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15 Minutes of Fame: e-sportscaster tracks WoW tournies
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. First off, let's establish this for the record: yes, there are people out there who play World of Warcraft professionally. There are pro teams, well known player personalities and an entire tournament scene. And behind it all, there are podcasters – "e-casters" – reporting on every twist and turn.Meet JP McDaniel, a 22-year-old college journalism major and podcaster for ArenaCast. JP has combined the game he loves with school and work in what he hopes will be a springboard to a print journalism career in gaming. He's managed to roll his main up to 80 in the midst of podcasting, news updates, tournament travel and his studies. We talked with JP about his road into e-casting and his perspectives on where e-sports -- and competitive WoW, in particular -- are heading.
60 days until BlizzCon
It's 60 until BlizzCon, and there isn't much news yet. No news on when we'll get tickets, what fancy pet might be available to attendees. Really, not much news at all. That is unless you're a follower of the WoW tournaments. At the close of the first day of the Blizzard North American regional arena tournament in San Diego, CA WorldofWarcraft.com announced that the world finals tournament will be held at BlizzCon. This is actually pretty exciting news, since aside from the panel discussions, the tournaments were my favorite part of BlizzCon. I certainly hope they set up seating this year for spectators that are interested in watching the Global Finals. So now we know that in addition to whatever announcements may or may not be made, and most likely a Starcraft 2 demo station, there will be some pretty hefty competitive gaming at BlizzCon in August. Check back with WoW Insider for the latest on BlizzCon.
Team Pandemic takes the prize in China
They started out as Power Trip, and were the first WoW arena team to have official sponsors. But today, team Pandemic proved that all the money and hype weren't for nothing. After coming up through the ranks, which included 63 Chinese teams, one European team, and one other American team, Pandemic went on to dominate in the finals against Fnatic 3-0. This makes Pandemic the current WSVG World of Warcraft Champions. And considering the roar from the crowd when Pandemic was awarded their prize, it appears that WoW Arena teams are most definitely a welcome addition to competitive gaming. The secret to team Pandemic's success appears to have been due to a combination of factors. One of the first, and most notable, is that the Chinese teams have not had access to the Burning Crusade expansion for nearly as long. This meant that those hometown teams were playing with spells and abilities that they are not very used to, whereas the US/EU teams have had the chance to get used to them for months. However, one of the most telling things in the final match was that both ending teams used a solid Warrior, Mage and Paladin combination. Why would this prove to be such a big deal? It's use put Pandemic in a far stronger place than Fnatic from the word go, as Fnatic's mage, Sander 'Vo0' Kaasjager, has only been playing his class for approximately three weeks. Both teams appeared to focus on the strategy of forcing the opposing team's mage to burn their two Ice Blocks as quickly as possible, which, combined with some poor crowd control and just plain bad luck on the side of Fnatic, proved to be the winning combination for Team Pandemic when it came down to it. Now we wait and see what happens next when the WSVG reconvenes in Louisville on June 21-23. Hopefully the camera work for the webcast will be a bit better this next time. Or better yet, that a channel like G4 picks up the final rounds at least. For now, the China WSVG videos are all over the Internet, for those interested in catching the highlights of some of the finger-twitching-good action. (The current team rankings and prizes awarded are beyond the cut.)
PepsiCo to sponsor Guild Wars in China
The cola wars took an interesting turn today, and Chinese online gaming host The9 showed they have flexible loyalties when it comes to carbonated beverages. The Shanghai-based developer successfully partnered with Coca-Cola (and pop group S.H.E.) in 2005 to promote the launch of World of Warcraft, and now PepsiCo wants a piece of China's MMO action.As part of a new marketing agreement, Pepsi and The9 will co-sponsor a national Guild Wars tournament and pimp over 10,000 Internet Cafes using decor based on NCsoft's popular fantasy setting. Cafe chaperones will now have to work twice as hard to keep sticky soft drinks away from the PCs. Beta testing for Guild Wars China begins in two days.
WoW and LAN gaming
Having a WoW LAN at an event like BlizzCon seems only natural, but we're seeing an increasing presence of WoW at BYOC events. With an Internet connection as staple a feature as the local area network that gives LAN events their name, there's no reason why MMOs shouldn't be at these events, as they provide a great opportunity for players to meet up and play together.Blizzard's recent announcement of their competitions at the Lanwar event in Kentucky got me thinking. Competitions are a great part of LAN events, whether it's cash, swag or prestige that's on offer. However, the time-restricted nature of a three-day event means that certain aspects of WoW get a lot more attention than others.Rather like the earlier beta contest, two of the competitions revolve around levelling and PvP. How far can you get in three hours? Given a premade character, how well can you PvP? Finally, a test of teamwork and skill that can only really take place at a LAN event like this -- beat other teams in a Stratholme race. Personally, I think levelling and PvP contests are quite limited -- but special events like PvPing against the devs, or a levelling contest using only Draenei and Blood Elves, could make an event like this truly special. Other areas of WoW could be highlighted, too -- how about testing a guild's tradeskill organisation? Finding rare and unusual pets and items? Mini-tank races?
CPL cancellation "a step backwards"
The BBC reports on the disappearance of the CPL World Tour from an international perspective. With budding British pro gamers having pinned their hopes on the event -- one even giving up a tennis career -- the cancellation comes as quite a blow. Teams that have trained on specific games, maps and rulesets have work ahead to retrain for other events.Philip Wride, manager of Intel-sponsored clan 4Kings, described the move as "a step backwards" for pro gaming. While there are still tournaments in Europe, the UK is left with just a few LAN tournaments that concentrate on fun rather than professional prize money. However, for gamers willing to travel, there is still a substantial amount of cash available to those who play well -- the World Series of Video Games, World Cyber Games and e-Sports World Cup all offer the chance to triumph.
Girl gamer recruitment good reality TV?
Recruiting a new member for a sponsored girl gaming team can't be easy. When Eekers (one of Ubisoft's Frag Dolls) left the line-up last summer, a nationwide search for her replacement rolled into motion, requiring everything from a gaming CV to glamour shots. Months later, when all but the hopefuls have forgotten the empty space to be filled, the shortlisted candidates have been announced and the final selection procedure outlined.All eight of the finalists will be flown to San Francisco to "join the existing Frag Dolls in a weekend of playing games and interviewing", a party that sounds like good fodder for frazzled nerves -- especially when you add in the filming. For this is no ordinary interview -- instead, the whole thing will be covered by Internet TV site GameTrailers, providing a reality TV glimpse into the mysterious world of girl gamers.
World Cyber Games '06 titles announced, Halo 2 dropped
The World Cyber Games, an international professional gaming competition, has announced which titles will be used for this year's competitions. With the advent of a new platform, it's been interesting to see where the focus of professional gamers will lie.A return to Counter-Strike 1.6 (last year's competition used Source) and upgrades for FIFA Soccer and Dead or Alive are all on the cards, but the surprise switch outlined is the removal of Halo 2 from the line-up; it's being replaced with Project Gotham Racing 3. Console FPS players will be disappointed.[Via Gamespot]
Single player games get competitive again
Many gamers' favourite moments include racking up high scores at the local arcade and boasting about them to friends--that's about as competitive as single-player games could get. Multiplayer games, with their inherent replayability, are dominating the sales charts; has the humble high score died a death?No, says this article from competitive gaming site MLG Pro. Instead, single player games have moved into a new era of competitiveness via the likes of Xbox Live. With achievements and gamerscores that are influenced by your single-player prowess as much as your multiplayer muscle, we have incentives to do well at single player games again; we have our friends' scores to beat, and the world records to challenge.It's an interesting observation. Given the number of fiercely competitive FPS gamers who have been spending more time in the Live Arcade, racking up score after score, it seems to be spot-on, too. The next step? More obscure achievements, perhaps -- games that award points just for finishing the game don't really carry the feeling of competitive triumph that gamers seem to be lusting after these days.[via /.]
Trackmania Nations ESWC free to download [Updated]
If you've ever wanted to flirt with competitive gaming, now's your chance. The 2006 Electronic Sports World Cup has commissioned a special edition of Trackmania, Trackmania Nations ESWC, which will feature in this year's competition with a $40,000 prize.This is apparently the first time a game has been created especially for the competition, and it's being offered free for anyone in the world to download and try their hand at. Even if you're not a veteran Trackmania player, you've nothing to lose. It's an interesting move, and will doubtless be popular--perhaps further genres will be forthcoming in future years if this experiment succeeds.[via Eurogamer][Update: It appears that despite being a free game this has Starforce copy protection built in -- labelled by some as 'malware', Starforce installs hidden device drivers on your system. More information, including removal details.]
