Just like last years closure of the WSVG’s (The World Series of Video Games), this year’s Top Moments list also includes its own sad story about pro gaming tournaments that couldn’t cut it. This year, the Championship Series of Gaming (CGS), Major League Gamealot and the World Cyber Geeks all announced that their respective tournaments would be going the way of the Dodo.

I know what some of you are thinking: “World Cyber Geeks? Major League Gamealot? I’ve barely heard of them before, how is this a Top Gaming Moment of 2008?”

Find out why the end of the CGS, Major League Gamealot and the World Cyber Geeks is one of the Top 100 Moments of 2008 after the jump!

Video games have come along way from the days of quarter slot arcades and the Nintendo Power Glove. Today the video game entertainment industry is a multi-million dollar behemoth that continues to grow. While the Far East has already embraced pro gaming events, with lucrative sponsorship deals for players/teams and major tournaments being held on a regular basis (StarCraft being a de-facto national sport in South Korea), the West has proven resistant to change (Haha).

The evolution of solitary gaming in your own home, to LAN parties, to online tournaments has proven that gamers love to compete against their peers. The ever increasing production value of big name titles continues to blur the lines of quality and content between video games and major motion pictures. It seems obvious to most of us (gamers) that video games are the new dominant entertainment medium. Unfortunately, capitalizing on the obvious interest and appeal of gaming for dollars by hosting major tournaments has proven to be about as hard as making an MMO that can take on WoW.

The deaths  of the CGS, Major League Gamealot and the World Cyber Geeks being three great examples that can testify to the fact that a great idea does not always guarantee success. Most of the semi-major tournaments survive off of both ticket sales and sponsorship. When one of those two revenue streams comes up short, the tournament usually goes under because their walking a razor fine line between profitability and debt.

Which is not to say it can’t be done. The WCG’s (World Cyber Games) is still going strong for example. The problem is not so much that people are not interested, it’s that the perfect combination of advertising, sponsorship, location and medium escapes most of the up and comers.

Besides the WCG’s, most of the really successful tournaments occur alongside another major event like QuakeCon, or BlizzCon, making it much easier for organizers to get players, locations and sponsorship.

Video game tournaments are still in their baby phase, much like pro sports were in the last century. This years fallen three are not the first to fall nor will they be the last. Every failure is a lesson learned. Before to long you will see commercials on major TV networks for video game tournaments regularly, with sponsorship from the same cadre we see sponsoring pro football and NASCAR.  Mark my words.

The end of these tournaments is not memorable simply because they failed, but because they fell paving the way to a future where asking your buddy “Hey man, did you catch the game last night?”, will take on a whole new meaning.

That’s why the end of the CGS, Major League Gamealot and the World Cyber Geeks comes in at number 97 in Sarcastic Gamers Top 100 Moments of 2008!

Source: Sarcastic Gamer

Popularity: 1% [?]