Coming soon to a television near you: Major League Gaming. That’s “gaming” as in, video games. There’s a professional league for video game players, and they’ve got a deal with the USA Network… which already kinda puts them ahead of the NHL. But something still feels dirty about this… it just feels like we’ve gone too far. I love video games as much as anyone, but… watching someone else play them? I would feel bad for wasting that portion of my life.
That said, however… if there’s a Madden championship on at some point… I’m probably watching. I watched Madden Nation on ESPN, a series that followed the best Madden players in a bus, going from city to city and playing each other until a champion was crowned. I watched it. I enjoyed it. I developed rooting interests. I can deny none of this. It happened.
“We believe that pro-gaming-wise, this will be the next World Poker Tour, the next NASCAR and the next action-sports movements,” said Matthew Bromberg, president and COO of Major League Gaming. “For us, these deals really signify that pro gaming is emerging into the mass market.”
Calm yourself, pal. I mean, I hope you succeed, and congatulations on the TV deal, but at the end of the day, you’re still talking about trying to get people to watch dorks sit and play videogames. The odds are stacked against you. To most people, that’s just one step up from the National Playing With Yourself While Browsing Internet Porn League.
The only games mentioned in this article are “Halo 2″ and “Super Smash Bros. Melee World,” and I’m not familiar with either game.
JOBS
You’re going off tonight MJD. I don’t think this will last very long on USA, but it might have a place on the G4 channel or something crazy like that. Hopefully it doesn’t make a NASCAR movement or WPT, I think a lot of young kids would drop out and be an on-line special forces dweeb.
April 18, 2006 at 2:07 am
CheeseheadPete
Say hello ARMAGEDDON!!
April 18, 2006 at 4:59 am
Todd
G4 has already given up on the gaming thing and now just shows Star Trek and the Man Show, and they’re the video game network channel.
The problem with trying to reach this demographic is that they are too busy PLAYING video games to watch television about video games. Way to understand your market.
April 18, 2006 at 6:00 am
Brett
This stuff is already huge in Japan and Korea. There’s a pro gaming tour, and the top nerds collect pretty big checks.
April 18, 2006 at 9:14 am
J.E. Skeets
“50,000! You scored 50,000 points on Double Dragon?”
CheeseheadPete you are a fuckin’ genius. Best. Movie. Ever.
April 18, 2006 at 10:34 am
Kn8
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, select, start. Nobody can stop me now.
April 18, 2006 at 10:52 am
Adam
Wait, you’ve never heard of Halo? Really?
Also, yeah, Madden Nation was kinda awesome.
April 18, 2006 at 10:53 am
max power
good christ, somebody bring back Slamball already.
April 18, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Unsilent Majority
skeets, check it out
http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/NES/
April 18, 2006 at 2:21 pm
HuangKong
“Yeah, well, uh, just keep your Power Gloves off her, pal, huh?”
April 20, 2006 at 9:16 am