Gamertell

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…

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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.

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Starting December 6, 2007, game fanatics worldwide will be able to watch the highly anticipated Championship Gaming Series. The nine-day event will be broadcasted on television via DirecTV in the US; BSkyB’s Sky One, Sky Two and Sky HD in England; ESPN STAR in Asia; SKY in Mexico and Brazil; DirecTV throughout the rest of the Latin America; and satellite carriers across mainland Europe through various broadcast partners.

CGS, headquarters in Los Angeles, Calif., is the only worldwide professional video gaming league launched earlier this year (January 2007) and features teams of the world’s best gamers from North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia, who will compete professionally in the inaugural CGS World Finals.

Gamers will compete for a chance to battle and win $1,000,000 total prize purse with $500,000 to be awarded to the World Champion team. The event will be a monumental first in the history of gaming according to CGS commissioner Andy Reif. will be televised from Sony Studios in Los Angeles.

“The CGS World Final represents a watershed moment in the history of pro gaming and we are proud to broadcast to more than 350 million viewers globally,” said Andy Reif, CGS commissioner and CEO. “Fans worldwide will soon find out which team will claim its place as the first CGS World Champion and take home the top prize of $500,000.”

In addition to the team-based competition, CGS will hold an Individual World Final tournament with top CGS league players from six different regions competing for individual championships as well as a World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Area featuring a premier event with American and European gamers battling for prizes up to $30,000 starting December 8, 2007.

During the tournament each CGS team, consisting of ten athletes who specialize in an official League game, will select five players for the five-on-five match of Counter-Strike: Source, two players for the mixed doubles tam for Dead or Alive 4 and Project Gotham Racing 3 for the two-versus-two competition; and one player to compete in the FIFA 2007 one-on-one match.

Prize distribution for the CGS World Final will be as follows:

Team World Final

1st place will receive $500,000
2nd place will receive $150,000
3rd and 4th place winners will receive $70,000
5th through 8th place winners will receive $30,000
9th through 12th place winners will receive $15,000
The tournament’s most valuable players will receive $25,000

Individual World Final

1st place winners for the Dead or Alive 4 competition will award $5,000 to one male and one female athlete
1st place winner for FIFA 2007 will receive $5,000
1st place two-player team in the Project Gotham Racing 3 competition will each receive $5,000
1st place five-player squad in Counter-Strike: Source will award $5,000 to each squad member

World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade two-versus-two world championship

1st place two-player team will receive $15,000 each

The total grand prize purse for the event is $1,075,000 and the CGS official teams participating in this event includes: Berlin Allianz, Birmingham Salvo, Carolina Core, Chicago Chimera, London Mint, Mexico City Furia, Rio Sinistro, Seoul Jinhwa, Singapore Sword, Stockholm Magnetik, Sydney Underground and Wuhan Dragon.

Beginning with the CGS World Final press conference on December 6, 2007, the World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade and the Individual World Finals will be available via webcast on the CGS website. The game schedule is as follows:

December 6: First round day 1
December 7: First round day 2
December 8: WoW:BC 2v2 CGS Championship
December 8: Individual World Final
December 10: Quarterfinals day 1
December 11: Quarterfinals day 2
December 13: Semifinals
December 14: Final

For more information, to view the webcast or check on the status of your favorite team, login to the CGS web site. Please note the site may be off line or running slow while they prepare for the upcoming championship events.

Read [CGS E-Sports] Site [DIRECTV 101:Gaming Series page] Site [Championship Gaming Series]