Gamertell

Combat Arms, Nexon’s free-to-play, MMOFPS (massive multiplayer online first person shooter) has launched commercially, and to celebrate there will be a tournament at E-for-All 2008. On October 4, 2008, from 11am to 6:30pm PST, the PMS Clan (Pandora’s Mighty Soldiers) will be at the Combat Arms booth, ready to take on opponents…

MORE »

BlizzCon 2008 is offering a free pay-per-view package to new DirecTV subscribers for its upcoming World of Warcraft tournament starting at 1:30 p.m. on October 10, 2008, and 2 p.m. EST on October 11, 2008, broadcasting live from the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA (USA).

The DirecTV special promotion can be subscribed to only through the BlizzCon website and is available only to those living in the United States that subscribe to service before September 30, 2008, and activate it before October 9, 2008.

Current DirectTV subscribers can…

MORE »

Title: Game Boys (aka Game Boys: Professional Videogaming’s Rise from the Basement to the Big Time)
Author: Michael Kane
Price: $24.95 (hardcover)
Release Date: June 23, 2008
Publisher: Viking (part of Penguin Putnam, Inc.)
Pros: Conveys the excitement, personality and seriousness of competitive gaming in a readable tone. A good book for gamers and pro gaming skeptics.
Cons: Starts a bit slow and has some overly simplified explanations of gaming and gaming terms.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 90/100; A-; * * * * out of five.

Kane’s Game Boys is so much better than the pop-catchy name implies. It is instead a well-formed, personal and serious look into select groups of pro gamers.

Click through for the full review…

MORE »

Here’s great news for Gamertell readers who own a Nintendo Wii. Titanstrike has organized a Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament with cash prizes over at SmashTournament.com. And Gamertell readers get an exclusive discount on the entry fee…

MORE »

As the scalding heat blows across the east coast, Xfire predicts cooler weather for June 2008 due to three events with Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: Meet Team Millenium, a broadcast of the Sunwell Raid Redux and the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris…

MORE »

The American leg of US World Cyber Ggames 2008 will take place at the Samsung Experience in New York, NY, on May 31, 2008, and June 1, 2008. At stake are cash and prizes worth more than $20,000 along with a place in the WCG USA National Final. The first leg or the WCG 2008 US Open will include some of the best gamers in America who have their sights set on qualifying for the WCG 2008 Grand Finals in Cologne, Germany, in November 2008.

The Grand Finals will have…

MORE »

Professional gaming buffs take note: the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) has just announced its list of North American franchise players. Franchise players are the cream of the proverbial crop in the CGS world - above the other tiers of players on CGS teams. The franchise players were selected to represent each team - from San Francisco Optx, Chicago Chimera, Los Angeles compLexity, Carolina Core, New York 3D, and Dallas Venom; before the rosters become filled with pros drafted in the March 7-9, 2008 CGS combine and draft.

Looking at the announced players, it looks like competition will be quite stiff in the 2008 season. Read on to check out player bios from the press release.

MORE »

Blizzard Entertainment recently announced its 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament with more than $200,000 in cash prizes.

The competition is based on World of Warcraft‘s arena system except separated from the live realms to provide a more secluded area for professional-level players to compete with their individual skills and strategy. Consisting of two rounds of regional qualifiers, the winners of the regionals will go on to compete in the live regional finals and a chance to compete in the global world championship.

By being separated, those who compete in the standard arena for…

MORE »

According to GameDaily, pro game organizer Major League Gaming (MLG) has just signed a contract with “real” sports network ESPN to provide professional gaming coverage. The pact includes a multi year deal to cover MLG competitions on ESPN’s sites, which will include the games-only ESPNVideogames.com. ESPN will launch its own competitive gaming portal (complete with details on past and future events) and will co-sponsor competitions with MLG in the future.

The deal came about due to the increased interest in competitive gaming as a serious sport (the article cites the recent professional poker phenomena’s success as a parallel). High ratings for previously televised tournaments and the exodus of the young male population from TV to videogames were other reasons listed for ESPN’s interest.

From the article:

“The new deal includes ESPN covering MLG’s upcoming season across multiple platforms, including ESPN360.com. 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.”

Overall, it appears that the coverage will be fairly extensive and far-reaching, so perhaps pro gaming will finally enjoy the mainstream status it deserves in North America? This is certainly a big step in the right direction.

Read [GameDaily]

I ran into Zach Wigal (pictured right) online well after our interview for the “Teen with a Dream” story and was glad to hear his dream came true. He and his friends were finally able to host a Halo tournament through a CyGamZ fundraiser held in November 2007.

He told me GOF was able to raise $500, which was used towards community service projects within his area and that this year he and his friends are hosting another Halo tournament event called Gamers for Giving February 29, 2008.

“I believe last we spoke about GOF happenings I told you we had a small fund raiser for our organization at a LAN center called CyGamZ planned, and that we were still discussing possible dates and things for our big comeback event, Gamers for Giving,” Wigal said when I caught up with him earlier this week. “Well the CyGamZ event has ended, and we’re 100% focused on Gamers for Giving, which is a Halo 3 tournament combined with a 3 day straight PC LAN.”

Wigal plans to “raise at least $7,500 dollars to help families and kids who struggle with Autism,” he explained. “All profits made from the event are…

MORE »