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Pro Gaming Network Television Coverage Begins Sunday

Posted by Zonk on from the i'm-not-happy-until-its-prime-time dept.

The New York Times has an article on a first for pro gamers: network television coverage of a match. Sunday at noon EDT CBS Sports will be airing coverage of the World Series of Videogames. Events will include Guitar Hero II, Fight Night and World of Warcraft 3v3 Arena combat. The article explores some of the challenges of making gaming understandable on television: "The dollars are already quite mainstream. Americans bought about $13 billion worth of video game systems and software last year, more than they spent at the film box office (around $10 billion). Advertisers for Sunday's broadcast include KFC, Intel and the Marines. But for gaming to make it as a major-network TV sport, the big hurdle will be translating a medium that is by its nature meant to be experienced firsthand into a compelling hands-off spectator experience. It is a task that in some ways is no less daunting than that of the early baseball television producers who eventually realized that a camera way out in center field would provide the best view of pitches." Update: 07/28 23:19 GMT by Z : Fixed day of the weekend the show is on.

15 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. Uh, yeah. by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 2, Insightful

    But for gaming to make it as a major-network TV sport... Hey, I love gaming just as much as the next guy (X360 + PC here.. working on finding a Wii).. but IMHO gaming will never "make it" as a sport. It's just not entertaining enough to watch. Games are fun to play, not watch on TV.
    1. Re:Uh, yeah. by prencher · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Korea disagrees.

    2. Re:Uh, yeah. by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hey, I love golf just as much as the next guy (working on getting into a country club).. but IMHO golf will never "make it" as a sport. It's just not entertaining enough to watch. Golf is fun to play, not watch on TV.

      In non-troll-speak: Sports are covered so heavily because of inertia. A few people like watching it, enough to justify coverage, and people who don't really care about them watch it because hey, it's on. I don't think gaming will be any different.

      --
      Apology to Ubuntu forum.
    3. Re:Uh, yeah. by jettawu · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Maybe what those games need are mods to reduce the violence and make the gameplay easier to follow in order to gain spectators.

      Specifically, most FPS games are very bloody and also take place on maps that are not designed for spectators to view the game. Soccer/Football, Baseball, American Football, etc all have large, open fields that allows the audience to view every active member of the game.

      Just reducing the current games to open maps wouldn't be enough, though, as just that change on its own would make the game less entertaining I think. The gameplay would have to be modified to allow for the more open maps... as it stands, most FPS games don't have gameplay types that would be very interesting on an open map.

  2. Games on TV by Evangelion · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I recall when Doom 3 came out, the QuakeCon that year webcast the matches that were being played there (some Doom3 1v1 deathmatch, as well as some Q3 CTF matches there). I was watching these on my living room TV as they were being webcast, and I kind of realized something about watching games or sports on TV -- they are only truly interesting if you know enough about the game to play it yourself.

    i.e. being a Canadian, I wasn't able to avoid learning how to play hockey as a child. Not that I'm any good at it, but I know the rules, I know the point of the game, and I understand what it means when different things happen. However, I find Football (either kind, take your pick) mind numbingly boring -- because I never really played them, I haven't really internalized the rules, and don't know enough about the tactics of the game(s) to be interested in them.

    Similarly, watching Q3CTF and Doom3 (especially the 1v1 matches), I really got into them because I understood what they were doing, and I could anticipate the reactions and behaviour of the competitors. The same is true with watching (PvE) WoW videos -- I get into them because I understand what's going on.

    I have a feeling that's going to be the largest impediment to gaming on TV -- sports rules change very slowly, and not by very much. Even if you haven't watched NHL hockey in six years, you'd be able to sit down and clearly understand what's going on[1] within a few minutes. If someone was watching Q3 videos online six years ago, and then sat down today to watch -- umm, Halo2 or something? what are people playing these days? -- it wouldn't be even close to the same. It would be like watching an entirely new sport every few years.

    [1] This does not extend to league management.

    1. Re:Games on TV by Panseh · · Score: 2, Insightful

      1) I posted on this point somewhere in this thread. South Korea has two networks regularly broadcasting professional gaming matches and hosting events, full of major sponsors. They were the start of professional gaming. True fans can get it streaming, but why stream it when they can watch it with better quality on network television? Plus streaming is not a substitute for being at a finals event in person; it's like a regular sporting event with rabid fans screaming for their favorite. 2) This is true only for World of Warcraft, which is at it's core an RPG, not a skill-based game. Blizzard must strive to maintain balance for both player vs. player and player vs. environment at the same time, which does not make for an entertaining spectator game. Other games which are skill and strategy based have potential for "epic" moments, even when nobody screws up.

  3. oooh, bitter! ...seriously, keep an open mind... by fantomas · · Score: 3, Insightful

    oooh, somebody had a hard time on school sports days....

    Well, seriously, bullying is a significant and traumatic issue, so I do sympathise with you pal if you had a hard time at school. But don't write off all sports. Keep an open mind and maybe you'll find something which works for you, makes you friends, keeps you fit. Plenty of folks do. One of my best mates at school was "the fat kid" - he left to go to university completely hating sports, came back 3 months later having had a go at scuba diving and loved it. 6 months later and the guy was in great shape, active member of the club, was a heck of a lot lighter, and had a great girlfriend.

    Just because you don't like traditional school sports, don't write them all off.

    Good luck!

  4. Re:oooh, bitter! ...seriously, keep an open mind.. by geminidomino · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, seriously, bullying is a significant and traumatic issue, so I do sympathise with you pal if you had a hard time at school. But don't write off all sports. Keep an open mind and maybe you'll find something which works for you, makes you friends, keeps you fit. Plenty of folks do. Not the AC, but one should point out that GP wasn't bashing sports. He was bashing WATCHING OTHER PEOPLE play sports...

  5. Re:I for one... by Dogtanian · · Score: 2, Informative

    It is high time that the geekier sports such as video gaming be given a chance on network television. Anyone in the UK from their mid-teens onwards will likely remember GamesMaster, a show on Channel 4 that primarily focused on people playing computer games in just that manner. And this was over 15 years ago... okay, to be fair, it's not been on TV since 1998- but my point is that showing gaming on TV is nothing new.

    Personally, I'd rather have seen less people playing games and more reviews and stuff. (But apparently- according to the article- GamesMaster was under the jurisdiction of Channel 4's sports department.) Watching people play computer games just wasn't that exciting to me.
    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  6. At first.... by Chineseyes · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I agreed with you but then I thought about when I was a child. At one of the local hangout spots there was a street fighter arcade machine where literally dozens of people would stand around for hours to watch this guy I knew in middle school kick the crap out of every person that dared to challenge him with every character there was. Just to entertain himself he would allow himself to get the crap kicked out of him on purpose until he had almost no energy left then proceed to taunt his opponent while he blocked their every move and slowly killed them.

    We were all amazed as kids and enjoyed every second of it, how it will play out with adults I'm not sure; but it will only work if they can find gamers who do things that are sufficiently unique and amazing that people will want to watch for extended periods of time.

    Plus people watch poker and NASCAR so anything can make it on tv.

    --
    I think the invisible hand of the market has its middle finger extended

    --A wise old fart named SC0RN
  7. Horrible game line up. by ejito · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Guitar Hero II, Fight Night and World of Warcraft
    Guitar hero is not really a competitive game, as players are really just playing against a preset sequence, not eachother. It's impressive for a while, but it's more similar to rodeo than head to head competition. Fight Night is hardly competitor quality, especially for a fighting game. I'm assuming it's on the list because of corporate meddling. They could've at least chose a fighting game actively played in leagues, like Super Smash Brothers. World of Warcraft is not balanced enough nor does it have the gameplay for competitive PVP. PVP might be fun, but at a competitive level, class imbalance (which rotates every patch), UI modding, combat skills (especially engineering), terrain imbalance (no projectile clipping), and itemization all play a large factor at an advanced level. Blizzard can make very competitive RTS, but WoW just isn't even close to that caliber.
  8. Demographics? by paleo2002 · · Score: 3, Funny

    My first thought when I looked at the article was "What the heck is this doing on CBS!?!" Sure, its wonderful that they're trying to mainstream the competitive side of video games and that the event involves a variety of games (with a noticeable absence of an RTS). But, why in the name of Tassadar are they running this on CBS?

    Let's see . . . CBS is best known for its half-dozen procedural crime dramas, an investigative news magazine whose trademark is a device many video gamer players have never seen in real life (a mechanical stop watch), and for being partnered with AOL: your parents' internet. The target demographic for CBS is upper-middle-class 40+ professionals who are getting ready to bury their parents. Ever watch CBS in the morning (The Price is Right, Sunday Morning)? Count how many commercials they run for life insurance, death insurance, investment/retirement firms, and luxury cars. Oh, and Country Music, we can't forget how much CBS loves the soundtrack of the heartland.

    Running a video game competition on CBS is like running something educational on FOX. And, no, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader does not count. And I just can't wait for the running commentary.

    "Wow Jane, video games have really come a long way since Pac-Man and Pong!"

    "I agree Scott. Hey, do you think the winners will get their prize money in quarters?"

  9. Re:oooh, bitter! ...seriously, keep an open mind.. by fantomas · · Score: 2, Insightful

    f'sure, point taken, I was picking up on the tone of the post and the fact he noted "stupid games". This suggested to me that the poster had a low opinion of sports in general...

  10. Re:Where is it airing? by Tetrad_of_doom · · Score: 3, Informative

    It is playing in Boston on Sunday at noon (ET). The title of the post is incredibly misleading.

  11. Re:This is no worse by scottiwantspam · · Score: 2, Insightful

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    --
    scottfeatherstone@gmail.com