ESPN.com to cover Major League Gaming

Does this mean we get to watch more Madden Nation?

The fact that someone wrote an article about ESPN and it wasn't me.....

Madden nation is separate from MLG. Check out www.MLG.com for their games. Its like Gears of War, Halo 2 (3 eventually), Shadowrun, Rainbow Six Vegas, etc.

Freakin' joke!

How about Super Smash Brothers (for N64 or Melee) and Mario Kart 64? I could make it big if they were on the circuit...

I thought it was a stretch for ESPN to cover poker, but the money was right, and it is hugely popular. And of course the ratings have been through the roof.

And while this will probably be limited largely to the website it still doesn't seem like these audiences crossover much.

And to top it off competitive gaming is covered by tons of sites all around the world.

What is in it for ESPN? Attracting the gaming audience so they tune in to sports? In my experience ESPN is pretty much the "it" place for sports news as it is.

Only narsasistic people with few friends and admitted chronic masterbaters will tune in for this garbage... ...it's not Entertainment, and it's not Sports, it's people being entertained by sports video games. This belongs on G4 or Spike TV not Entertainment and Sports Programing Network

Lest we forget another legendary waste of time brought to you by the suits and ties at ESPN: The X Games.

Skateboarding is not a sport, it's an after school activity.

I'll cave on the X-Games. For some time I was elitist about that too. But if we can call say figure skating, or gymnastics a sport, why not them is the conclusion I have slowly come to.

Sure it isn't a traditional sport per say, and its not my cup of tea, but I give the X-Games a pass.

Console and or PC gaming, not so much.

they must be puting it on ESPN 8 the ocho

The "E" in ESPN stands for entertainment. Not everything they televise is a sport. Ever hear of the ESPY's?

I watched Madden Nation the other day (someone told me about it) and I couldn't believe it. Interviewing these kids like they're athletes.

Even more fackin' unbelievable is the winner gets $100K. Damn straight I'll go get an XBox or a piece of plywood with wheels on it for 100 grand.

You mean something which takes skill?

Coming up in two months.. ESPN presents, "What Game is Now?"

Or the one kid who said he discovered a weakness in another guy's defense.

"I should be able to exploit his weakside by running to the strong side then going long when the corner comes up to double up filling the hole."

Huh?

Its a game. If the kid has a weakness it's because his thumb falls off the controller. Sheesh.

It's like fantasy players. "I can't believe Albert Pujols went 0-5 against that rookie. Dude is costing me money."

Cracks me up.

And when they get bored of playing Madden, they go outside and skateboard.

When will colleges offer scholarships for gaming, so I can watch this on ESPN U?

ESPN drank some sort of Twisted Kool-aid a long time ago, I'm not suprised by this at all. They cover poker for crying out loud.

A few years ago, they were covering dominoes... I'd rather watch 15 year olds with bad acne play Madden or Halo.

A friend and I are actually debating this esports=sports thing.

I would define sports more along the lines of what i pulled up on google: "an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition the occupation of athletes who compete for pay"

His definition is more the wikipedia style: "Sport = Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively"

But by those means beer pong, pool, darts, gaming, poker are all sports. And that I dont buy.

Just because a game is played competitively doesnt make it a sport in this guys eyes.

A friend and I are actually debating this esports=sports thing.

I would define sports more along the lines of what i pulled up on google: "an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition the occupation of athletes who compete for pay"

His definition is more the wikipedia style: "Sport = Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively"

But by those means beer pong, pool, darts, gaming, poker are all sports. And that I dont buy.

Just because a game is played competitively doesnt make it a sport in this guys eyes.

The problem is that Video games change to rapidly. Everyone wants the next hot game so that you can't build a following around any one game, heck you can't build a league around any one video game system. And no one is going watch a bunch of computer geeks play World of Warcraft. The game has to have mass market appeal (like madden), yet change enough each year to keep people interested. This goes counter to what sells when marketing a league or a tour.

Poker works because the game has not changed in over 100 years. Heck a cribbage league would be more successful for the same reason. Extreme sports work because they are accessible. Anyone can ride a snowboard or a bike, or Rollerblades. You might not be able to do what they do, but you can feel involved and attached.

That's just the games issue never mind the personalities issue. Again WoW, no one wants to watch those people play video games. People can and will watch, they just won't watch those people.

There's about 80% of ESPN.com I do not explore, and will never go to, so if they want to cover competitive gaming, that's fine. And there's a few hundred other channels besides ESPN's family so if they decide to eventually show competitive gaming on TV, I won't care.

I think some of the elitism in this thread is laughable. If you don't like ESPN's coverage of poker (I for one do not), then don't watch it. If you don't like the X-Games, don't watch them.

I think it's silly that we spend so much time and effort on arguing over what should and shouldn't be on some cable channel.