ESPN Ventures Into the World of Gaming
ESPN, Video Games January 15th. 2008, 10:32am
First question we had: Magic cards … is that Gaming? Are we talking Dungeons and Dragons? Apparently, those are role-playing games, and “gaming” appears to consist of video game connoisseurs (if that depiction is wrong, please let us know): “ESPN will serve as a primary outlet for news about MLG, providing extensive digital coverage of MLG’s 2008 Pro Circuit Competitions, including exclusive streamed matches, pro player interviews, and scores and stats. Additionally, MLG will host ESPN co-branded online video game tournaments.” How can this be? Is there really a segment of the population that enjoys watching other people (whom they don’t know) play video games? We understand the poker shows, because you can always pick up new strategies, but gaming? We’ve probably watched half of one episode of “Madden Nation,” and then we switched over to How I Met Your Mother (before throwing the remote at the TV, shattering the screen, and taking comfort in the internet).
Fact: We won’t have a Playstation, Wii or any of those other systems. Once, we got a PSP and regifted it to a relative who had returned from Iraq. We were later sad to find out he already had one, and regifted it to someone else. It’s sad how out-of-touch we are with video games, but sacrifices must be made. However, if we go to a friend’s house and they have any of these gaming systems, we usually end up planted in front of the television for a few hours. So we’re going to have to look to you, the video game-playing reader, to carry us through this post. And if there is a “gaming writer” in the house, drop us an email.
Historic Day in the World of Gaming (Major League Gaming)
49 Responses to “ESPN Ventures Into the World of Gaming”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.

January 15th, 2008 at 10:36 AM
Wow I haven’t even thought about Magic the Gathering since I was about 14. Me and my friend thought the game was way too slow so we made up our own rules for it.
As far as video games… call me old fashioned, but the best system ever is still Super Nintendo. Can’t go wrong with Hall of Fame games like Mario All-Stars, Super Metroid and Chrono Trigger.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:38 AM
But yeah, I agree with TBL… I don’t understand the appeal of watching other people play video games. For one thing, folks that are pros at games like Halo and Counter-Strike move so goddamn fast that you can’t tell what’s happening anyway.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:42 AM
those bristol bozos already broadcast (ad nauseum) a bunch of dorks playing poker. how is this any different?
next: yahtzee, risk, monopoly and axis and allies (which, if drunk enough, axis and allies might actually be moderately interesting).
January 15th, 2008 at 10:44 AM
TBl, I own a Wii, and it’s a good time. Especially after drinking and placing money on various sport games.
s1R, I agree completely. Super Nintendo is still the best system. Tecmo Super Bowl, Mario Kart, just great games, especially when played on a big TV, as opposed to the small shit that I played it on when it first came out. It looks so out of place in my entertainment center, Wii – Blu-Ray – HD cable box – Super Nintendo.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:44 AM
“Madden Nation” was an awful program, but funny because those kids were all just mildly retarded and I really would like to see where they end up on 5 years.
By far the best gaming system was Nintendo 64 for the sole reason that you could play Bond against 4 other guys. In college, that was the best.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Actual quote:
January 15th, 2008 at 10:49 AM
There are way too many first person shooters on gaming consoles right now. Tecmo Super Bowl and Super Mario Bros. 3 FTW!!
January 15th, 2008 at 10:50 AM
im a fan of pinball machines and old school arcade games
January 15th, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Rockband is probably the most addictive game I have ever played. Do yourself a favor and grab a couple of friends and a 30 pack and play rockband for 10 hours.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:55 AM
This is just what America needs. A network that is supposed to be a one stop shop for all things sport now glorifying fat kids that live in their parents basements and play video games all day. Is the obesity epedemic not bad enough?
As for systems I’ll stick with the original Nintendo. There is something very satisfying about being able to beat the majority of the games in a hour or two. Plus Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out was the greatest thing ever.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:57 AM
pkiguy22 you hit the nail on the head… Goldeneye was the best back in college! I blew way too much time playing 4 player Goldeneye when I should have been studying. Add Wave Race, Mario Kart, etc into the mix and you have a winner. God, I loved the N64.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:02 AM
@jeff,
Dude I totally forgot about wave race. Man those were the days.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:05 AM
wave-race was an awesome game. i still maintain that im the greatest Mortal Kombat Trilogy player in history and am willing to accept challenges. N64 was super solid.
im not a big fan of the new super-technological systems out there. it just seems like its too much flash and not enough substance. halo 3 is cool and all, but is it any different than halo 1 and 2? tiger woods is sweet and so is madden, but its all the same shit.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:09 AM
original nintendo is the way to go. if you have wii, you can purchase old school nintendo games (they don’t even change the graphics) and play them on the wii. i’ve been playing double dribble and blades of steel lately…
January 15th, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Seriously Sega Hockey turned me into an Art Major.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Where do you find such games Neo?
January 15th, 2008 at 11:12 AM
No kidding, spencer. I’m supposed to devote at least 40 hours of my life and buy a 900-page $20 game guide to play of game in half of which consists of sitting and watching? No thanks.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Wait, wait, wait people!!!!!! No mention of Sega Genesis and NHL 95 or NBA Live 97? No Sonic? You alls parents didnt wait in line and get the Genesis.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:15 AM
e man, Nintendo lets you buy them through the Wii, provided you have an internet connection (wireless will work) and Wii points (money on a card). They’re putting a bunch of the old games, and even some Sega games, on it and they sell controllers that let you play old school games.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:16 AM
sega sucked.
except for the original mortal kombat with blood. that was sweet when i was in 2nd grade.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:16 AM
e man, if you go to the wii shop channel, then click on virtual console. they have games on there from nintendo, super nintendo, nintendo 64, turbo grafx 16, genesis, and i think neo geo. the only catch is they havent released all older games. you need to buy wii points to buy them (which are basically the same thing as $). 500 wii pts ($5) for 1 old school nintendo game. i think the rest are a little bit more. no game is over $8. they havent made any changes to the games, which is the best part.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:17 AM
@e man – just search for “NES emulator” and “NES Roms.” If you’re a fan of NES Tecmo Bowl, I highly suggest http://www.knobbe.org. Every year (and usually a couple of times a year), they release a version of Tecmo Super Bowl complete with this year’s teams and rosters. They have even hacked a version that has all 32 teams (it only had 26 when it came out in ‘91). It’s a perfect match of retro gaming and modern technology.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Thanks for the info. I think I will going home tonight to hook up some old school Mario. The Wii was for our girls christmas but I think Dad has had more time on it at this point.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:21 AM
@Spencer- “Sega Sucked”. My Sega thumb would agree.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:22 AM
@spence Those are fightin’ words. in the early 90’s Sega Hockey was the greatest time consumer around. A lot of bad beery tournaments were played until daylight in a crappy college dorm for me there.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:27 AM
thanks for the info neo, i bought the wii for my kids but i play it more than they do. bong hit then a little bowling, cant beat it
January 15th, 2008 at 11:33 AM
you were either a nintendo-guy or a sega-guy growing up. we had knife fights after school to settle it. lets just say, there were a lot fewer sega-guys at my school.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:37 AM
@ bobb- the tourneys where people paid a couple of thier parents dollars and then drew teams from a hat? Double elimination?
January 15th, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Modano, left right top shelve.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Darren Puppa was the worst video game goalie ever. Any slapshot from the blue line got past him.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:45 AM
As a pseudo-gamer (plays MMO’s) I know a little about this. No watching someone play video games is boring. FYI the best Gaming blog out there is this one:
Ctrl+Alt+Del
January 15th, 2008 at 11:49 AM
As an avid gamer, this is actually pretty exciting to me. For those of you who aren’t into video games, or think that all gamers are “fat little kids”, this will help shed some of those views. I played every sport I could growing up, and even went to the college level in baseball, most people would consider me a “jock” I guess. But when I’m not watching football, basketball or baseball, I’m playing Halo or Call of Duty or any number of other games. As a very competitive person, video games are really the only way I can still compete at something I’m good at. With my busy schedule (including both work and your typical mid 20’s partying), I can’t always grab a pick up game of basketball at 2 in the morning, but I can fire up my Xbox and play for hours, or during half-time of a playoff game.
As far as TBL’s comment: “We understand the poker shows, because you can always pick up new strategies, but gaming?†you can absolutely pick up new strategies while watching those guys play. I learn more about how to play a video game (and, what not to do) when I’m watching other people play and getting a chance to watch some of the best gamers in the world who are light years ahead of my own skill. I realize this may sound crazy, but watching some of them play (some of which have only been defeated in competition like once) is just like watching a professional athlete. I’m good at Halo 3, my ranking proves that I’m very good, but the step up from where I’m at to where those guys are at is light years. It’s like the difference between a good college basketball player and Lebron or Kobe.
Sorry for the long comment, got started typing and got a little carried away.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:49 AM
before I bought a PS2 in college, the last system I owned was a Sega…
NBA JAM!
January 15th, 2008 at 11:50 AM
@cool –
Round Robin then single elim. World cup soccer style. But yes blind draw with a few $$$ involved. Sucked to end up with hartford. it was tough when Zarly Zalapsky was your best player.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Bobb- Ronnin and the Vancouver Canucks were the best team for that game. Built with speed and finese. No strength. No forechecking, just straight speed and double-deekes.(sic)
January 15th, 2008 at 12:09 PM
@ CRM
HE’S ON FIRE!!! You have got to love that game. Sunt and Lambeer owned that shit.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Do you guys remember how Jordan was never in any of the later NBA video games? It was always just #23. Conspiracy.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:33 PM
@Sean Jean – That’s because he had his own licensing agreement outside of the NBAPA. I believe he was in the later EA games though.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:43 PM
@CRM and Magglio,
I used to love playing against those guys that shot 3’s all day. I just camped out under the basket and swatted away everything.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:44 PM
@cool
Vancouver was fast, I actually always like the Nordiques. That was the precurser to the Stanley Cup Avs.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:44 PM
in NBA Live 95, you could create a player and if you used the name Michael Jordan, you could have him on your team.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:57 PM
NBA JAM and NHL ‘95 on Genesis were the BEST TWO GAMES EVER. NOTHING on any old Nintendo system even comes close to those two games (although Bond is almost a lock for #3 on best games).
Jam and NHL95 consumed so much of my life is almost pathetic thinking back.
Kinda wanna go bust out the Genesis though… think I’ll have to blow into the cartridges you Nintendo suckers? hahaha
January 15th, 2008 at 1:06 PM
NHL ‘95
The Roenick wraparound was unstoppable. Larmer to Roenick.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:18 PM
No love for the Al Iafrate slapper?
January 15th, 2008 at 1:33 PM
And you know, if you have a Wii, you can on online and download old Nintendo games.
Super Nintendo still is the greatest system ever. I swore to never play anything that wasn’t Nintendo, and then I played Final Fantasy VII on Playstation, and it blew me away.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:46 PM
@SpartanFan – I’d say Final Fantasy III on SNES was superior to FF VII. III still sold for $60 in used game stores even after Super Nintendo was no longer available/the top game system.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:17 PM
Major League Gaming is just guys (and like two token girls) who make a living out of playing Halo. The top team in the league, as DC Sports Bog readers know, is sponsored by Agent Zero. The 2007 season (yes, there is a season) was broadcast in five one-hour shows on G4, the only station with a legitimate argument for broadcasting it. The fact that ESPN is picking it up makes me lose nearly all faith in sports broadcasting. Also, these MLG players consider themselves as athletes, thus rendering the word athlete forever meaningless.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:19 PM
@jibblescribbits1
Tim Buckley is a gigantic douche.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:13 PM
@DaveMN-FFIII is the better game, but VII opened up the doors to all the stuff that’s in RPG’s now. It was the first one with those awesome (for the time) cutscenes.
Sorry, that’s the dork in me coming out.