Professional Gaming League Raises $10M 167
Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "Major League Gaming, aspiring to become the official league of professional videogaming, raised $10 million in funding from Ritchie Capital, and named Matthew Bromberg, the former general manager of Time Warner's Moviefone and AOL Games properties, as president and chief operating officer, the Wall Street Journal reports. 'The championship match for MLG's second season will be held this weekend in New York, where individuals and teams of gamers will battle against others in fighting and shooter games like Microsoft Corp.'s Halo 2 for a total of $100,000 in prizes. ... The company says it is in discussions with various cable networks about deals to have its competitions carried on television. "We want this to be covered as a circuit," said Mr. Bromberg.'"
The Big 3 (Score:4, Interesting)
It is bad enough watching people in real life while waiting for your turn...
The three most boring activities:
Listening to someone describing their dreams
Listening to someone describe their workout routine
Watching someone else play video games.
Seriously- I think that much like building models or programming, playing games is fun if you are doing it, but who wants to watch someone else do it?
Than again people watch poker and golf on TV....
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
But the game matters, and the player matters -- I wouldn't want to watch some slow turn-based RPG, or your average gamer -- it's that much more impressive when you see someone playing a game that you know well, and you watch them when they're completely in the zone -- not some camping lamer.
I can't personally say the same thing about bass fishing, and that makes it on TV.
I'll compare this to the olympics -- watching skilling is much more
Re:The Big 3 (Score:3, Interesting)
Nobody wants to watch football from the helmet cam. Remember those things? I think Fox had them. Novel, interesting, and utterly useless. People want to see aerial views of the action.
To my knowledge, there's not a single competitive FPS out there with a strong observer system that would be well-suited to television.
I watch paintball tournaments on TV when I can catch them. What's fun is watching the strategies, the overall action. Not what player B is seeing as he b
Good point -- (Score:2)
It gives you an opportunity to hear their reactions to the game, as well as see the game from their point of view, with the same resolution (although from a greater distance).
Although I could see some interesting displays foer spectators (quadrants, overhead view of the map w/ all players marked in one, top two player's views in the next two quadrants, and another one cycling between strategic points / player vi
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Video games are designed to be interesting to the player, not to be interesting to watch as a non-player.
Re:The Big 3 (Score:1)
Difference? (Score:1)
{
Watching someone playing baseball on TV or
Watching someone playing chess on TV or
Watching someone playing golf on TV or
Watching someone playing poker on TV or
}
and
{
Watching someone playing computer game on TV?
}
It's just a prejudice!
Re:Difference? (Score:4, Insightful)
Chess is a nuanced game in which those who know the major strategies can perceive the structure of what players are doing, look several moves ahead, and evaluate the game.
IMHO, Golf is pretty freakin' boring to watch, but the body mechanics of a great golf swing (and the billiards-like precision of a long putt) are at least interesting to witness. Also, there's the psychological aspect. A two-stroke leader in a golf match is only a couple of tiny mistakes away from losing the lead, and being a good golfer requires being able to handle the fact that a tiny hitch in just one of your swings could cost you half your income for the year.
Poker on TV is considerable less popular, mainly because most people don't understand the game. The best professional poker players "grind" out their living in straight-up games, but tournament play is what you usually see on TV because it presents the chance of dramatic upsets and "home run" plays.
Video games, on the other hand, are carefully crafted to amuse the people playing them, with no thought given at all to spectator value. If you are wondering why so many of us are scoffing at the idea of televised gaming, go to your local arcade and watch over somebody's shoulder for a half hour. The mind-numbing dullness of what you are doing will tell you everything you need to know about why gaming on TV is doomed.
Re:Difference? (Score:2)
Well said.
Re:Difference? (Score:1)
I watched some of the HLTV (Half-Life TV, a form of spectator mode) of Summer CPL, and for the matches I watched, there were 26000 people on that HLTV watching the same game. I know that may not be millions upon millions of people, however that sounds like an audience to me. A good way of thinking of it is like a French person watching Baseball, or the average american watching cricket, it doesn't seem that interesting, and most people won't watch it. Those who know what's going on, and how important of a p
Re:Difference? (Score:2)
While this is no doubt true I don't think basketball or baseball were originally crafted to entertain millions of spectators.
It's interesting for people to watch these sports because they have become a part of culture and because the majority of spectators tend to play these same games.
Modern games are starting to look less like games and more like movies in many respects.
go to your local arcade and watch over somebody's shoulder for a half hour
Arcade???? I
Re:Difference? (Score:2)
Basketball has changed some rules but it wasn't nearly so popular in the 50s and 60s. You can't underestimate marketing at all. Nor can you determine how some
Re:Difference? (Score:2)
If you filmed me for a whole week, you may be able to get 24 interesting minutes of footage. Then again, it might take a month to get 24 minutes onteresting footage...
Re:Difference? (Score:2)
Except I'd rather watch a high school basketball game than the best Half-life players in the universe square off against each other.
The only problem with gaming as a spectator sport is that you need to have played the game (or a similar one) to understand the skill and tactics involved.
In my prime, I was a Quake god. Seriously, I took great pride in splatt
Re:The Big 3 (Score:5, Insightful)
I think that it's a prerequisite to watching an event that you actually have some experience in participating in a similar event. Otherwise it can be difficult to appreciate what is going on and the level of skill required.
I've watched some pretty cool videos and demos of video game competitions. There's a video floating around of someone who beat Super Mario Brothers 3 in like 2 minutes. I'll bet that if your friend was able to do that while you were waiting for your turn, you might be intrigued! I've seen videos of top Starcraft and Quake players in competition, and it's like they are playing a completely different game.
The best of anything is worth your time.
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
However, there are some really impressive time trials out there, and entire sites are dedicated to them. Seeing a true pro gamer in action can really belittle you, despite the excitement you feel.
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Not true at all. I've loved watching winter sports since I was a kid, and living in the Southwest I haven't had much personal exposure to them. On the other hand I have played basketball and soccer, and would rather watch paint dry than watch either one of those.
Didn't they al
Re:The Big 3 (Score:1)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
I couldn't agree with you more. But what's this "Grand theft auto" thing you're talking about?
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:1)
However, I live in an apartment style dorm with a few friends, and, because of our crazy schedules, much of our best social time is spent watching someone play a game, be it a classic MegaMan or Final Fantasy or some newer hit like Jade Empire, etc. We root for (or against) the player, poke fun at the storylines, chat about (IRL) current events, give play-by-plays for the game
Dreams are fun! (Score:1)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
I had a room mate who had a wikkid dream once. Could have been made into an awesome Shadow Run campaign, or atleast a decent movie.
"Listening to someone describe their workout routine"
I've compared my workout routine with other's numerous times. It can introduce you to new exercises and work out styles. It can also help you find someone with a routine similar to your own that you can work out with.
"Watching someone else play video games."
When I was a kid I used
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
I couldn't believe it when i first arrived back in the uk and was flicking through the channels. ITV2 had extended coverage of big brother. I watched it for 5 minutes trying to understand the appeal.
In that five minutes it flicked back and forward between two scenes. In one scene someone was sleeping. In the other scene someone was sleeping. There was a dramatic moment though, one of
Ghosting can be fun (Score:2)
But when we were playing SoFII on some of the better teams' servers, watching them scrim was actually really rewarding. Watching the little clever tricks people use, or watching their skill, the drama of seeing two opponents cautiously approaching the same corner from opposite sides, seeing the matches where the last man on a team actually manages to chew through half of the other team and win the round...
There are some good things to see flyin
Re:The Big 3 (Score:1)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Imagine a quake-type game where there are, say, 4 teams of 40 people each broken up into squads of 5. This would be very similar to watching an actual war, it would require tactics, leadership and lots of skill.
Whatever the game, the trick will be depicting it in such a way that the viewer can get a good sense of what is going on from all angles, a completely different view than any of the players would have.
Goes along with the reality show I'd rea
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
That is an absurd statement. Did you mean that it may be similar to watching a war movie? I am guessing you were never in the service.... War is often 23 hours and 45 minutes of doing nothing exciting, and 15 minutes, if that, of fighting...
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
And from an observers POV, it would be much more interesting than any of the other crap they have come up with.
But I did mean something that would be a lot more like what you are describing. It probably would end up 23.75 hours of prep and sleeping and eating and the occasional skirmish when the oppertunity presents itself, all edited down to a nice
Re:The Big 3 (Score:2)
Listening to someone describing their dreams
Wow, you are a selfish prick. If you listen to women talk about their dreams more you might get laid more! At least PRETEND you are not bored!
Than again people watch poker and golf on TV....
I find TV poker to be very meditative - I like all the real-time statistics of who has the best chance to win!
South Korea? (Score:4, Insightful)
If we are trying to be like South Korea, I would rather have in home fiber to more homes then just what verizon offers in the NE
Re:South Korea? (Score:1)
ok (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:ok (Score:2)
Current videogames not good for watching (Score:2)
But it would be very different from current video games (it wouldn't just be "Halo, but displayed on a lot of screens), and probably would be a lot less fun for the players to play. Consider how American football's rules get tweaked periodically -- that's not to make the game more fun for the players, but to make it more entertaining to watch.
Among other things:
*) You probably want some kind of "edge" or advantage that goes back or forth.
Re:Current videogames not good for watching (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I've seen something like this before (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I've seen something like this before (Score:2)
Re:I've seen something like this before (Score:1)
I wonder if, after "Major League Gaming" bites it, people will reminisce fondly about that zany dark-horse favorite, "He Frag Me"?
Re:I've seen something like this before (Score:1)
Oh, great (Score:1)
Whose dumb idea was professional gaming, anyhow? We make enough people rich and arrogant for being able to play inconsequential games as is.
Re:Oh, great (Score:2)
Dang, just barely too long to be a sig... Seriously though, exactly what i was thinking.
I want in on that... (Score:1)
"That's what makes it a sport" - ??? (Score:2, Insightful)
"That's what makes it a sport," says Mr. Sepso. "It's not chance. It's really based on skill."
No, that's what makes it a game, though he did narrow the definition a bit by stating that Halo, et al are not games of chance.
game n.
1. An activity providing entertainment or amusement; a pastime: party games; word games.
2. 1. A competitive activity or sport in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules: the game of basketball; the game of gin rummy.
Yes, 2.1 ment
Re:"That's what makes it a sport" - ??? (Score:2)
Re:"That's what makes it a sport" - ??? (Score:2, Interesting)
In defense of gaming as a sport.. (Score:1)
Re:In defense of gaming as a sport.. (Score:1)
Re:In defense of gaming as a sport.. (Score:2)
How many of those who claim that tapping on a keyboard is physical exertion get winded walking up a single flight of stairs?
What differs between a game and a sport (Score:2)
Re:"That's what makes it a sport" - ??? (Score:1)
Similar to Winston Churchill's... (Score:2)
So what's your take on Golf?
My take on golf is rather similar to Winston Churchill's:
"Golf - the best way to spoil a good walk"
I see golf as a game. Using carts is faster, but that spoils the walk even further. Not using carts (and carrying one's own bag) is more like exercise but I still would not consider it a sport.
eh (Score:2, Interesting)
Fantastic (Score:1, Flamebait)
Oh Yay. (Score:1)
I had enough of this MLG crap when I was playing Halo 2. I hope they stay there while the rest of us move on to other games.
Really? (Score:5, Informative)
And when people compete in CPL games they tend to play better games than HALO... I'd say professional gamers by and large consider HALO a complete joke, as they will this league.
Re:Really? (Score:1)
Re:Really? (Score:1)
Re:Really? (Score:2)
Re:Really? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Really? (Score:1)
Lol (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Lol (Score:2)
Starcade (Score:2)
Re:Starcade (Score:1)
There is a reason why people watch "boring" sports like golf and that is because they get to see the cream of the crop. It would suck to sit through 2 hours of amateur golf where no-one can break 110 let alone come near par. Where watching Tiger Woods light up a course can be fun
bleh (Score:1)
Let me be the first to say... (Score:2)
BOOM! HEADSHOT!! [purepwnage.com]
What happened to the other $9,400,000??? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What happened to the other $9,400,000??? (Score:2)
Re:What happened to the other $9,400,000??? (Score:2)
Rule number one: Profit!
Rule number two: See Rule number one.
Re:What happened to the other $9,400,000??? (Score:2)
Re:What happened to the other $9,400,000??? (Score:2)
spectator computer games? (Score:2)
The watching of the game doesn't have to 100% live, it could be delayed. I'm thinking a server simply ships all the commands going on in a game to a replica, or several replicas that then can have many cameras attached. Major matches could have millions wanting to watch, and mostly live.
On top of that you'll want commentators. Replay and a lot of other things to re
Re:spectator computer games? (Score:1)
Re:spectator computer games? (Score:2)
This has been done, and done, and done before.
Five years ago, I was watching my clanmates in matches using the QuakeTV mod (one or two spectators join in as the camera, and they would flip between views in a CTF match).
The spectators would just join a mirroring server, with like max_clients set to 128 (or whatever it could handle).
The real problem here is one of interest. It is only interesting to watch a game if you know something about the game. I find football and soccer to be dreadfully boring, primar
The Wizard! (Score:2, Funny)
What about RTS games? (Score:1)
Re:What about RTS games? (Score:1)
Funding? How? (Score:1)
Perhaps, now they'll pay their debts... (Score:1)
something else to fill time between commercials (Score:1, Funny)
Re:something else to fill time between commercials (Score:2)
If you want proof just turn on NBC any evening this week.
- Show a couple of skiers
- Do a 10 minute personal story about one of them who happens to look good on TV
- Show a couple of skaters
- Show 10 minutes of a staged argument between them
- Flash 1 second clips of all the sports you'll never see on the broadcast channel
- Cut to studio where a couple of people are talking about something totally uninteresting
- Show a couple more skiers
- 10 minute story
If you doubt that this won't work..... (Score:4, Insightful)
World Poker Tour
Poker: Exactly my first thought as well. eom (Score:1)
Enough Bashing! (Score:2, Insightful)
Where are the good old games? (Score:2, Insightful)
I could get into it. (Score:1)
Awards (Score:3, Interesting)
What I would like to see, instead of watching people play games on TV, is an actual awards body for the gaming industry that isn't a complete joke. You know, something like the gaming equivalent to the Oscars or Grammy's. Not that SpikeTV bull crap.
I think there is a lot to be said for the people that make some of the best games every year. Not to mention, lifetime achievment awards for greats like Shigeru Miyamoto, etc.
I'm still shocked that with as much money as the videogame industry pulls in each year, we still don't have an awards body like that. Or if there is, why it isn't being broadcast on national TV each year.
Gaming CAN be interesting to watch... (Score:2, Interesting)
The Beast is Unleashed! [google.com]
Even people with a mild interest in Street Fighter can appreciate the skill that took.
Re:Would it kill you to spell the headline right? (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Time Warp! (Score:2)
You're off by a couple of decades. This was done with the Atari 2600 back in te '80s - it was a flop. Nobody wants to watch OTHER people playing video games on TV.
Hey, give me $10,000,000 and I'll be happy to go through the trashpile of history looking for the next money pit.
Re:Time Warp! (Score:2)
Nobody wants to watch other people playing Atari 2600 video games on TV. But I think there might be some interest in competitive FPS like Q1, Q3A, or CS.
You haven't seen Q3A if you haven't seen demo videos of some of the best players in the world. What these guys accomplish is borderline magic. Eg., keeping other people mid-air for a couple of sec
Re:This is even too nerdy for me (Score:2)
Parent post- with formatting this time! (Score:2)
This might be a troll, but I'll bite... I have to ask, what is it about going outside, getting a tan, and bruising oneself that is so important to growing up? (Aside from a using a stereotype to bash gamers with, that is?) What is so great about taking a football up and down what amounts to a backyard marked with spraypaint in an attempt to get it into a little colored area at the end? Or putting a basketball through a round hoop? Or usi