Major League Gaming goes big league

In a bid to bring professional video game playing to a broad audience, Major League Gaming has signed a deal to have its entire tournament season broadcast on national cable television, the league said Monday.

The pact, which will result in seven hour-long episodes on the USA Network this holiday season, is only the latest that Major League Gaming has inked. It also announced Monday that it has a new multiyear contract with Boost Mobile, under which that company's mobile phones will feature content.

For three years, Major League Gaming has been trying to build its credibility as a full-fledged league--one it hopes will soon rival the pro poker and auto racing circuits.

"We spent about three years building what is the only professional video gaming league in the country," said Matthew Bromberg, president and COO of Major League Gaming. "We believe that pro-gaming-wise, this will be the next World Poker Tour, the next Nascar and the next action-sports movements...For us, these deals really signify that pro gaming is emerging into the mass market."

Bromberg explained that the MLG is following a well-trod model for forming a new pro league: Build a credible governing body, sign the best players and then strike deals with major sponsors.

"That's what helps the league grow and feeds the machine," Bromberg said. "If you have those pieces, then you can have a major sport."

MLG operates a seven-city pro circuit, which begins next week in New York and ends with a championship in Las Vegas in November, Bromberg said.

More than 1,500 players will compete for the championship in two games: "Halo 2" and "Super Smash Bros. Melee World."

[jacomo]

No PC Games

What a Lame program. If you only are using COnsoles you will die short term. The real gaming platforms are the PC and its power/flexibility.
Sounds like Microsoft has led you guys astray

[TMB333]

Even Grounds for All

I think that the ability to make all players have an even advantage from a hardware perspective means that consoles are the best choice.

The whole power/flexibility of the PC makes maintaining even grounds harder. If I have a PC that is fully tricked out with all of my controls arranged to my liking, and my competitor has a system that is significantly inferior or significantly superior, then how can we be able to test the abilities of the player and not the hardware?

Now, if in a tournament you say, everyone has identical PC's to use, then that would mean that I would have to have an identical tournament PC at home to practice on because I don't want to become accustomed to something at home practicing and then fail miserably when I go to tournament.

Thus consoles make the whole hardware issue a non-issue. All consoles are technically identical to begin with and most people don't have 'tricked out' consoles that would be significantly superior or inferior to each other.

While it is not tehcnically impossible to go the PC route, I think that this 'sport' being in its infancy, will fare better with less issues to have to administrate. In the future as it becomes more successful, then I'm sure PC's will be introduced.

[bruinsensei]

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Check your premises. NPD FunWorld notes that there are tremendously more competitive console players than there are competitive PC gamers. Leaving out PSOnline and simply by virtue of the Xbox Live network, there's never been a singularly larger online gaming community either - much less on that's rated.

I think this view of "PC gaming is the only real platform" is childishly myopic. The growth of competitive console gaming will only bring rise to nationwide competitive PC gaming as well as tastes diversify. What the industry needs is momentum, sponsorship, and marketing and if PC games ride that coattail, who cares who leads the pack whether it's consoles or PC systems.

I'm not in anyway against PC gaming. I just recognize that mass market appeal is always going to lean to the console. You don't see Xzibit or Bobby LaBonte booting up their PC's to play WoW or Painkiller do you?

Funny that you point a finger at "Microsoft" as being the problem. They're the very ones you should be thanking for elevating gaming in general to a level where it regularly gets non-gaming industry news coverage. Before Sony & Microsoft mixed it up, no one in the non-gaming world cared. Now with the development of XNA and the heavy studying from Microsoft Research going into the game theory and the science of gaming (what processor architectures work best, what are the true graphics needs of gamers, what kind of controllers appeal to children versus adults) we're getting some serious investment into a market that's been saddled with a fantastic lack of innovation over the past few years.

As yourself this question: Between PS1 & PS2 - what was really all that different?

[LuckyLoner]

They let 14 year olds play a M rated game?

Doesn't anyone else care that they have young kids playing at these events on a violent game? Isn't the rating on that game Mature (17 and up?), but they allow any age to compete...with out even REQUIRING a guardian to atteand it looks like?? How are they getting away with that, I would have thought Jack Thompson would be all over that...or at least some concerned parents!?! How can they play a game they can not even LEGALLY buy?

[Shad619]

the mlg knows whats its doing

I disagree with your comment because i am an mlg and they put, if your 14 or younger, through alot of paper work and also you have to realize that its the parents decision to or not to let their child run in this event. Im 14 and yes ive played some m-rated games. I should know better than anyone what i had to go through. The other point is that i had to have my parents come with me to one pay for my admission and my forms with her signature.

[Shad619]

the mlg knows whats its doing

I disagree with your comment because i am an mlg and they put, if your 14 or younger, through alot of paper work and also you have to realize that its the parents decision to or not to let their child run in this event. Im 14 and yes ive played some m-rated games. I should know better than anyone what i had to go through. The other point is that i had to have my parents come with me to one pay for my admission and my forms with her signature.