News > USA Network getting into competitive gaming
October 6, 2006
Content taken from 1UP:
For a number of reasons, G4's Arena show never really took off. Frankly, unless you're a huge fan of the videogame being played and have an intuitive understanding of what's skillful and what's not, watching competitive videogaming isn't particularly fun. With real-life sports, everyone understands the rules; with videogames, that's not usually true.
USA Network, allied with Boost Mobile and Major League Gaming, is hoping to bring competitive gaming tournaments to the mainstream, with the televised Boost Mobile Major League Gaming Pro Circuit. Starting Saturdays at 10 a.m. EST/PST on November 11th, the show will follow "the challenges, drama and excitement of young professionals competing in MLG's seven-city professional video game circuit."
The announcement release claims the move will expose the phenomenon to over 90 million viewers, but we're wondering how many people are seriously going to tune in to watch people play and get upset over videogames at 10 in the morning. I'll still be asleep, thank you. USA also attempts to drum up interest in the show's "characters," but judge them for yourself:
Team Final Boss, led by captain Dave "Walshy" Walsh, went undefeated for most of the Pro Circuit. Now its fighting to regain its edge before the Championship. Meanwhile, the team members manage to find time to create a clothing company and keep their college grades high. Team Str8 Rippin and rival Team Carbon have been threatening to knock Final Boss out of the lead all year, until Team Carbon finally knocked them off their pedestal. However, emotions and smack-talk between the two teams reach a fever pitch and threaten to get in the way of a winning streak. The leader of Str8 Rippin is the well-known Tom "Tsquared" Taylor, who has appeared in Stuff Magazine, ranking #1 on the Power 2 -- Under 30 list, MTV True Life, Wall Street Journal and more. He's confident and cocky with the skills to back it up, making him a favorite target of the other pros. Viewers will also get to know players like Xena -- a 16-year old Pennsylvania girl who is active in horseback riding, sports, church and school activities -- and who also happens to be the world's top-rated female Halo 2 player; and Strongside, a player who came out of nowhere last year and single-handedly beat hundreds of competitors on the fast track to becoming a pro.
Well, at least someone's trying. Or something.
