTR, just saying.
    • Katana314, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1I'd say it only counts if it has significant physical exertion. For that, NASCAR counts, but not gaming.
  • AwesomeInTheory, on 08/06/2008, -3/+10Girlfriends and Little Brothers of the world: "It already is."
    • solesoul, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2As an older brother and boyfriend...sorry bout that.
  • MrG021, on 08/06/2008, -4/+3Yeah.. just as soon as someone makes a videogame that requires observable natural ability.
    Otherwise what am I supposed to be watching?
    Click click...clickclick...click...
    *cheer* "Click harder team Pwnzor!"
  • tykwondingo, on 08/06/2008, -5/+4It is in Asia. Specifically Thailand. If I'm not mistaken they have HUGE Starcraft Tournaments.
  • 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?
    • scooterbaga, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0I totally agree on the personal camera angles, etc.

      However, those 'exploits' you mention aren't hacks or cheats, and are available to anyone playing the game... so technically it's still fair and still a test of skill.
    • 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.

    • Mavital, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0I see what patriots is saying. For it to become popular, normal users need to be able to relate to the play style. If players are doing things that were clearly not intended by the developers, it seems to make the experience a bit "cheap".

      Its like watching the damn bunny hopping in counter-strike. No normal player could do it, so it is VERY frustrating to watch a whole team do this ridiculous, unintended exploit to move faster across the map. Compare that to a player who has almost-robot type accuracy... He is playing the game as intended and not exploiting any weakness to be better than the normal player, only his ability to aim faster and more precisely than the rest.
  • 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.
  • FlyingPhotog, on 08/07/2008, -2/+10Gaming is like golf: fun to participate, lame to watch.
    • clsslc, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1All sports are lame to watch.
      • Jeffler, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Hockey, Soccer, Football, and Basketball? (Though I do admit, Baseball can get lame to watch sometimes)
  • Exodin, on 08/07/2008, -1/+2Awesome article.
  • sock2828, on 08/07/2008, -2/+14It's a hell of allot better than watching baseball!
    • jerrycurley, on 08/07/2008, -6/+0you have an allotment of time to watch?

      (Seriously...it is a ***** THIRD GRADE vocabulary word little boy. allot is not a lot.)
      • versualize, on 08/07/2008, -0/+4You're just an *****.
      • 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!
      • jerrycurley, on 08/08/2008, -1/+0***** sock. You did not misspell it is. You don't put allot as a typo to a lot. (Oh, and "missed spelled"?)

        Hey, no problem. It just further proves my point that the majority of diggers are indeed 12 years old, and have a BELOW average intelligence for that age.
    • sock2828, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1Actually my I.Q. is above average
      I just looked at your profile you have 12 diggs no freinds and over a thousand comments almost all of them are negative go back to youtube you prick
      • jorichter, on 08/10/2008, -0/+0Tell it like it is.

        He also has numerous spelling mistakes and no idea a basic sentence structure.

        He also complains about Digg non stop and yet he uses it.

        We have a word for people like that: *****.

        Sorry about the language but if the shoe fits...
  • chaosblade77, on 08/07/2008, -0/+6Depends on the games... fighting game tournaments can be fun to watch.
  • 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
  • susanleefrnds, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0dugg gaming popular..
  • 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.
    • MasterGrief, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Doesn't Steam have something like that for its games? I know Forza does, but it's racing, so that's not too hard.
  • SportsAnna, on 08/07/2008, -0/+4flashbacks of the movie 'The Wizard'...
  • Mike668, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Maybe it will when the figure out a way to set up an observer system that doesn't give the average viewer motion sickness.
  • SteelChicken, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1ask Koreans about starcraft. After TaeKwonDo, its their national sport.
  • Scopitone, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Entertaining and informed commentators are vital.
  • Coffeedemon, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0Speaking only for myself but the audience in my living room seemed quite taken with my singing of Number of the Beast at our last Rock Band night.
  • 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.
  • 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.
    • ShadowMarth, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Much more exciting than poker. See game three when July pumped out all those instantaneous Ultralisks and the crowd took a collective gasp? Amazing.
      • versualize, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Game 3 was pretty epic. I was rooting for Best all along, but July finally got around all those psi storms, so he deserved it.
  • VinnieDaMac, on 08/07/2008, -4/+2Unlike real sports, anyone can play videogames and playing videogames will always be more fun than watching it.
    • 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.
  • mdnghtblue, on 08/07/2008, -1/+2if curling is a spectator sport, /anything/ can be.
    • jerrycurley, on 08/07/2008, -2/+1You ever actually watch curling?

      Nahhh...didn't think so.
      • mdnghtblue, on 08/08/2008, -0/+2yep. i have. i'd rather watch chess.
  • erichw1504, on 08/07/2008, -1/+1Mario Kart World Series, eff-tee-dub!!!
    • jerrycurley, on 08/07/2008, -1/+1eff-tee-dub...oh man...I am so sorry. I hope you have resigned yourself to the fact that you will die a virgin.
      • 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.
  • longbomberz, on 08/07/2008, -6/+1I like playing video games, but if watching others play them ever becomes really popular it will be a sad day for this world.
  • nardokid, on 08/07/2008, -1/+2buried because it already is. There are huge tournaments in Korea for Star Craft.
  • ericthegreat, on 08/07/2008, -4/+2Nope, video games are meant to be played, not watched.
  • Pinmonkey555, on 08/07/2008, -3/+1Personally I get pissed watching them. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that someone gets rich and makes a living doing something that I've done every day of my life since childhood.
    • Exodin, on 08/07/2008, -1/+2and yet you're no where near as good.

      The naysayers are just the pricks with gaming egos.
  • stevebaseball, on 08/07/2008, -4/+1It already is a spectator sport...just not in America. 1up.com have you ever even been to Asia? Where video games were INVENTED? They fill up stadiums... What a terribly self-centered, uninformed article.
    • 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?
    • stevebaseball, on 08/07/2008, -2/+0Wikipedia isn't the definitive-source on life. Although I should have rephrased - they were first developed in Asia, not invented. I stand corrected.
      • 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.
  • Ramez05, on 08/07/2008, -0/+2it's possible, i mean there are actually people who watch random people play poker on tv.
  • 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.
  • 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.
    • eSentrik, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Thank God I bookmarked that SpeedRead applet that was on Digg recently...
      Good post though!
    • dvinnen, on 08/07/2008, -2/+1I've been following eSports for several years now and can now say it will never take off outside of Sweden and South Korea. have you actually watched a CGS event on TV? It is horrible and an insult to gamers. The camera shots and flashing lights are just plain bad. Just look at the CS:Source event. The damn thing is shot in 3rd person view and the player models have retarded jerseys on.

      As it is, eSports had it's best chance in 2005 during the CPL world tour. It featured a really fast paced and action packed game in Painkiller. It also had drama between who was #1 (Fatality or vo0) and plenty of other great players that could push them. The events were also backed up with some of the best CS of all time.

      Sponsors have forced pro gamers to switch to bad games like CS:Source (is there even a good 1v1 game out now?) which is completely uninteresting to watch. You also can't tell me that there is anything worth watching in a WoW or Halo3 match.

      TL;DR: Current games blow, need a good deathmatch game, CGS is retarded.
      • 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.
    • FFXIfrohike, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Yeah that post took a whopping 60 seconds to read!

      SpeedRead? Are you kidding me?
  • Spetz, on 08/07/2008, -2/+1CGS is just a terribly bad gaming event. If you want to see the potential gaming has as a spectator sport, watch something like ESWC q3 and CS 1.6 events -they're are huge and intense to watch. CGS is terribly done and overly commercialised, not to mention the fact that the games it plays are terrible. The games that CGS utilised are not the best to showcase the potential that professional gaming has. Pretty clueless article to be honest. The author does not know much about gaming.
    • Exodin, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Did you read the article? No... skimming doesn't count.
  • eSentrik, on 08/07/2008, -1/+3MLG > CGS
  • 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.
    • dvinnen, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1I have yet to see anything on ESPN about gaming except a special on Team3D about 3 years ago and the absolutely horrible Madden Nation ***** they show at midnight.
    • eSentrik, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Check out their website.
  • 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.
  • kiwimonk, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1Ha, everyone seems pretty biased on this, but I'd say the answer is yes that it will become a spectators sport.. When the players are hooked up in suits.. and we make them battle like Gladiators. Done deal. Count me in!
  • 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.
  • LoudMusic, on 08/07/2008, -1/+2I enjoy watching other people play, if they don't suck.
  • zunkus, on 08/07/2008, -1/+1No it never will. Who wants to watch some jerks play video games? Play them yourself. It's not like watching sports where there is actual action and drama.
    • DJMattB241, on 08/07/2008, -1/+0in what way does an intense FPS CTF game not have action and drama, you small minded bigot?
    • njen, on 08/11/2008, -1/+0Um it already is, regardless of what you think.
  • gardianz, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0I gotta answer this question with a couple of pictures: http://www.eswc.com/info/resources_media

    Check them out and the answer will be obvious...
  • DJMattB241, on 08/07/2008, -0/+0What would be interesting, and what I think they need to do for a first person shooter (my favorite type of competitive game) to be a spectator sport is to find a way to spectate in an interesting and useful way. All the tourneys I've ever seen (granted, not that many) have had just snippets of when one dude would kill another, and then the camera snaps to another guy, follows him around, snaps to another guy... if you don't know the map intimately, you have no CLUE what's happening.

    I've seen some really fantastic and dramatic turn-arounds in VCTF UT3 games, but I'm not sure how to best capture that on film, you know?
  • Fleagleman, on 08/07/2008, -1/+0No. Of course not. Would you watch people sit around and play Scrabble, Battleship, or Monopoly? At the end of the day, regardless of what's going on in the game, it's still just people sitting in a chair with headsets staring at a monitor. That's not exciting.
  • cottonThePirat, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1I agree with the comments about anyone being able to play. I can't go onto a football field and throw a touchdown pass, but I can play Madden. I can play football with my friends, but the excitement of TV(or in person) sports is to watch someone much much better than I would ever be, and I can appreciate that. I don't think I could ever watch a Halo tourney and think "Wow, awesome head shot!" Hi fives around the room.
    • njen, on 08/11/2008, -0/+0But you can go on a football field with your friends and throw a touchdown pass, you are comparing apples to oranges. If you want to compare the amateur gaming you do with your friends, you should be comparing that to the amateur football you play with your friends. I have no doubt that you would lose to any pro-gamer in their chosen area of expertise...
  • duke3k, on 08/07/2008, -1/+1The answer is no as long as incompetent east coast companies are running it--like mlg. If I were to suddenly drop out of college and start a company doing professional gaming, the answer would be it'd be bigger than the World Poker nonsense was for a while there, but I have better things to do.
  • NiGHTSChao, on 08/08/2008, -1/+1I sure as hell hope not
    We have enough idiotic poser-gamers thanks
  • britoca, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1South Korea man...
  • bipolarruledout, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1Yes, and they will drug test. No, becuase they would drug test.
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