Pro Gaming Network Television Coverage Begins Sunday

The New York Times has an article on a first for pro gamers: network television coverage of a match. Sunday at noon EDT CBS Sports will be airing coverage of the World Series of Videogames. Events will include Guitar Hero II, Fight Night and World of Warcraft 3v3 Arena combat. The article explores some of the challenges of making gaming understandable on television: "The dollars are already quite mainstream. Americans bought about $13 billion worth of video game systems and software last year, more than they spent at the film box office (around $10 billion). Advertisers for Sunday's broadcast include KFC, Intel and the Marines. But for gaming to make it as a major-network TV sport, the big hurdle will be translating a medium that is by its nature meant to be experienced firsthand into a compelling hands-off spectator experience. It is a task that in some ways is no less daunting than that of the early baseball television producers who eventually realized that a camera way out in center field would provide the best view of pitches." Update: 07/28 23:19 GMT by Z : Fixed day of the weekend the show is on.

Uh, yeah.

[EveryNickIsTaken]

But for gaming to make it as a major-network TV sport...

Hey, I love gaming just as much as the next guy (X360 + PC here.. working on finding a Wii).. but IMHO gaming will never "make it" as a sport. It's just not entertaining enough to watch. Games are fun to play, not watch on TV.

oooh, bitter! ...seriously, keep an open mind...

[fantomas]

oooh, somebody had a hard time on school sports days....

Well, seriously, bullying is a significant and traumatic issue, so I do sympathise with you pal if you had a hard time at school. But don't write off all sports. Keep an open mind and maybe you'll find something which works for you, makes you friends, keeps you fit. Plenty of folks do. One of my best mates at school was "the fat kid" - he left to go to university completely hating sports, came back 3 months later having had a go at scuba diving and loved it. 6 months later and the guy was in great shape, active member of the club, was a heck of a lot lighter, and had a great girlfriend.

Just because you don't like traditional school sports, don't write them all off.

Good luck!

Re:oooh, bitter! ...seriously, keep an open mind..

[geminidomino]

Well, seriously, bullying is a significant and traumatic issue, so I do sympathise with you pal if you had a hard time at school. But don't write off all sports. Keep an open mind and maybe you'll find something which works for you, makes you friends, keeps you fit. Plenty of folks do.

Not the AC, but one should point out that GP wasn't bashing sports. He was bashing WATCHING OTHER PEOPLE play sports...

Re:Uh, yeah.

[prencher]

Korea disagrees.

Oh really?

[Anonymous Coward]

Googled any shooter (Gears?) on Youtube recently? Ever played player versus player in room full of people, or just connected in a common chat on Xbox live? I'm guessing not. All that's needed are the ability to capture the entire match of any game and put and direct a camera anywhere anyway in it. Presto, a resolution of events resolution that no other sport can match.

Re:Uh, yeah.

[UbuntuDupe]

Hey, I love golf just as much as the next guy (working on getting into a country club).. but IMHO golf will never "make it" as a sport. It's just not entertaining enough to watch. Golf is fun to play, not watch on TV.

In non-troll-speak: Sports are covered so heavily because of inertia. A few people like watching it, enough to justify coverage, and people who don't really care about them watch it because hey, it's on. I don't think gaming will be any different.

Horrible game line up.

[ejito]

Guitar Hero II, Fight Night and World of Warcraft

Guitar hero is not really a competitive game, as players are really just playing against a preset sequence, not eachother. It's impressive for a while, but it's more similar to rodeo than head to head competition. Fight Night is hardly competitor quality, especially for a fighting game. I'm assuming it's on the list because of corporate meddling. They could've at least chose a fighting game actively played in leagues, like Super Smash Brothers. World of Warcraft is not balanced enough nor does it have the gameplay for competitive PVP. PVP might be fun, but at a competitive level, class imbalance (which rotates every patch), UI modding, combat skills (especially engineering), terrain imbalance (no projectile clipping), and itemization all play a large factor at an advanced level. Blizzard can make very competitive RTS, but WoW just isn't even close to that caliber.

Re:oooh, bitter! ...seriously, keep an open mind..

[fantomas]

f'sure, point taken, I was picking up on the tone of the post and the fact he noted "stupid games". This suggested to me that the poster had a low opinion of sports in general...

Re:Games on TV

[Panseh]

1) I posted on this point somewhere in this thread. South Korea has two networks regularly broadcasting professional gaming matches and hosting events, full of major sponsors. They were the start of professional gaming. True fans can get it streaming, but why stream it when they can watch it with better quality on network television? Plus streaming is not a substitute for being at a finals event in person; it's like a regular sporting event with rabid fans screaming for their favorite. 2) This is true only for World of Warcraft, which is at it's core an RPG, not a skill-based game. Blizzard must strive to maintain balance for both player vs. player and player vs. environment at the same time, which does not make for an entertaining spectator game. Other games which are skill and strategy based have potential for "epic" moments, even when nobody screws up.

Re:This is no worse

[scottiwantspam]

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