Game On: Video Game Championships in Paris

by jordan | July 5, 2007 at 11:41 am | 223 views | add comment

I don't consider video gaming to be a true sport, but there's no doubt that it's attracting its own galaxy of highly-paid stars. This was never possible in the days of Joust and Dig-Dug.

Thousands of gamers are in Paris over the next four days for the Electronic Sports World Cup grand final.

More than 750 players are competing for $200,000 (£99,200) in prize money, with about 5,000 spectators expected.

The games being played include CounterStrike, Quake 4, Warcraft 3 and Pro Evolution Soccer 4. There is also a women-only CounterStrike tournament.

David Heuze, communications manager for the event, said: "The best video game players in the world are here."

Mr Heuze said the atmosphere during games was similar to a football match.

"It's crazy. There is a lot of noise and cheering.

"This is a real sport and we think this year it will be going mainstream. There are TV channels in the US and Korea showing live video game matches, a new channel in the UK and growing interest all the time."

There are about 50 full-time video game professionals in the western world, said Mr Heuze, who each earn about $200,000 a year in prizes.

Also impressive is the high-profile presence of female gamers at the tournament; most people think of young guys who are strangers to sunlight, but that is not really the case: Gamers cross gender and social lines, making up a massive demographic.