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Major League Gaming Has A TV Deal

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the watch-it-after-monk dept.

Gamasutra reports that the Major League Gaming organization has signed a deal with the USA network to televise some of their competitions. From the article: "League programming, available at MLGpro.com all year long, will culminate in seven one-hour episodes that will air on the USA Network during the holiday season. In addition, the company also announced a MLG Pro Invasion Bus Tour, which will kick off in the summer and make 100 stops around the country. The Tour features MLG pros traveling across the U.S. in search of the next generation of professional gamers."

8 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Highlights by scolby · · Score: 3, Funny

    So how long before there's a Sportscenter-like show recapping all of the previous day's highlights? I can't wait to see the week's best pwnings!

  2. Re:Ugh... The "sport" of gaming by vranash · · Score: 2, Funny

    I agreed with you up until sentient.

  3. Hope could come from this by turbopunk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think the idea that it was signed to USA is very good. The key reason being the fact that USA is owned by NBC. This gives an avenue for gaming to cross over into major networks.

  4. Re:Retarded by metamatic · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The fun in games is playing them NOT watching other people play them.

    I'd say the same about sports, yet the NFL and NHL and NBA seem to find no shortage of viewers.

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  5. Maden, Counter Strike, and instant replays! by RingDev · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Okay, personally, for the most part, I think this is going to suck. Just watching someone else play from the FPS perspective, listening to some over excited basement dweller scream "OMG did you just see that!?!?"

    What would be much more entertaining would be to run in like a football game. With a dozen camera operators around the level, and a production studio switching cameras, runing replays, and poping up stats windows. Then get some sports announcers to comment on the progress, and fill them up with trivia knowledge on the players, clans, levels, and games.

    -Rick

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    1. Re:Maden, Counter Strike, and instant replays! by forkazoo · · Score: 3, Insightful
      What would be much more entertaining would be to run in like a football game. With a dozen camera operators around the level, and a production studio switching cameras, runing replays, and poping up stats windows. Then get some sports announcers to comment on the progress, and fill them up with trivia knowledge on the players, clans, levels, and games.

      -Rick


      Also, they need to show schematic views of the levels. G4/TechTV used to have a video game show, but they would jump right into some game or level I'd never played. So, I had no idea where people were, etc. If there was a schematic view of the level, showing me that UeberCypher1234 was near the red team's flag, that's a lot more interesting than just seeing that he is in some sort of non-descript hallway, with the commentator pointing out that he is by the bioreactor unit. Something like a mini-map in an RTS, but with a full screen explanation and commentary on the map before the game starts.
  6. Copyright nightmare potential.. by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Gaming is different from most other pastimes in that its source material is copyrighted by someone. Nobody gets royalty payments when a football is shown on screen, but what about if Mario or Lara Croft are?

    There are a couple of possibilities here.. either game publishers can get paid for their work being featured, or they can consider it free advertising and give it up for free or (more likely) sponsor the competition somehow.

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  7. It's going to suck just like g4tv by HavokDevNull · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why? two reasons...

    1. Only two games as far as I can tell from the website will be played; Super Smash Bros. Melee and Halo 2

    2. From the FAQ at the site."Why doesn't MLG have tournaments for PC games?"

    Major League Gaming is a competitive console gaming league. There are a huge number of other leagues and tournaments for PC games. As such, MLG does not stand to gain much by holding tournaments for PC games. With exception to fighting games, which are historically considered arcade games, competitive console gaming is relatively new, and MLG is a pioneer in that part of the industry. Competitive console gaming is also open to everybody, as it has a lower barrier to entry as compared to competitive PC gaming, in which those who have the funds necessary to purchase the latest hardware can have a rather significant hardware-based advantage over others.

    In other words it's going to be joke!

    When I start to see Ladders to a playoff for different types of games (FPS, RTS, or ideally a game with a combination of the two, for example Battlefield 2) which encourage cooperative, strategic play with teams. Why not model the game play to be broadcast like the most successful sports programs on tv today? e.g. real football or soccer game. You have a coach/s giving direction and the over all strategy to the game being played (RTS), and the team members executing the strategy given by coach by it's players working as team (FPS). Then to be able to watch, comment, critique and enjoy watching the teams strategy and game play as they face off, again just like a real sports broadcast. Only then do I see something of this caliber take off to become successful, and not watching 15 sec clips of a players game then 20 mins of background side stories about the players

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