Gaming with Attitude

People have been talking about broadcasting videogames tourneys on TV for a while now; happens a lot in Korea, for instance, so why not the States or Europe or Russia? Ten years ago (omg) people were talking about it, and it's only just beginning to happen. The antithesis of the phrase, to over-estimate the speed of change, and under-estimate its overall impact? We shall see.

DirecTV are going to be broadcasting games from the Championship Gaming Series. Lots of little curiosities going on here: when you put videogamers into little matching outfits, do they somehow lose their charm, or do you suddenly take them seriously?

I think they lose their charm entirely, but I'd be interested in hearing what anyone else thinks.

Meanwhile, when not togged up in faux athlete gear, actual gamer teams are beginning to look more and more like boy-bands. Check out these Swedes - and this is without a touch of makeup or hairspray, which they'd have to suffer though before going on television:

We've already had one completely manufactured gaming group, presumably we can expect more and more of the same, sponsored by technology manufacturers, for sure. The Dell Destroyers. The nVivia nEutralizers. Oh you can see it now...

Comments

[MN Web Design]

Do you have any of their phone numbers? Haha, just kidding! Those outfits are really lame, but the little computer centers are even worse. Looks like something straight from the SciFi channel.

[Rossignol]

You've got to credit the endless enthusiasm of pro-gamers and their sponsors for this schtick, but it seems the same year after year, and is anyone really paying attention?

[Alice]

Not yet, Jim, no. Maybe never, maybe it's just one of those things that folks are convinced should work, but just won't...

[Tom]

Those "boy band" pictures absolutely repulse me. I don't know what else to write other than the fact I'm shaking my head just thinking about them. Bad, bad stuff.

Strangely enough, the championship series doesn't make me cringe as badly. They're clearly trying to put a professional, TV worthy face on it all. Although they could do with losing the matching outfits. In fact, burn them, because if they only lose them, they might find them again.

[Brinstar]

Aw come on. They look like typical young men! Sure, they're attractive and relatively fashionable. That doesn't mean that they're boy band material.

[Alice]

I think the attractive and relatively fashionable bit is the point though: if you say 'gamer' to most folk, they think spotty nerdboy in AMD teeshirt.

The reality is different, as these pics point out. THese boys haven't been styled - this is just how they *are*.

[Tom]

Maybe it's the way they've been posed then, because they look like they've been manufactured to not look like your stereotypical gamer.

I dunno, they look like a bunch of catalogue models the way they're stood, and I think that's what setting of my bulls*** detector.

[The Boy]

Mainstream commercialization is a "beautiful" thing. The prettier these boys are the more ratings the show get.

Sex appeal is all these people understand but skill is'nt something you get by being pretty, so this kind of behaviour will probably regulate itself.

[Sofia]

Sad, but, most Swedish boys I have seen look like that. The fashion is very much 'boy band'.

[Alex Taldren]

The uniforms will probably become more and more seen as sponsorships become more serious. Though, I figured that any company willing to sponsor a team of gamers would probably create merchandise they could see gamers wearing. On the other hand, you're right about those Swedish teams looking like boy bands. Maybe it just has to do with their don't-look-at-the-camera-this-is-MySpace pose?

Great post. I'm really enjoying this blog.

[Alice]

S'funny, I actually thought this was quite GOOD, that the chaps looked alright. However, everyone who's picked up on this post seems to think the opposite.

Hrm.

[Tom]

It must be the effect that trendy young boys have on you :-)

boy band? no. "indie/emo" fashion? yes... this is how the "i-generation" looks these days. groomed people in clothes that they paid outrageous money for to look like it was hand me downs...