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Paid to Play Video Games
acehole writes "This would have to be every gamer's dream, to get paid for playing games. In South Korea gaming has taken off to an extent that companies sponsor gaming teams (some earn up to $100k per year) to play games up to 12 hours a day."
Over at Penny Arcade they are talking about little girls who make money renting their virtual asses out on Sims Online. And not play money either, real money.
Not the same thing... or is it?
(And here I was feeling guilty over being a karma whore.)
Is this truly the only Earth I can live on?
Wasn't there a guy in South Korea who died after playing a game for a whole weekend?
I guess gaming must be really big in South Korea, otherwise I don't see why you should sponsor people.
Yes you need skill. Look at fatal1ty, he makes a living off of Quake 3 (maybe a new game now?) and is a spokesman for Id. Whatever he plays, all the kids buy, or download from Kazaa.
www.fatal1ty.com
In case anybody is tempted to RTFA, here's a synopsis.
1) Guy finds out he can get paid to play games, can't believe his luck.
2) Guy discovers that he is actually expected to play all the time, and very, very well, in order to keep getting paid.
3) Guy stresses out under the pressure and ponders his sorry fate.
I say, quit your crying, kid! You should come over to the US of A, and see how talented youth are really exploited...
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
I heard in Korea they broadcast computer games over cable tv, with comentators and the full suite.
"It seems Li-hun should have sent a few more Zergs to that narrow pass, what do you think John ?"
"You are right, now watch as the Protoss break through in a classic destroy-the-Hatchery offensive. He used this in last year's finals to great effect."
"Right -- but wait -- Li Hun opened up a second front down in the SE corner of the map !"
(...)
I never did watch such a thing on TV here in the west, but I guess it would be interesting to see some pro-guys playing a game which I have tried to master, and figuring out how they think.
Once that happens, well, sponsors are the natural next step.
Quem a paca cara compra, paca cara pagará.
The article's framed as a look at the time since the Korean war, so the modern "PC bang" culture in the South makes a nice contrast. Detail:
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
I play everquest, pretty much at a competitive level , that is I've been playing for 4 years and have multiple high lvl characters. In the time I've been online, I've watched public opinion of 'ebaying' go from being loathed, to accepted, to welcomed (by the players). I never bought or sold virtual items over ebay, BUT, I know several players who have to great success. In fact the guy that owns monkly business (a game information site) is reputed to turn 7-figures through his player auction store that sells in game money for real world money. I also seem to rememeber some sweatshop named blacksun entertainment that was farming out the 'work' of playing everquest to china, where they had like 30 employees that farmed items all day long for sale.
What I find interesting is the different approach the koreans have to the western 'under the table' idea. The korean channels broacast Lineage, warcraft, starcraft, and several other types of games on multiple tv channels with full commentary. I don't know, but I'd bet that online auctions of lineage crap are known and accepted as well. It seems like here we still believe that games are for kids, and that the resale of virtual items or profiting from gaming is some kind of taboo. What's funny is that this is the classic setup for something that's destined to be 'cool' and accepted in the future (starts as a taboo).
I'm betting that its only a matter of time before this becomes the norm in the US as well. I know it seems alien, but most folx who have played the high end (or aspired too) of these games knows that it CAN be entertaining to watch how people setup strategies and outthink the environments. The next generation of Blizzard game (world of Warcraft) has the potential to bridge this gap between the us and the koreans quite quickly, and I'll be interested to see if these 'odd' parts of their culture don't become more common here as well.
see you online - chitlenz
Imagination is the silver lining of Intelligence.
I heard in Korea they broadcast computer games over cable tv, with comentators and the full suite.
Ok, call me a geek but I think I would actually find this interesting. Of course, they'd have to be able to freely spectate within the game so that they could fully show the audience what was going on. And I actually want them to talk to the participants and get the lowdown on what their strategy is for the current game. Of course, this means you can't let the other team overhear them.
I'm thinking Iron Chef meets Starcraft, only without the constant use of fish.
Mechanik
I was just talking to my partners in a retail store we own about this fear... We provide skateboards, paintball supplies, and BMX equipment -- all mostly outdoor sport.
We've seen sales in these markets slide a bit (of course helped by Internet companies) which I can partially attest to the fact that a lot of our regulars spend much of their afternoons with video game systems rather than going outside.
As each year progresses, I see more and more fat and lethargic kids who have less and less desire to really do anything. I remember my days (I'm 30) of video games back with Atari and Intellivision and Coleco, and they rarely occupied more than an hour an evening, if that. Sleepovers might be all night of video gaming, but those were rare too. We preferred skateboarding or laser tag in the evenings.
My thought the other day was that we'd soon see corporations sponsoring video game teams like my shop sponsors skate, BMX, and paint teams. This article brings that fear to fruition.
Of course, this is what the market wants, so I support the decisions that those people make, even if I disagree with the general movement. I just hate seeing kids en masse dropping any kind of athletic activity because of laziness. New video games ARE cool looking, but nothing woos the young ladies better than extreme sports!
It's that old addage. Never turn your favorite hobby into your job. It'll stop being your hobby and it'll stop being your favorite thing todo.
Yeah, 'cause look at all those programmers who get a job doing it, then hate programming and quit doing it. Oh, wait, that doesn't happen very often.
Well, look at the kids who love to play football, then wind up in the NFL, hate football and quit playing. Oh, wait, that doesn't happen very often.
Well, look at all the guys who love to fly, then get jobs as commercial pilots, so they hate flying and quit. Oh, wait, that doesn't happen.
Every example I can think of where people turn an avocation into a vocation, it's by and large their dream job.
Wait, I know; what about that guy who started a little geek news web site, then get hired by big software companies to run it and decided he hated it and shut it down.
My first professional publication was a review of Myth II for Computer Gaming World, which was published in April 1999. In order to write it and make my deadline, I had to play Myth II from start to finish - in a week.
I literally spent 8 hours a day for five days playing that game. By the second day, my eyes were burning at the end of the day. Once I finished playing it, I put it down, and to this day I have never played it again. I've played Myth I, but never Myth II.
Robert B. Marks
Author, Demonsbane in Diablo Archive
They don't just play video games in Korea. There are over 250 BOARDGAME cafes in Soeul alone, where people meet and _pay_ to play boardgames. Not Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit, but so-called Euro- or designer boardgames like those shown on Spielboy.com or Boardgamegeek.com.
-nd
I don't care too much about the commentary, I'm more curious as to how they take patches, updates, and balance changes. Is abusing a bug grounds of disqualification? If an update causes a big enough change in the game, are matches suspended for a certain period of time until players can reorientate themselves? Is there any concern regarding certain unit balances in the game? (ie. If a balance change in Starcraft fu*ks up a pro's strategy, is that player allowed to withdraw from the league/tournament without penalties?)
If I had the money, I would gladly hire "Morimoto" to do nothing but create more of "Time Attack Videos" like the ones floating around for Super Mario Bros 3 and Megaman 2.
Watching someone tear through a classic game you used to spend hours on as a kid and go from start to finish in under 30 minutes has got to be worth $100K/year.
Remember him? Way back when, he was the red-headed guy who was reportedly "Played video games for a living." He was employed by Nintendo. He was basically a pro-games advocate.
"Why do you think video games make children violent?"
"They don't."
"Let's try again. Why do you think video games make children violent?"
"They don't.
And now, for a sig that's a complete copout.
No huge shocker. It'd be like someone saying hey wanna get paid to throw that ball around back in 1900.
:P
Look where baseball and football are today.
Maybe all these hours of rtcw enemy territory will pay off
Myself, and many other people in the counterstrike community, smoke weed and take pills to fuel long sessions of late night counterstrike. I have read articles about this in various places, exploring the connection between counterstrike and drugs. it is an interesting take on "doping" in proffessional sports. Will you lose your sponsorship if they catch you taking speed or smoking weed? ZERG RUSH KEKEKEKE