Thursday, November 13, 1997
Professional Gamers League draws virtual lines in sports
COLUMN:
Cyberathletes have same problems, if not more, as real teams
Let me say right off the bat, I am not making this up.
A news conference was held last Monday at San Francisco’s 3Com
Park ("Candlestick" in English) to announce the establishment of
the first ever professional video game league.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the creatively titled
Professional Gamers League (PGL for those in the know) is seeking
to establish itself as a legitimate pro sport in the mold of the
NBA or NHL.
"Cyberathletes" will compete for a share of $250,000 in cash and
prizes, spread out among several three-month-long tournaments (and
you thought it was hard to sit through American League games), with
the winners of each taking home about 19 grand.
There will be a player-ranking system, referees (no mention if
they would be real or virtual, which would make it a little tough
to knock them over the scorer’s table), and a commissioner (who
apparently is real).
The league’s founders even foresee trading cards of their
unmoving, wide-eyed and fixed-focus "athletes" (the best of which,
I assume, will be known as "Stare" Jordan).
And, like in any major sport, the big-time players can expect to
complement their earnings with enormous endorsement deals. The
Times reported that Dennis Fong of Berkeley, known as "Thresh"
(presumably because he harvests wheat in his spare time), is being
paid $1,500 to appear at a trade show in Las Vegas this month,
after he won several independent tournaments last year.
Look out Tiger Woods; someone’s angling for a piece of your
advertising pie.
Unfortunately, in modeling itself on the major sports leagues,
the PGL is likely bring upon itself many of the problems plaguing
those leagues.
They are already having problems with greedy agents vying for
power. One of them, Angel Munoz (called "the Don King of online
games" by the Times, although no mention was made regarding the
size of his coif), is refusing to let his stable of virtual-reality
thoroughbreds participate in the PGL because the league refused to
waive the $9.95 registration fee.
Gee, first Kevin Garnett’s contract, now this: will the huge
dollar figures being thrown around in pro sports never cease?
And, like any pro sport, there will be the groupies. Oh yeah,
baby, every guy knows that the arcade is the spot for mad honeys.
Just imagine the damage to the league when the first player calls a
press conference to announce his retirement because of cooties.
Worst of all, what will happen when the early-entry issue raises
its ugly head? People worry that Garnett’s entry into the NBA would
persuade kids to skip college; this might cut into high school
admissions as well. Can the league survive that kind of
controversy?
What about point-shaving scandals? Free agency? A draft?
Anti-trust lawsuits filed by the players’ union.
Hey, big league sports is a tough racket, so a serious question
must be asked:
Are these people kidding me?!?
A professional video game league?
"What inspired me was just the idea that a great game player
should get the same kind of recognition of an actual sports
player," Joe Perez, one of the league’s founders, told the
Times.
Come on Joe, just because people are good at something does not
automatically mean they should be rewarded for it. Plenty of kids
(and far too many adults) are great at making farting noises with
their armpits; should we start a league for them? How about one for
people who can shoot their bottle caps across the room? And people
who can roll their tongues into an "O" shape? What’s your next
bright idea, Joe?
Of course, similar arguments can be made against true athletes;
another example, in all honesty, of people being good at something
completely unimportant in the great scheme of things. The
difference is the entertainment factor, the reason behind the
"spectator" part of "spectator sport."
Blame it on a "cult of the body," but people enjoy watching
others run around with balls and pucks and rackets, working up a
good sweat and, hopefully, (you hockey fans out there know what I’m
talking about) hurting one another. It provides an escape after the
day’s work is done.
But will this really be true of video games, where the target of
this escape is the player, not the spectator, and where the action
consists of minute thumb movements and animated characters?
Watching others play video games is like watching a movie with no
characterization, hackneyed (if any) dialogue, and a repetitive and
highly predictable plot.
Sign me up!
Why would anyone in their right mind pay money for that when
they can get the same thing for free by standing around at the
arcade?
According to the Times, the league is apparently taking steps to
deal with this problem. Their answer: something called "ghosting,"
whereby fans log into the game as non-participating characters,
invisible to the contestants, but able to watch close up.
In other words, spectators will play without playing, which is
somehow more appealing than actually playing because they will get
to pay for it.
Gee, the lure is obvious.
But who knows, things that on the surface, at least, lack any
entertainment value have a way of succeeding in this country. I
mean, if "Family Matters" can somehow stay on the air for six or
seven seasons, then maybe a professional video game league can make
it as well.
If so, I’ll trade you my McGuire rookie for your ’98 Stare
Jordan.
Rob Kariakin wants it known that the top five in the CART point
standings are: 1. Emerson Fittapaldi, 195 points; 2. Al Unser Jr.,
167 points; 3. Donkey Kong, 144 points; 4. Mario, 134 points; 5.
Yoshi, 119 points.