Major League Gaming on TV?

This is going to happen and will work, whether now or a few years from now. It'll take a while to pick up, but it's all about finding the right people for it from the network-TV side. You need commentators who are thoroughly knowledgeable about the game they are talking about, like how the major networks use ex-players for commentary on pro-sports. Tournament matches would be very popular if it's done right. They can't cheapen and marginalize it like most MTV-type programs are done. I used to record BF42 matches that I played via a tv capture card in another PC and my co-workers at my last job would watch whole matches because it was amusing and entertaining to them.

This will probably be the best way to get it going by using console games focused on a few players in a tight area. It'll be extremely difficult to effectively televise games like Battlefield, UT, Halo or even Quake because of the number of players in a given match and how spread out they become. UT's Assault and Bombing Run would be workable because the action is usually concentrated in one or two spots but BF and Quake DM would be more difficult. For games like that, replaying the game from a recorded demo after the fact may be the best bet as then you'll know where the action happens and can have coverage of that area ahead of time on the playback. I really hope this takes off cause I'd really like to be able to watch the top guys/squads battle it out.

Plus game companies could get a huge PR boost from the more casual gamer market because if they flip around and catch a game going on they could find out about some game they didn't know about and see how fun it is. I really believe this could be a big market down the road.

Why would this lame coverage focus on blah console games versus the PC where competitive gaming made its name? Dumb...

I think gaming coverage could work, but it probably needs an spectator viewpoint, not a gamer view. Watching an NFL game from inside a player's helmet would suck, so we zoom out to see the whole field. Then you can see the ebb and flow of the game. And play by play commentary is just crap...

I could see it becoming a digital subscriber channel or something.

I'd rather watch pro gaming on tv than baseball, football, hockey, etc. To each his own I know a lot of ppl love sports but to me watching steamed matches from quakecon, for example, is much more exciting.

I hate watching people play games. I'm proficient enough to play games at a competitive level (not to say I'd win anything), and watching others do what I can do is boring. It would be nice if there were channels where you could tune into a server and even connect to it if you want.

I think one thing that needs to happen is gamer sportsmanship needs to improve. It might be that I've just had unlucky experiences when I've seen pro gaming, but most of these guys feel like they really should be more gracious when they lose. I know modern sports don't set the best example, but it does turn me off when I see that kind of shit. I'd much rather see opponents get along and enjoy their sport/game rather than be vindictive.

This just won't work. I watched the World Cyber Games on HDTV over the weekend. Im a huge fan of competitive Counter-Strike. The show was extremely boring, and everyone involved was quite nerdy and unexciting. It's just boring, and for people who arent into games it must be so much worse.

Levelord likes hookers!

the best part about watching someone kick someone else's ass in video games is knowing that you get to go next.

I think it might be fun to pwn some of my friends on national television...

The problem is that they wont televise games like Starcraft because they aren't X-TREME ENOUGH!

You see how g4 is set up right now with Arena.

Think about it....

If something as retarded as poker can get so mainstream then anything can.

They ran the marketing so well that it drew in a lot of new ppl. Now you have dweebs arguing that poker is a sport and it keeps growing.

Only and ONLY if it is not produced by some MTV video junior producer or some film school lackie who likes to make everything eXXXXtreme to the MAXXXXX.

The games need to be tailored to the new medium in order to be appealing to people who don't already obsess over them. Or, an incredible amount of money needs to be involved like with poker. Old hat favorites like CS won't cut it, older hats like Q3 might though. The camera needs to move in a way that impresses people, and the action needs to be presented in a cinematic way.

The focus also needs to be on the game itself and not on the people involved, don't show shots of nerdy pro-gamers, or attention whoring announcers that don't care about or understand what they're watching. Strategy needs to be clearly broken down and presented, etc.

This shit might happen, but it's not going to have any mass market appeal, and most of us will end up bitching about how it doesn't really 'get' competitive gaming and is just exploitative.

If televised gaming were to work, they need to educate viewers about why people play these games. That could take awhile, maybe a couple years to get a large following. Because we are into games, we understand how they work, but people outside will find it very confusing to learn at first. What makes sports boring is when you don't understand the rules any why so and so did what they did during the game. They also need to learn what skills these gamers possess that normal people don't. The announcers need to very knowledgable about the games too and not just yell excitedly into the mic.

it'll happen. just how extensive it becomes is a matter of speculation, but look at the crud that's on ESPN and ESPN2 during off hours, like spelling bees, darts, bowling, poker, etc.

this'll just be a minor sport until it becomes more popular like how poker recently became in vogue

According to MLG CEO, Michael Sepso, the league has relationships with ESPN and MTV but only for one-off deals, not on-going programming.

Yay, another show for ESPN to play instead of NHL hockey. :-P

Neal Pilson is no Marcus Allan

Seriously, it would totally depend on the types of games they'd play. I am interested in speedrun and super play videos, and good video of fighting games are always fun to watch for me. I still have a copy of the Daigo SF video on my harddrive and I've got a bunch of Smash tournament videos too. I remember watching the Quake CPL that year that Fatty won it over Maka and that was pretty fun too, watching over Quake TV when I could get a spot.

And like someone mentioned, I'm worried about the attitude it might take. It'll probably either be nerdy as hell or fake extreme to the max.

Well, it has got to be better than anything MTV or SpikeTV are doing. Right?

This could be the biggest revolution to the gaming industry since the introduction of dual analog controllers. It could be huge. Change everything. It just needs a proper system to make it entertaining to the non-gaming populace. Like the way they evolved televised poker.

Direct feeds from the gamers' screen (not just an external camera recording it), perhaps the trappings of game shows with big prizes and sizable amounts of cash at stake... perhaps even a live format with audience (internet) participation, aka "With 44% of the internet votes, the audience has selected de_dust for the next round."

I wouldn't watch this unless it was some 2D fighter tournament. It's only fun watching other people play if you're right next to them like in an arcade.

wtf!!

http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?id=11092829

I just found this kinda related:

http://news.com.com/MTV+gets+its+game+on/2100-1043_3-5953454.html?tag=nefd.top

I dont understand how a mag of that calibur could get canceled. I guess the market couldnt support it, and could support the other magazines that had little substance and tons of lame jokes.

I wonder, if NG was reborn, if its success would be any different.

Seems like a no-brainer for a network like G4 to be televising stuff like this. I'd watch...the FPS stuff, anyway...

I wouldn't care for it.

I've seen it before and frankly, it makes me cringe. Watching video games simply doesn't work as a spectator thing. I've heard the "play-by-play" guys describing the action and it just sounds incredibly ridiculous to me.

Sorry.

If they televise Darts and Pool, then why not this? For me I'd love this.

On a side note, is this Next Generation the same company that use to put out the amazing magazine "Next Generation" here in the states?

That was the BEST gaming magazine ever! I totally miss it! The gaming mags wtih the stupid fart jokes and toilet humor kill me.