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Someone mentioned Professional gaming in chat last week and this is my post all about it. Hope some of you get round to reading it.
Professional gaming. A stupid idea or something that the industry needs to move forward?
It does seem a bit odd to me that we could have a professional gamer. Gaming has always been a hobby to me, something to do for fun, stop me from being bored and also has been part of my life for a long time. But could this all change, is there a chance we will see professional gaming taking off?
I know that there are indeed some professional gamers out there. Japan is usually the home of gaming and things usually happen their first, and professional gamers have hit it off in a big way over there. I guess in a way it can be similar to music, people get paid to sing so why not get paid to play games. To be a pro means you need to be of the highest level, is there any way to judge just how good one person is?
So how does professional gaming work?
Well companies set up teams with people they see as being very good gamers, the gamers then enter the various competitions set up and they advertise the company they play for. They make their money by winning so to be succesful you have to win a lot, don't win and the chances are you will lose your job and be replaced with someone better.
I imagine it is similar to football in a way, the better you are the more you are worth and also the more money you are likely to make. Also similar to football you will no doubt get paid stupid amounts of money for doing something so well easy.
In Korea the government support the idea of professional gamers and it is something which is set to grow as the industry increases by a large amount. Competitions are set up by various companies - a good way to market as there are a lot of fans of gaming who pay attention to the competitions.
But could it take off in this country? Could some of us sit in the careers officers room and discuss how you want to be a professional gamer. I think it is a case of if you are good enough then those who take it very seriously will find you if you play often enough. Getting the backing and options to start though could be quite hard.
I find it hard to see how professional gaming works, games are games and there is a limit to how well they can be played, a lot of the time it is down to luck. It isn't like having a natural ability like with professional footballers or other sports. I guess being a pro gamer is like a dream job and fun to do and that is why it dosn't seem real.
To be good at games requires skill, the more you practice the better your skill gets but there is a limit on how good you can get, after this it is all down to luck. But then again luck is needed with any profesion be it professional football, sometimes you need luck to overcome the odds, if it was down to professional ability then surely the best teams would win every game? See luck is important with any profession, even at SR towers when they put the finishing touches to the magazine (a great job they do too) they need luck (as well as their skills and abilities) to ensure no problems happen and everything runs smoothly.
So what would you need to be a pro gamer?
Well I guess you would have to be good at all genres of gaming not just say First person shooters. Similar to a footballer who needs all round talent in the various areas such as passing, movement, pace, skill, shooting, accuracy etc.Although most people who are really good at a particular genre of game aren't as good in other genres so they tend to only participate in certain competitions based on their specialised genre.
I think as A.I and the standard of games rises I would expect more skill to be required to be really good at games and when this happens we will see those who are good enough and those who aren't. The possibilities if we see truely inteligent software are unbelievable and even social gaming will benefit from it in a very big way, but pro gaming could use it to it's best to test gamers abilities to the max to find out who really is the best of the best.
If you are good at games there is a lot of money to be made, most of the money is made from winning competitions but more can be made from team sponsorships and I am sure the best pro gamers out there will make money through magazine and press appearances, interviews and maybe even tv shows and games etc. But one of the problems I see is how to judge talent, sure you may be able to get great scores but there will be millions of people who you have never played against, who is to say that a fair number of them aren't better than you? So while some guy is hailed as being the best there could be some 14 year old at home with his PS2 who has much better skills and talents but goes un-noticed.
In Japan most of the pro gaming takes place on-line through PC's. I know a number of people on this site play games on-line against others and it is very similar to this except it isn't for the fun of it. Japan seems to be top when it comes to technology and this is why pro gaming has taken off over there, hopefully we will see it over here too. Consoles are set to go on-line soon and it is likely that they will also play a big part in the pro gaming side of the industry. But with gaming on-line there is an issue of cheating which appears and how to monitor and judge games.
To combat this a lot of the big sponsored competitions take place in one location, usually gamers compete in regional heats and if they do well enough they can progress through to the final round. Special Reserve runs a gamer of the year competition which was for a certain console.
The way I see things is that pro gamers will feature more in the future and it is likely that it will be a career for some but again as with most things in this industry Britain lacks behind compared to Japan and the USA. I think that we may well need a universal standard for all games, no PAL/NTSC difference, which on its own could well be a good thing but I'll not go into that here.
The CPL ( Cyberathelete Professional League ) is probably the biggest league of professional gamers in America and they hold two large competitions each year, last years winner walked away with $150,000 which is a unbelievable amount of money to win from doing something like playing a game. At the moment it is mostly those with high performance PC's and fast internet access who take advantage of a growing part of the industry which also gives people the chance to make gaming more than a hobby, a way of earning a living.
More leagues are needed to be set up to let the idea go further, most of us can log on to various sites on the web and play games, sometimes enter small competitions for money and prizes. If leagues were set up we could join them and have more competition in our games. Pro Gaming isn't just about fun, it has to be taken seriously if you want to be amoung the best.
So who could benefit from it all?
Pro Gamers: If they are good enough then there is the chance to make quite a lot of money and also to gather fame, In Japan some pro gamers are as famous as pro sportsmen and women.
Competition sponsors: From a marketing point of view they can advertise and market their company to a large audience and maybe even charge entry fees so they can also make money from it and become more well known. Professional gaming competitions attract a large number of entrants but also a lot of people who just want to watch, there is also talk of bigger events in the future being broadcast on TV and/or on web feeds.
Gamers: Those who think they could be good enough at it could have something to aim for, a chance to make something out of their life and do something which they love to do, an ideal job for some people. It gives those who don't have skills in other areas but love gaming and have a talent in it to make something more of their lives.
The industry: The whole gaming industry would benefit from it all too. More people attracted into games and more money being spent on it meaning that more money can be used in producing games meaning we get better quality games and a wider variety of games.
I know a lot of us would jump at the chance of becoming a pro gamer but there are a few downsides, most gamers fall into a younger age group so many will, similar to footballers etc, leave school at a young age to try make it big and if you don't make it there isn't much to fall back on. Also at the moment it is a hard area to get into without financial backing and sponsorship and proving you are good enough to be considered could be very hard indeed. I am sure it is something that will take of in the near future, it justs need the backing of companies, maybe there will be a console war between Sony gamers, nintendo gamers and Microsoft gamers in the near future?
One thing that I think we could see come out of all this is games designed specifically for competitions or for multiplayer purposes, no single player modes but only modes of play which put you against another human player. More attention could be used for the game y leaving out the un-required parts that are only used in single player mode.
There are a lot of games that could be used for gaming competitions but I personally feel that if it is to take off in a big way then developers need to work together to produce the best type of games for the competitions.b
Maybe we could see national competitions which feed into a world competition were the best of the best compete for a universal title. It may seem far fetched but maybe it is more a possibility than some think. I would like to see developers consider making the consoles and the on-line gaming networks they have planned allow features to maximise the potential pro gaming has for us gamers and the various companies involved. To be honest I think console Gaming would allow a lot better value than PC's in terms of games for competitions. One thing for sure though with the industry being so huge and growing at an alarming rate something like this is bound to take off more and more. Professional gamers are likely to make ridiculous amounts of money and I am sure if any of us had the change we would snap it up, maybe even sell your granny for it. I guess we will just need to wait and see.
So you want to become a pro? Well all I can suggest is practice and play games and ultimately enjoy them, if you don't enjoy it there is no point doing it. Also try take part in any competitions no mater how big or small they are. Look around for information on the internet and enter on-line competitons either from home or internet cafes (usually have high performance PC's if you find a good cafe) and good luck.
It's time to make a name for yourself doing something you love.
Professional gaming. A stupid idea or something that the industry needs to move forward?
It does seem a bit odd to me that we could have a professional gamer. Gaming has always been a hobby to me, something to do for fun, stop me from being bored and also has been part of my life for a long time. But could this all change, is there a chance we will see professional gaming taking off?
I know that there are indeed some professional gamers out there. Japan is usually the home of gaming and things usually happen their first, and professional gamers have hit it off in a big way over there. I guess in a way it can be similar to music, people get paid to sing so why not get paid to play games. To be a pro means you need to be of the highest level, is there any way to judge just how good one person is?
So how does professional gaming work?
Well companies set up teams with people they see as being very good gamers, the gamers then enter the various competitions set up and they advertise the company they play for. They make their money by winning so to be succesful you have to win a lot, don't win and the chances are you will lose your job and be replaced with someone better.
I imagine it is similar to football in a way, the better you are the more you are worth and also the more money you are likely to make. Also similar to football you will no doubt get paid stupid amounts of money for doing something so well easy.
In Korea the government support the idea of professional gamers and it is something which is set to grow as the industry increases by a large amount. Competitions are set up by various companies - a good way to market as there are a lot of fans of gaming who pay attention to the competitions.
But could it take off in this country? Could some of us sit in the careers officers room and discuss how you want to be a professional gamer. I think it is a case of if you are good enough then those who take it very seriously will find you if you play often enough. Getting the backing and options to start though could be quite hard.
I find it hard to see how professional gaming works, games are games and there is a limit to how well they can be played, a lot of the time it is down to luck. It isn't like having a natural ability like with professional footballers or other sports. I guess being a pro gamer is like a dream job and fun to do and that is why it dosn't seem real.
To be good at games requires skill, the more you practice the better your skill gets but there is a limit on how good you can get, after this it is all down to luck. But then again luck is needed with any profesion be it professional football, sometimes you need luck to overcome the odds, if it was down to professional ability then surely the best teams would win every game? See luck is important with any profession, even at SR towers when they put the finishing touches to the magazine (a great job they do too) they need luck (as well as their skills and abilities) to ensure no problems happen and everything runs smoothly.
So what would you need to be a pro gamer?
Well I guess you would have to be good at all genres of gaming not just say First person shooters. Similar to a footballer who needs all round talent in the various areas such as passing, movement, pace, skill, shooting, accuracy etc.Although most people who are really good at a particular genre of game aren't as good in other genres so they tend to only participate in certain competitions based on their specialised genre.
I think as A.I and the standard of games rises I would expect more skill to be required to be really good at games and when this happens we will see those who are good enough and those who aren't. The possibilities if we see truely inteligent software are unbelievable and even social gaming will benefit from it in a very big way, but pro gaming could use it to it's best to test gamers abilities to the max to find out who really is the best of the best.
If you are good at games there is a lot of money to be made, most of the money is made from winning competitions but more can be made from team sponsorships and I am sure the best pro gamers out there will make money through magazine and press appearances, interviews and maybe even tv shows and games etc. But one of the problems I see is how to judge talent, sure you may be able to get great scores but there will be millions of people who you have never played against, who is to say that a fair number of them aren't better than you? So while some guy is hailed as being the best there could be some 14 year old at home with his PS2 who has much better skills and talents but goes un-noticed.
In Japan most of the pro gaming takes place on-line through PC's. I know a number of people on this site play games on-line against others and it is very similar to this except it isn't for the fun of it. Japan seems to be top when it comes to technology and this is why pro gaming has taken off over there, hopefully we will see it over here too. Consoles are set to go on-line soon and it is likely that they will also play a big part in the pro gaming side of the industry. But with gaming on-line there is an issue of cheating which appears and how to monitor and judge games.
To combat this a lot of the big sponsored competitions take place in one location, usually gamers compete in regional heats and if they do well enough they can progress through to the final round. Special Reserve runs a gamer of the year competition which was for a certain console.
The way I see things is that pro gamers will feature more in the future and it is likely that it will be a career for some but again as with most things in this industry Britain lacks behind compared to Japan and the USA. I think that we may well need a universal standard for all games, no PAL/NTSC difference, which on its own could well be a good thing but I'll not go into that here.
The CPL ( Cyberathelete Professional League ) is probably the biggest league of professional gamers in America and they hold two large competitions each year, last years winner walked away with $150,000 which is a unbelievable amount of money to win from doing something like playing a game. At the moment it is mostly those with high performance PC's and fast internet access who take advantage of a growing part of the industry which also gives people the chance to make gaming more than a hobby, a way of earning a living.
More leagues are needed to be set up to let the idea go further, most of us can log on to various sites on the web and play games, sometimes enter small competitions for money and prizes. If leagues were set up we could join them and have more competition in our games. Pro Gaming isn't just about fun, it has to be taken seriously if you want to be amoung the best.
So who could benefit from it all?
Pro Gamers: If they are good enough then there is the chance to make quite a lot of money and also to gather fame, In Japan some pro gamers are as famous as pro sportsmen and women.
Competition sponsors: From a marketing point of view they can advertise and market their company to a large audience and maybe even charge entry fees so they can also make money from it and become more well known. Professional gaming competitions attract a large number of entrants but also a lot of people who just want to watch, there is also talk of bigger events in the future being broadcast on TV and/or on web feeds.
Gamers: Those who think they could be good enough at it could have something to aim for, a chance to make something out of their life and do something which they love to do, an ideal job for some people. It gives those who don't have skills in other areas but love gaming and have a talent in it to make something more of their lives.
The industry: The whole gaming industry would benefit from it all too. More people attracted into games and more money being spent on it meaning that more money can be used in producing games meaning we get better quality games and a wider variety of games.
I know a lot of us would jump at the chance of becoming a pro gamer but there are a few downsides, most gamers fall into a younger age group so many will, similar to footballers etc, leave school at a young age to try make it big and if you don't make it there isn't much to fall back on. Also at the moment it is a hard area to get into without financial backing and sponsorship and proving you are good enough to be considered could be very hard indeed. I am sure it is something that will take of in the near future, it justs need the backing of companies, maybe there will be a console war between Sony gamers, nintendo gamers and Microsoft gamers in the near future?
One thing that I think we could see come out of all this is games designed specifically for competitions or for multiplayer purposes, no single player modes but only modes of play which put you against another human player. More attention could be used for the game y leaving out the un-required parts that are only used in single player mode.
There are a lot of games that could be used for gaming competitions but I personally feel that if it is to take off in a big way then developers need to work together to produce the best type of games for the competitions.b
Maybe we could see national competitions which feed into a world competition were the best of the best compete for a universal title. It may seem far fetched but maybe it is more a possibility than some think. I would like to see developers consider making the consoles and the on-line gaming networks they have planned allow features to maximise the potential pro gaming has for us gamers and the various companies involved. To be honest I think console Gaming would allow a lot better value than PC's in terms of games for competitions. One thing for sure though with the industry being so huge and growing at an alarming rate something like this is bound to take off more and more. Professional gamers are likely to make ridiculous amounts of money and I am sure if any of us had the change we would snap it up, maybe even sell your granny for it. I guess we will just need to wait and see.
So you want to become a pro? Well all I can suggest is practice and play games and ultimately enjoy them, if you don't enjoy it there is no point doing it. Also try take part in any competitions no mater how big or small they are. Look around for information on the internet and enter on-line competitons either from home or internet cafes (usually have high performance PC's if you find a good cafe) and good luck.
It's time to make a name for yourself doing something you love.
Quake 3 Arena is the most popular contest right now!
Some dude won, I think it was £100, 000!
There is money to be made from gaming!
Some dude won, I think it was £100, 000!
There is money to be made from gaming!
I'd love to be a Pro Gamer! It'd probably be the most enjoyable job in the world too! For a while anyway.
I think we'd soon get bored of it, and would turn really fat and lazy, and maybe even have problems like that American bloke.
I think it'd be better as an occasional/part-time job, as we'd get too sad, boring and addicted if it was something done for 10 hours a day, 5 days a week!
Maybe better as a weekend thing for a few hours, but it probably wouldn't pay too well.
I think we'd soon get bored of it, and would turn really fat and lazy, and maybe even have problems like that American bloke.
I think it'd be better as an occasional/part-time job, as we'd get too sad, boring and addicted if it was something done for 10 hours a day, 5 days a week!
Maybe better as a weekend thing for a few hours, but it probably wouldn't pay too well.
Someone mentioned Professional gaming in chat last week and this is my post all about it. Hope some of you get round to reading it.
Professional gaming. A stupid idea or something that the industry needs to move forward?
It does seem a bit odd to me that we could have a professional gamer. Gaming has always been a hobby to me, something to do for fun, stop me from being bored and also has been part of my life for a long time. But could this all change, is there a chance we will see professional gaming taking off?
I know that there are indeed some professional gamers out there. Japan is usually the home of gaming and things usually happen their first, and professional gamers have hit it off in a big way over there. I guess in a way it can be similar to music, people get paid to sing so why not get paid to play games. To be a pro means you need to be of the highest level, is there any way to judge just how good one person is?
So how does professional gaming work?
Well companies set up teams with people they see as being very good gamers, the gamers then enter the various competitions set up and they advertise the company they play for. They make their money by winning so to be succesful you have to win a lot, don't win and the chances are you will lose your job and be replaced with someone better.
I imagine it is similar to football in a way, the better you are the more you are worth and also the more money you are likely to make. Also similar to football you will no doubt get paid stupid amounts of money for doing something so well easy.
In Korea the government support the idea of professional gamers and it is something which is set to grow as the industry increases by a large amount. Competitions are set up by various companies - a good way to market as there are a lot of fans of gaming who pay attention to the competitions.
But could it take off in this country? Could some of us sit in the careers officers room and discuss how you want to be a professional gamer. I think it is a case of if you are good enough then those who take it very seriously will find you if you play often enough. Getting the backing and options to start though could be quite hard.
I find it hard to see how professional gaming works, games are games and there is a limit to how well they can be played, a lot of the time it is down to luck. It isn't like having a natural ability like with professional footballers or other sports. I guess being a pro gamer is like a dream job and fun to do and that is why it dosn't seem real.
To be good at games requires skill, the more you practice the better your skill gets but there is a limit on how good you can get, after this it is all down to luck. But then again luck is needed with any profesion be it professional football, sometimes you need luck to overcome the odds, if it was down to professional ability then surely the best teams would win every game? See luck is important with any profession, even at SR towers when they put the finishing touches to the magazine (a great job they do too) they need luck (as well as their skills and abilities) to ensure no problems happen and everything runs smoothly.
So what would you need to be a pro gamer?
Well I guess you would have to be good at all genres of gaming not just say First person shooters. Similar to a footballer who needs all round talent in the various areas such as passing, movement, pace, skill, shooting, accuracy etc.Although most people who are really good at a particular genre of game aren't as good in other genres so they tend to only participate in certain competitions based on their specialised genre.
I think as A.I and the standard of games rises I would expect more skill to be required to be really good at games and when this happens we will see those who are good enough and those who aren't. The possibilities if we see truely inteligent software are unbelievable and even social gaming will benefit from it in a very big way, but pro gaming could use it to it's best to test gamers abilities to the max to find out who really is the best of the best.
If you are good at games there is a lot of money to be made, most of the money is made from winning competitions but more can be made from team sponsorships and I am sure the best pro gamers out there will make money through magazine and press appearances, interviews and maybe even tv shows and games etc. But one of the problems I see is how to judge talent, sure you may be able to get great scores but there will be millions of people who you have never played against, who is to say that a fair number of them aren't better than you? So while some guy is hailed as being the best there could be some 14 year old at home with his PS2 who has much better skills and talents but goes un-noticed.
In Japan most of the pro gaming takes place on-line through PC's. I know a number of people on this site play games on-line against others and it is very similar to this except it isn't for the fun of it. Japan seems to be top when it comes to technology and this is why pro gaming has taken off over there, hopefully we will see it over here too. Consoles are set to go on-line soon and it is likely that they will also play a big part in the pro gaming side of the industry. But with gaming on-line there is an issue of cheating which appears and how to monitor and judge games.
To combat this a lot of the big sponsored competitions take place in one location, usually gamers compete in regional heats and if they do well enough they can progress through to the final round. Special Reserve runs a gamer of the year competition which was for a certain console.
The way I see things is that pro gamers will feature more in the future and it is likely that it will be a career for some but again as with most things in this industry Britain lacks behind compared to Japan and the USA. I think that we may well need a universal standard for all games, no PAL/NTSC difference, which on its own could well be a good thing but I'll not go into that here.
The CPL ( Cyberathelete Professional League ) is probably the biggest league of professional gamers in America and they hold two large competitions each year, last years winner walked away with $150,000 which is a unbelievable amount of money to win from doing something like playing a game. At the moment it is mostly those with high performance PC's and fast internet access who take advantage of a growing part of the industry which also gives people the chance to make gaming more than a hobby, a way of earning a living.
More leagues are needed to be set up to let the idea go further, most of us can log on to various sites on the web and play games, sometimes enter small competitions for money and prizes. If leagues were set up we could join them and have more competition in our games. Pro Gaming isn't just about fun, it has to be taken seriously if you want to be amoung the best.
So who could benefit from it all?
Pro Gamers: If they are good enough then there is the chance to make quite a lot of money and also to gather fame, In Japan some pro gamers are as famous as pro sportsmen and women.
Competition sponsors: From a marketing point of view they can advertise and market their company to a large audience and maybe even charge entry fees so they can also make money from it and become more well known. Professional gaming competitions attract a large number of entrants but also a lot of people who just want to watch, there is also talk of bigger events in the future being broadcast on TV and/or on web feeds.
Gamers: Those who think they could be good enough at it could have something to aim for, a chance to make something out of their life and do something which they love to do, an ideal job for some people. It gives those who don't have skills in other areas but love gaming and have a talent in it to make something more of their lives.
The industry: The whole gaming industry would benefit from it all too. More people attracted into games and more money being spent on it meaning that more money can be used in producing games meaning we get better quality games and a wider variety of games.
I know a lot of us would jump at the chance of becoming a pro gamer but there are a few downsides, most gamers fall into a younger age group so many will, similar to footballers etc, leave school at a young age to try make it big and if you don't make it there isn't much to fall back on. Also at the moment it is a hard area to get into without financial backing and sponsorship and proving you are good enough to be considered could be very hard indeed. I am sure it is something that will take of in the near future, it justs need the backing of companies, maybe there will be a console war between Sony gamers, nintendo gamers and Microsoft gamers in the near future?
One thing that I think we could see come out of all this is games designed specifically for competitions or for multiplayer purposes, no single player modes but only modes of play which put you against another human player. More attention could be used for the game y leaving out the un-required parts that are only used in single player mode.
There are a lot of games that could be used for gaming competitions but I personally feel that if it is to take off in a big way then developers need to work together to produce the best type of games for the competitions.b
Maybe we could see national competitions which feed into a world competition were the best of the best compete for a universal title. It may seem far fetched but maybe it is more a possibility than some think. I would like to see developers consider making the consoles and the on-line gaming networks they have planned allow features to maximise the potential pro gaming has for us gamers and the various companies involved. To be honest I think console Gaming would allow a lot better value than PC's in terms of games for competitions. One thing for sure though with the industry being so huge and growing at an alarming rate something like this is bound to take off more and more. Professional gamers are likely to make ridiculous amounts of money and I am sure if any of us had the change we would snap it up, maybe even sell your granny for it. I guess we will just need to wait and see.
So you want to become a pro? Well all I can suggest is practice and play games and ultimately enjoy them, if you don't enjoy it there is no point doing it. Also try take part in any competitions no mater how big or small they are. Look around for information on the internet and enter on-line competitons either from home or internet cafes (usually have high performance PC's if you find a good cafe) and good luck.
It's time to make a name for yourself doing something you love.
Professional gaming. A stupid idea or something that the industry needs to move forward?
It does seem a bit odd to me that we could have a professional gamer. Gaming has always been a hobby to me, something to do for fun, stop me from being bored and also has been part of my life for a long time. But could this all change, is there a chance we will see professional gaming taking off?
I know that there are indeed some professional gamers out there. Japan is usually the home of gaming and things usually happen their first, and professional gamers have hit it off in a big way over there. I guess in a way it can be similar to music, people get paid to sing so why not get paid to play games. To be a pro means you need to be of the highest level, is there any way to judge just how good one person is?
So how does professional gaming work?
Well companies set up teams with people they see as being very good gamers, the gamers then enter the various competitions set up and they advertise the company they play for. They make their money by winning so to be succesful you have to win a lot, don't win and the chances are you will lose your job and be replaced with someone better.
I imagine it is similar to football in a way, the better you are the more you are worth and also the more money you are likely to make. Also similar to football you will no doubt get paid stupid amounts of money for doing something so well easy.
In Korea the government support the idea of professional gamers and it is something which is set to grow as the industry increases by a large amount. Competitions are set up by various companies - a good way to market as there are a lot of fans of gaming who pay attention to the competitions.
But could it take off in this country? Could some of us sit in the careers officers room and discuss how you want to be a professional gamer. I think it is a case of if you are good enough then those who take it very seriously will find you if you play often enough. Getting the backing and options to start though could be quite hard.
I find it hard to see how professional gaming works, games are games and there is a limit to how well they can be played, a lot of the time it is down to luck. It isn't like having a natural ability like with professional footballers or other sports. I guess being a pro gamer is like a dream job and fun to do and that is why it dosn't seem real.
To be good at games requires skill, the more you practice the better your skill gets but there is a limit on how good you can get, after this it is all down to luck. But then again luck is needed with any profesion be it professional football, sometimes you need luck to overcome the odds, if it was down to professional ability then surely the best teams would win every game? See luck is important with any profession, even at SR towers when they put the finishing touches to the magazine (a great job they do too) they need luck (as well as their skills and abilities) to ensure no problems happen and everything runs smoothly.
So what would you need to be a pro gamer?
Well I guess you would have to be good at all genres of gaming not just say First person shooters. Similar to a footballer who needs all round talent in the various areas such as passing, movement, pace, skill, shooting, accuracy etc.Although most people who are really good at a particular genre of game aren't as good in other genres so they tend to only participate in certain competitions based on their specialised genre.
I think as A.I and the standard of games rises I would expect more skill to be required to be really good at games and when this happens we will see those who are good enough and those who aren't. The possibilities if we see truely inteligent software are unbelievable and even social gaming will benefit from it in a very big way, but pro gaming could use it to it's best to test gamers abilities to the max to find out who really is the best of the best.
If you are good at games there is a lot of money to be made, most of the money is made from winning competitions but more can be made from team sponsorships and I am sure the best pro gamers out there will make money through magazine and press appearances, interviews and maybe even tv shows and games etc. But one of the problems I see is how to judge talent, sure you may be able to get great scores but there will be millions of people who you have never played against, who is to say that a fair number of them aren't better than you? So while some guy is hailed as being the best there could be some 14 year old at home with his PS2 who has much better skills and talents but goes un-noticed.
In Japan most of the pro gaming takes place on-line through PC's. I know a number of people on this site play games on-line against others and it is very similar to this except it isn't for the fun of it. Japan seems to be top when it comes to technology and this is why pro gaming has taken off over there, hopefully we will see it over here too. Consoles are set to go on-line soon and it is likely that they will also play a big part in the pro gaming side of the industry. But with gaming on-line there is an issue of cheating which appears and how to monitor and judge games.
To combat this a lot of the big sponsored competitions take place in one location, usually gamers compete in regional heats and if they do well enough they can progress through to the final round. Special Reserve runs a gamer of the year competition which was for a certain console.
The way I see things is that pro gamers will feature more in the future and it is likely that it will be a career for some but again as with most things in this industry Britain lacks behind compared to Japan and the USA. I think that we may well need a universal standard for all games, no PAL/NTSC difference, which on its own could well be a good thing but I'll not go into that here.
The CPL ( Cyberathelete Professional League ) is probably the biggest league of professional gamers in America and they hold two large competitions each year, last years winner walked away with $150,000 which is a unbelievable amount of money to win from doing something like playing a game. At the moment it is mostly those with high performance PC's and fast internet access who take advantage of a growing part of the industry which also gives people the chance to make gaming more than a hobby, a way of earning a living.
More leagues are needed to be set up to let the idea go further, most of us can log on to various sites on the web and play games, sometimes enter small competitions for money and prizes. If leagues were set up we could join them and have more competition in our games. Pro Gaming isn't just about fun, it has to be taken seriously if you want to be amoung the best.
So who could benefit from it all?
Pro Gamers: If they are good enough then there is the chance to make quite a lot of money and also to gather fame, In Japan some pro gamers are as famous as pro sportsmen and women.
Competition sponsors: From a marketing point of view they can advertise and market their company to a large audience and maybe even charge entry fees so they can also make money from it and become more well known. Professional gaming competitions attract a large number of entrants but also a lot of people who just want to watch, there is also talk of bigger events in the future being broadcast on TV and/or on web feeds.
Gamers: Those who think they could be good enough at it could have something to aim for, a chance to make something out of their life and do something which they love to do, an ideal job for some people. It gives those who don't have skills in other areas but love gaming and have a talent in it to make something more of their lives.
The industry: The whole gaming industry would benefit from it all too. More people attracted into games and more money being spent on it meaning that more money can be used in producing games meaning we get better quality games and a wider variety of games.
I know a lot of us would jump at the chance of becoming a pro gamer but there are a few downsides, most gamers fall into a younger age group so many will, similar to footballers etc, leave school at a young age to try make it big and if you don't make it there isn't much to fall back on. Also at the moment it is a hard area to get into without financial backing and sponsorship and proving you are good enough to be considered could be very hard indeed. I am sure it is something that will take of in the near future, it justs need the backing of companies, maybe there will be a console war between Sony gamers, nintendo gamers and Microsoft gamers in the near future?
One thing that I think we could see come out of all this is games designed specifically for competitions or for multiplayer purposes, no single player modes but only modes of play which put you against another human player. More attention could be used for the game y leaving out the un-required parts that are only used in single player mode.
There are a lot of games that could be used for gaming competitions but I personally feel that if it is to take off in a big way then developers need to work together to produce the best type of games for the competitions.b
Maybe we could see national competitions which feed into a world competition were the best of the best compete for a universal title. It may seem far fetched but maybe it is more a possibility than some think. I would like to see developers consider making the consoles and the on-line gaming networks they have planned allow features to maximise the potential pro gaming has for us gamers and the various companies involved. To be honest I think console Gaming would allow a lot better value than PC's in terms of games for competitions. One thing for sure though with the industry being so huge and growing at an alarming rate something like this is bound to take off more and more. Professional gamers are likely to make ridiculous amounts of money and I am sure if any of us had the change we would snap it up, maybe even sell your granny for it. I guess we will just need to wait and see.
So you want to become a pro? Well all I can suggest is practice and play games and ultimately enjoy them, if you don't enjoy it there is no point doing it. Also try take part in any competitions no mater how big or small they are. Look around for information on the internet and enter on-line competitons either from home or internet cafes (usually have high performance PC's if you find a good cafe) and good luck.
It's time to make a name for yourself doing something you love.