Gamers Unite for Video Game Olympics

The Hobo writes "About 700 of the world's best gamers began battling it out Wednesday, as the fourth annual World Cyber Games got underway in San Francisco. The five-day annual event is a culmination of national competitions held around the world and pits the best players against each other in a variety of widely popular games like Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament, Halo, Starcraft and FIFA Soccer.

Comments

Should be a great tournament

[dnixon112]

Despite some early rumors of accomodation problems, this should be a great tournament. Here's some pics of the opening ceremony.
Gallery 1 Gallery 2

Wow

[The-Bus]

The incentive to win is high: in addition to total cash prizes of about $400,000 US, winners get global bragging rights and could go on to professional careers, like Canadian Guillaume Patry. Five years ago, the Quebec-born Patry became the Starcraft world champion and was offered a job as a professional game player in South Korea, initially making about $100,000 a year. His annual salary is now estimated at about $500,000 and, as the star of a Korean Starcraft TV program, he needs bodyguards to protect him from his fans.

Well done. Didn't think there was that much money in videogames.

In other news, the word "Cyber" hasn't been cool since 1988. Please don't use it anymore.

Re:Wow

[Lisandro]

Seriously, more power to him. But who exactly pays him a salary? No pun intended, i've always wondered - it seems quite a sum for sponsorship of a relatively niche "sport", and i always thought the ones who decided to try making a living out of computer games aimed at competition prizes as their main income.

And, Starcraft? I know South Koreans are crazy about that game, but still... does people still gather arround to see someone playing it? I always thought that was one of the main problems with "cybersports"; if you play soccer, you're pretty much playing the same way people did 50 years ago. If you play Counterstrike and pour man-hours into it, who knows if you'll still be playing it the near future.

Re:Wow

[Dot.Com.CEO]

Well, for those who don't know, "cyber" comes from the greek verb "kyvernein" that is also the root for the word "government". It means, oddly enough "to govern".

"Cyber" has been used in its present (non)sense since some obviously idiotic academic or journalist thought it sounded cool. Other such idiotic words were "Matrix" as a superset of the internet and I, for one, am glad they are dead. Leave them there.

Re:Wow

[z0ink]

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of kids squander all their money on video cards (the primary promoters of large events) and half a dozen crappy titles a year - hoping to become 'a pro.' This really is a big scam. In racing, golf, any other sport the payouts roll all the way down. In gaming, typically, only the top 3 get payed. Airfare and a week of living in a hotel is not cheap. Not to mention it takes either knowing somebody with a lot of cash or already being a top team to get a sponsorship - but even then you'll be hard pressed to break even.

This stuff isn't all just a bunch of having fun on the internet either. The serious competitors work like dogs to get to where they are at. I like games as much as the next guy, or perhaps even more than, but once you start playing something 8 hours a day it becomes a second job -- one that you have to pay to work at.

Keep the sport clean!

[BaltikaTroika]

So would overclocking be considered "performance enhancement"? ;)

BaltikaTroika

Re:Keep the sport clean!

[dotwaffle]

To be honest, if you're sad enough to play computer games for a living (says here sitting at a Linux workstation at university trying to organise a meeting for the computer society) then you will probably never need "performance enhancement" :)

Geddit? No? Honestly, wasted! Wasted I tell thee!

Finally

[Anonymous Coward]

We can reach world unity and peace... through bloody virtual conflict!

Machines specs ?

[mirko]

So what are the specs of the machines ?

Do the players have to bring theirs or is it considered fairer to have them all use the same ?

visa rejected for european player

[perler]

in a german games television show they had an interview with a german warcraft player who qualified for the WCG but it's visa to the US was rejected. the only problem was (as he described it) that he had the german /and/ the turkish citizenship (which is quite usual in germany, we have some 3 million turkish immigrants (out of a population of 80 million)).

i think the US is shooting it's own foot if they continue to behave this way. a lot of people here already wait with their holidays in the US in the hope, that the obligatory fingerprints when entering the US will go away sometimes (which i doubt personally)

PAT

Re:visa rejected for european player

[KombuchaGuy]

A lot of CS Players had a similar problem. They all ticked the 'sometimes' box for the "Are you a terrorist?" question on the Green Card.

Professional Starcraft Player

[asuzuki]

From the article:
Five years ago, the Quebec-born Patry became the Starcraft world champion and was offered a job as a professional game player in South Korea, initially making about $100,000 a year.

His annual salary is now estimated at about $500,000 and, as the star of a Korean Starcraft TV program, he needs bodyguards to protect him from his fans.

Thanks, that made me feel really bad about my job.

Re:Professional Starcraft Player

[Anonymous Coward]

he needs bodyguards to protect him from his fans.

OMG ZERG RUSH!!!!!

Turkish!?

[ImaLamer]

No... I believe it was because the CIA had learned of an earlier "Cat Stevens" CD purchase the player had made...

Dear Slashdot

[Cybertect]

We notice that your recent story titled "Gamers Unite for Video Game Olympics" contains an unauthorised use of the word 'Olympics', a trademark that is owned by the International Olympic Committee.

Cease and desist immediately. Failure to do so will result in legal action seeking punitive damages.

Yours sincerely,

IP Freely
Partner
Sue, Grabbett and Runne
Solicitors for the IOC

I know you're out there

[Moo Moo Cow of Death]

Anyone remember Fatal1ty? Quake player from a long time ago? After winning all those tourney's and being declared Quake champ and all he started up his own little shop selling stuff with his name on it and the ever famous "fat pad" an extremely large mouse pad because of his ultra low mouse sensitivity.

Anyway, he comes by every now and then and hangs out with us and tells us what he does. He plays video games for 8 hours a day to practice and does endorsement deals. That's right, he plays video games for a living (and drives around in a painted alien vs. predator hummer he won).

I only wish I was half that lucky :)

Where's DEE DEE ARR?

[Bega]

I'm kind of, sortof, disappointed at this event and having no Dance Dance Revolution (or other dancing game) competition, while it's name is "Video Game Olympics".

Bemani? Argh!

[bi_boy]

Missing? Three words. Dance Dance Revolution.