Using Money As Incentive For Competition On Consoles?

MTV's Multiplayer blog reports on a company about to start offering a service that will allow players to compete in matches and tournaments over their PS2, PS3, or Xbox 360 with real money as a prize. Doing so will, of course, require entry fees, but the contests are set up and opted into by the players themselves. Quoting: "To prevent cheating, the company has access to the game data and promises a knowledgeable in-house customer support team. There's also a reputation and feedback system, which Levy compared to eBay, that will allow gamers to make informed decisions about who they're playing against. ... [Company co-founder Billy Levy] ultimately thinks World Gaming will open up the field for gamers who want to make money from games but can't make it to live competitions due to the expense or having to take time off from work or school.

Re:What's going to kill this first?

[Fluffeh]

I dare say none of those three.

It's not gambling - unless they try to add gambling on outcomes by non participants, which I think would be very unlikely, and the article gave no mention of this.

Tax revenue could possibly do it, but given the steady flow of money into the events through players, they should be able to keep local taxes paid if needed.

Federal Revenue, possibly but also unlikely, see above.

If you ask me, what's going to kill this is getting people to play for real money.

Thnk about the following:
Would I pay to play the same games that I can play for free?
Would the average games who plays too much really have the cash/incentive to whip out a credit card and play the same stuff in a competition?

Personally, I wish em luck, but just can't see this sustaining itself for too long at all.

Re:This story makes no sense.

[TheRaven64]

Now you mention it, getting rid of the Olympics does have a certain appeal...