Pro Gaming Comes to Network TV

GameDaily is reporting that The World Series of Video Games has signed a deal with CBS. Gameplay HD and College Sports Television (CSTV) are also part of the arrangement, which will bring professional gaming to U.S. network television for the first time. CBS will air a one-hour special on December 30th, with highlights from the finals. CSTV will then air snippets from the entire finals series, highlighting games like Halo 2 and Warcraft III. From the article: "The cable and broadcast networks will not be simply recycling the same content either. Each network is to 'explore a unique aspect of the WSVG, providing audiences with a window into the exciting culture of video game competitions and budding stars of the gaming world.' CBS will kick off its coverage on December 30 at 3 p.m. when they air THEY GOT GAME, Stars of the World Series of Video Games presented by Intel. This one-hour special, filmed during the WSVG finals, hosted by Quddus and produced by Juma Entertainment, will detail the personal stories of five rising stars in professional gaming, most notably Johnathan 'Fatal1ty' Wendel."

Comments

Why not

[FiveDollarYoBet]

Why not, can't be worse than the same old shows that the networks are showing these days.

Re:Why not

[nomadic]

Actually I think TV these days in terms of quality is probably on the whole better than it's ever been before. Yes, reality shows suck, but when you take away those there are still a lot of really first-rate things on the air.

Re:Why not

[everphilski]

Peter: "Everybody I've got bad news. We've been cancelled."
Lois: "Oh no Peter! How could they do that?"
Peter: "Well unfortuantely Lois, there's just no more room on the schedule. We just gotta accept the fact that FOX has to make room for terrific shows like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That 80's Show, Wonder Falls, Fast Lane, Andy Richter Controls The Universe, Skin, Girl's Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, Freaky Links, Wanda At Large, Costello, The Lone Gunman, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Normal Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddy, The Street, American Embassy, Cedric The Entertainer, The Tick, Louie, And Greg The Bunny...."
Lois: "Is there no hope?"
Peter: "Well I suppose if ALL those shows go down the tubes we might have a shot."

BOOM! HEADSHOT!

[BoberFett]

Sometimes I think maybe I wanna join the army I mean it's basically like FPS except better graphics, but what happens if I get lag out there, I'M DEAD! And I mean I even heard there's no respawn points in RL.

Re:BOOM! HEADSHOT!

[Anonymous Coward]

"And I mean I even heard there's no respawn points in RL."

From what I hear, the Bhuddists and Hindus have a solution worked out.

The downside is that once you re-spawn, your character class, race, sex are chosen for you and start with no items, skills or EXP.

The upshot is that your re-spawn traits and flaws are based on your previous character alignment.

Highlights

[Beek Dog]

When will we be seeing highlights on Network News?

"There was a showdown in Vegas tonight, as G0atsxHax0r defended his title against sLUtfuCKer, a rising star from Alabama. sLUtfuCKer came in with high expectations but was disappointed by G0atsxHax0r's three early headshots. He got a reprieve when the judges penalized G0atsxHax0r for excessive squatting over a dead opponent. But in the end, sLUtfuCKer was thoroughly pwnd."

Ironic

[kaizokunami]

There was a story about this in the NY Times as well, which included a little more detail about the network TV portion of this. CBS will only be showing small snippits of actual gameplay on the special. There's a quote from one of the special's producer's which I find really telling: "The one hurdle that was a challenge, and is still a challenge for video gaming...is you can't put people shooting at one another on network television."

Um... you can't? Better tell that to all those cop dramas.