CounterStrike
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Pro gamer salaries on the rise
Want to make big bucks as a professional gamer? Living overseas is probably your best bet for now. But Wired News reports that television deals and increased interest from U.S. sponsors mean salaries for America's top gamers could hit the stratosphere before long. This is in stark contrast to a similar Wired article from three years ago which detailed how even the best of the best pro gamers were barely getting by.Today, more than a dozen U.S. gamers make upwards of $70K per year, according to the article, and a few have taken home six-figure purses in big tournaments. That's nothing compared to the costs for sponsors such as NVidia, though, who shell out money "likely in the eight-figure range" to sponsor the likes of Team3[D].Nice work if you can get it, but remember that the top pros often practice for upwards of 40 hours a week to keep their skills honed. So unless you're planning on quiting your day job, you aren't likely to be the next Jonathan Wendel anytime soon.
See through the eyes of a CounterStrike cheater [Update 1]
Yeah, we may be on a bit of a "cheaters" rampage as of late, but we just can't allow this plague of the gaming industry to sit idly by. This video up on YouTube shows what life is like for a low down dirty scoundrel of CounterStrike. In the movie, titled "Chapter 1: What do cheaters see when they cheat," you'll enjoy the disgusting pleasures of Aimbot and Speed Hack and then that thing that makes the colors all funky. Best part of the video, though, is the music. Loves it! [Via Flicker Gaming][Update 1] We went ahead and put Chapter 2 up. In this latest installment, we get to see how to detect cheaters. Thanks for providing the link and footage Miller!]
Gamers resurrect imploded pop stars
What is it about Michael Jackson and machinima? After stumbling across this clever video set in Counter-Strike, I ran a couple of searches. This rabbit-hole goes deep. There's plenty of MJ to be found in World of Warcraft videos (Beat It, Billy Jean) which is unsurprising considering that the entire male population of night elves appears to have summered at Neverland ranch in their youth (this would explain many of their pathological in-game tendencies, but that's a whole 'nother rabbit hole). Many of the night-elf dance moves are lifted from the King of Pop's library of signature jigs, including the pelvic thrust and twirly-hand-leg-kick thing. Even denizens of Second Life appear to be thrilled by the opportunity to relive the days when Jacko only pretended to be ghoulish. Through machinima, fans of celebs who have dashed their careers against the treacherous reefs of fame can now travel back to the future. Fans can return to a time when their idols still had something worth worshipping. It's a form of therapy.
