Gamers Unite for Video Game Olympics

The Hobo writes "About 700 of the world's best gamers began battling it out Wednesday, as the fourth annual World Cyber Games got underway in San Francisco. The five-day annual event is a culmination of national competitions held around the world and pits the best players against each other in a variety of widely popular games like Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament, Halo, Starcraft and FIFA Soccer.

Wow

[The-Bus]

The incentive to win is high: in addition to total cash prizes of about $400,000 US, winners get global bragging rights and could go on to professional careers, like Canadian Guillaume Patry. Five years ago, the Quebec-born Patry became the Starcraft world champion and was offered a job as a professional game player in South Korea, initially making about $100,000 a year. His annual salary is now estimated at about $500,000 and, as the star of a Korean Starcraft TV program, he needs bodyguards to protect him from his fans.

Well done. Didn't think there was that much money in videogames.

In other news, the word "Cyber" hasn't been cool since 1988. Please don't use it anymore.

Machines specs ?

[mirko]

So what are the specs of the machines ?

Do the players have to bring theirs or is it considered fairer to have them all use the same ?

Re:Wow

[Lisandro]

Seriously, more power to him. But who exactly pays him a salary? No pun intended, i've always wondered - it seems quite a sum for sponsorship of a relatively niche "sport", and i always thought the ones who decided to try making a living out of computer games aimed at competition prizes as their main income.

And, Starcraft? I know South Koreans are crazy about that game, but still... does people still gather arround to see someone playing it? I always thought that was one of the main problems with "cybersports"; if you play soccer, you're pretty much playing the same way people did 50 years ago. If you play Counterstrike and pour man-hours into it, who knows if you'll still be playing it the near future.

FIFA Soccer is a poor choice.

[jonathan_atkinson]

Why oh why are they playing FIFA?

All true football fans know that Pro Evolution Soccer [pes3.net] is by far the better game, both in terms of realism and depth. Sure, FIFA may have the licenses, but PES is the most accurate simulation, and offers much more competitive and enjoyable multi-player. I for one can't wait for PES4 [gamespot.com], as I believe it'll be playable on XBox Live (and I may even be tempted to purchase an XBox just to play this single game). I could always stick to the PS2 version with a multi-tap and some beers with my mates...

--Jon

I know you're out there

[Moo Moo Cow of Death]

Anyone remember Fatal1ty? Quake player from a long time ago? After winning all those tourney's and being declared Quake champ and all he started up his own little shop selling stuff with his name on it and the ever famous "fat pad" an extremely large mouse pad because of his ultra low mouse sensitivity.

Anyway, he comes by every now and then and hangs out with us and tells us what he does. He plays video games for 8 hours a day to practice and does endorsement deals. That's right, he plays video games for a living (and drives around in a painted alien vs. predator hummer he won).

I only wish I was half that lucky :)

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

"But who exactly pays him a salary?"

Money comes from the audience and sponsors, just like with any other sport.

"does people still gather arround to see someone playing it?"

Yes people are watching games live and on TV.

Many players not allowed to compete

[Anonymous Coward]

Half of the Counter-Strike team from Serbia was rejected, too. No reason given by local embassy, no idea what it could be, as all of them are very young, and there's no notable difference between those who were permited to enter USA and those who haven't. The entire team stayed at home. Maybe next year the tournament should be organized in some country which is more open to visits.

Where's DEE DEE ARR?

[Bega]

I'm kind of, sortof, disappointed at this event and having no Dance Dance Revolution (or other dancing game) competition, while it's name is "Video Game Olympics".

Bemani? Argh!

[bi_boy]

Missing? Three words. Dance Dance Revolution.

Some photos of the Opening Event

[zr-rifle]

I work for the Italian GSP in charge of selecting the our country's national team and sending them to San Francisco. A lot of the hassles came from the young age of the partecipants (some of them only recently turned 18) and the fact that, for the first time, it was going to be a BYOC LAN. For this reason we had a hard time finding sponsors willing to give the team some decent hardware on which to play. We didn't have any luck so the players had to scout ahead and fin a place where to rent some monitors. Good luck in finding a place where to warm up and practice a bit.

Another problem was that the hotel is no way in a decent walking distance from the place where the games will be played. So players not only have to drag along their stuff to the battlefield, but also have to walk quite a bit to get there.

Fortunately, our guys seem to be quite positive about it. It's great to travel so far and represent your country. Even if it's videogames we're talking about. And, believe me, you get pretty popular with girls about the whole thing. "What? You came all the way from Italy to play... videogames? charming!"... hehe, pretty amusing stuff.

Anyway, check out the pics [www.ngi.it]