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Major League Gaming: Time to Be Taken Seriously?by Jacob Corbin
Apparently I wasn’t the only one pleased with the TV show. Gaming blog, Joystiq, reviewed the first MLG television episode stating, “ Major League Gaming trumps other gaming shows. They feature fairly in-depth team and player interviews, break downs each gametype and explain the maps well for non-players, and do a good job of making it seem exciting.” This is certainly great news for MLG and I agree with Joystiq for the most part, but what is the collective view from other media outlets? Well as far as actual reviews of the TV show, it’s practically non-existent (I couldn’t find a thing), but everyone from CNET to MSNBC, have acknowledged the success MLG has achieved. Though, that doesn’t mean it’s without fault. Believe me when I say that MLG has a lot of issues to deal with. I’ve spoken much about MLG’s gains and successes, but only lightly touched on my issues with MLG. Many of which I will fully discuss next. . What is one thing that all game developers aspire to do? To make their games fun to play! This brings me to my point with MLG’s TV show. Games are meant to be played, not watched. You’d be hard pressed to get anyone to come over to your house purely for the purpose of watching you play a game. I’m sure my friends would be jumping for joy when I scream over the phone, “Dudes I just got Viva Piñata, come over and watch me play by myself!” In reality, the response from my friends would be somewhere in the realm of a nice, “Screw you man, get a life you sad s.o.b. I’m worried about you.” But seriously, not every game is amazing to watch unfold onscreen. Granted something like Gears of War makes me drool whether I have a controller in my hands or not, and one could argue that games always had this spectator constituent to them. However the idea of play vs. observation could limit MLG’s ability to successfully broadcast tournaments of a variety of games. Many games would not and cannot maintain the attention of a television audience enough, thus meaning only a few select games will be in the tournament each year. Secondly, if the market doesn’t produce enough quality multiplayer games, viewers could be forced to watch multiple seasons of the same game. I’m implying that MLG’s success surely rests on the growth and innovation of the gaming industry, which is a bit of a no-brainer. Now, this limitation could clearly bring down the ratings each season after the next and the repetitiveness, surely to be a result of this quandary, could prove harmful for MLG. A clear example of this is the major attention Halo 2 receives in MLG. Granted it is a widely popular game, especially in the multiplayer aspect, but the fact MLG is so committed to it worries me. I liked watching a couple of those tournaments I saw on the Pro Circuit TV show, but numerous seasons of it could get quite lame after sometime. If I have the chance to watch tournaments of more games than just Halo 2, such as Gears of War, Call of Duty 3, Rainbow Six Vegas, etc. I’d be more apt to frequently return to the show. It’s all about keeping things fresh and exciting, and it’s up to MLG to fix this problem. Until then I don’t believe MLG will get close at all to touching the fringes of the Nascar ratings that Matthew Bromberg stated is his wish.
 Onlookers watch as the players focus on victoryNow, what does every major sport have? They have star players. The NBA had Michael Jordan, the NFL had Joe Montana, Nascar had Dale Earnhardt. What does MLG have? Exactly. Sure there are certain teams in MLG that play great and have players that show amazing accuracy and skill in these intense tournaments, but being a star goes far beyond skill. It’s the ability to connect to the audience. It’s having extraordinary character and charisma. Remember when you looked up and idolized the aforementioned legends and stars, how could any person possibly do the same with an MLG gamer? I can’t help but say MLG has more obstacles than just television ratings to tackle. There are some basic tenets and idiosyncrasies in this society that will not change and have been so engrained in our minds that redefining them is proving to be a very difficult task for MLG. Now I understand it’s a stretch to speak of MLG alongside the NBA, MLB, and NFL. As if to say it’s in the same league as them (pun not intended). Obviously, MLG has barely touched the surface of mainstream exposure, but when Bromberg states he wants “Nascar ratings” and when MLG itself states it’s “the world’s fastest growing competitive sport”, the tone is loud and the goal is clear. Major League Gaming wants to be huge, and when that point is realized, criticism must be drawn in comparison to the highly successful sports leagues that dominate so much of televisions airtime today.
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ZCapitan
2007-03-08 23:09:18
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It's not a sport, it's a skill. Much like golf. You have to have a talent that takes investment of time to get good at it. Anyway, much props to people who take the time to participate and take advantage of a hobby they enjoy. Anyone know when the next episodes are coming out? Sometimes I enjoy going to my buddies place throwing back a few and watching an in-house tournament. |
djpac
2007-01-28 14:41:50
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As I took it, the main problems you have are that people like to play, not watch, the video games and that there's no reason these people should be paid for playing at such a high level. I mean, if I missed something, let me know, but those are the main points I got out of the article. How is that different from any other sport? I can play baseball too, but there's no way I'm getting A-Rod's $252 million contract. On top of that, and I know this is a shock, not everyone likes watching baseball! Some people love to play but find it incredibly boring to watch. Are these kids being "taken advantage of", as one comment put it? Well, as a college student who spent about $160,000 just so I can graduate this coming spring, I'd say teenagers who can earn that much in under two years got a pretty good deal. Maybe that's just me, but if someone told me I could do something I love for lots of money, even if they did make money off me, I'd do it. Finally, my favorite point in the article - "Still, the issues which plague Major League Gaming prove to me it will never truly compete with other true sports and successful television events." Thanks for the obvious, MLG will never be the fifth sport, it won't be NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA, MLG. Darn.
If you really want to compare MLG to something, compare it to poker. Video games aren't a sport and neither is poker. They're both something people like to play at home with their friends but can also be played at high levels. There's less luck in video games than in poker, but that's not a terrible thing, is it?
MLG gives people who are passionate about video games a place to get together, compete, socialize, interact and enjoy themselves. Unsurprisingly, there are people who find it boring, just like people find poker, golf, baseball, football, Grey's Anatomy, broadway shows, the olympics or any number of other things boring. It is entertainment for a specific audience, the gamer. It isn't breaking news that there will be people that don't like it. However, for the people that do like it, MLG has been fantastic. They've been great about catering to the needs of their fanbase and making the league open and accessible to everyone. They've given the top players, who devote themselves to these games because they love them, a place to apply their talents and have fun while also making money. Are they perfect? Of course not. But they've done a great job (by any measure) so far and I'm much more apt to trust the management team there over your concerns about their future. |
MalohiTafataha
2007-01-28 14:17:00
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“Mr. Bromberg”?? We must be dealing with a contracted MLG member. As shown, your latter comment has demonstrated an attempt at effective discourse. I applaud you. Although to fault another for failing to assume “many readers are naïve” was hilariously fallacious. Are you implying the PX360 community is stupid? I agree with your argument regarding various gaming media outlets reviews although Jacob had no incentive from anybody or organization one way or another. It was an op-ed and being such I cannot stress the term “opinion” enough. Pedantry is not a legitimate reason for reply nor should it be applied to an opinion based article. To disagree with an authors position is one thing but to label someone as arrogant and ignorant because of a simple disagreement is a horse of a different color. |
ix sh0ck xi
2007-01-28 12:22:14
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I bet this guy is a lvl 19 legit in TS. He's just sad because he can't make millions by sitting on his ass.
Also, "Games are meant to be played, not watched. You’d be hard pressed to get anyone to come over to your house purely for the purpose of watching you play a game. I’m sure my friends would be jumping for joy when I scream over the phone, “Dudes I just got Viva Piñata, come over and watch me play by myself!”"
What about golf? That is also an individual game yet it gets millions of viewers, how do you explain that?
"But seriously, not every game is amazing to watch unfold onscreen."
And Halo is one of them? What would you prefer? Dance Dance Revolution? Yoshi's Story?
The MLG TV show is for those people who are interested in Halo and just competitive gaming in general. The TV show has done a great job of making Halo a household name, people who had no idea what Halo was or how it was played are now much better informed about the game, which is what their objective was. If you acquire a knowledge of the game then you are much more likely to be interested in it in the future which is what they were trying to do. If you watch it and decide you don't like it, then don't watch it. |
BRUTAL1TY
2007-01-28 09:25:36
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Well I'm happy you enjoyed my editorial, Legolas. I'm proud of it, and the work I put into it. Now you asked me for sources for the figures on the age group of viewers? I do not have any. Merely because if you had paid attention, I stated, "average Pro Circuit viewer’s age is most certainly young; most likely, ranging from 13 to 25." I said MOST LIKELY, which implies that I am making an assumption, not stating it was fact. I tried to acquire Nielsen ratings for the show but I had a hard time finding them and I was basically unable to find a thing, so I gave up. I could have called MLG myself, but I didn't think this was a large enough deal for my editorial to do that. Tell me this, can you disprove my assumed viewer age? Sure I could be off by a few numbers, but we all know this show is geared toward young adults, so questioning those numbers is almost laughable in of itself. Moving on... now you tell me I failed to mention the GoW tournament. You are correct sir, that slipped through my fingers and I don't know how. However, the context in which I was speaking was the TV show. I never saw any GoW tourney on the last Las Vegas episode there was for the Pro Circuit Show. That was my point; if it was on that episode, hell I would have recorded it in on my DVR. I don't care how many games they have at the actual events unless they are televised. I won't be able to view them otherwise! Now you also stated that having GoW showed there was more than one game at the tourneys. Really!? Notice in the intro I stated Super Smash Bros. Melee and other games were apart of then current 06 season. I know there is other games (sigh), I was speaking of the TV show, again. You can call me arrogant, ignorant, you can question my journlastic credibility, but what I find most shocking is your inability to understand my editorial. You bash it as if, it was all hatred towards MLG. I thought I was pretty fair. MLG has some glaring issues to tackle if it wants to get larger and more mainstream. It's accomplished a lot of things, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. That was pretty much what my article stated, and you looking way to far into things. Thanks for the comments |
LTL Legolas
2007-01-28 01:00:57
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I'm quite positive that Mr. Bromberg would have the confidence and resolve about his opinions that he wouldn't need to use an alias when speaking his mind.
I called into question journalistic credibility because many readers are naive. They'll eat up whatever you shove in front of their mouths. And I'd daresay Mr. Corbin understands and recognized this before, during, and after he wrote this piece.
Granted, it's not all negative. But, and forgive me for the poor analogy, it's almost like those reviews of video games that are obviously piss-poor given by various publications that choose to highlight some small bits of quality simply because that game's publisher is a major advertiser. |
MalohiTafataha
2007-01-27 13:49:39
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HAHAHA … I found it quite comedic that someone would become so upset regarding an MLG op-ed. Accusations of arrogance, ignorance and questioning journalistic credibility are always humorous Especially when they are accusations associated with a subject matter such as this. I laughed for a good 3 minutes after reading that one. I think Legolas is Matthew Bromberg incognito. |
salvia
2007-01-27 13:38:17
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How are they being taken advantage of MT? They're getting paid, and paid well for being the best. Why do they need benefits, and how would it affect you anyway? You liberal whinners make me sick. Just enjoy the fact that gamming is more mainstream, and an Xbox is leading the way. |
LTL Legolas
2007-01-27 10:24:50
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The complete and utter arrogance and ignorance found in this piece and in the comments is shocking. Also, the lack of journalistic credibility and processes makes me cringe. Can we see any sources for your figures on the age group of viewers? Let's not forget that you neglected to mention the Gears Of War tournament that took place at the Las Vegas tournament. And, too, the fact that Gears Of War is the other online tournament title in MLG's lineup. Wouldn't that seem to suggest the utilization of more than one game? Not that it's necessary, when the previous sole game was Halo 2, the best selling console game EVER, up until a couple months ago. More to come, believe me. |
BRUTAL1TY
2007-01-26 21:48:15
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Boy is that a tough one to answer, Joel... haha |
MalohiTafataha
2007-01-26 21:05:46
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Great article! I wonder what form of retirement these MLG players receive. Do they have medical and dental benefits? 401K? Or is it merely a large corporation taking advantage of naïve teenagers and young adults. |
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