Allison Mooney over at PSFK beat me to the punch. Today, she released a writeup about video games and tournaments being televised. Yes, just like any other sport on television, these games tournaments have full color commentary and multiple camera angles capturing the action of gamers using their fingers on keyboards and their respective mouse of choice.
Broadcasters are still experimenting. DirecTV has the first live CGS broadcasts in high definition. More than 1.5 million watched CBS’ July 29 airing of the World Series of Video Games, a draw “on par with action sports. Those are good numbers,” WSVG commissioner Matt Ringel says.
1.5 million people watching CBS’s July 29 airing of WSVG… not bad for one of the first televised video game events. SpikeTV, the cable television network broadcasts the video game awards each year which have been gaining traction amongst the core gamer demographic. What are we learning from all of this? Television is a mass reach medium and since video games are emerging as a mainstream entertainment and media channel, the industry is moving towards increased exposure. With this additional exposure will come mainstream consumer adoption (Nintendo Wii, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Home, Casual Games, etc) that will push the business side of the industry in new ways.
Other than video game lessons, one area I like in the video game industry is that of talent management. Celebrities are emerging from the video game world, like Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel. Fatal1ty’s domination of the video game landscape of professional tournament has not only got him into the top magazines, but also, quite a few dollars into his pocket.
Talent management of the video game industry is going to be crucial. We’ve heard of UTA and William Morris Agency moving into the space, but what about the smaller guys? Is UTA/WMA actually doing anything?
The business of video games is only going to get larger, so navigating the path is going to be crucial. Would love to work on a boutique management firm eventually.
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August 15th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
check Richard Liebowitz at Union entertainment
August 16th, 2007 at 10:11 am
DH, you may remember this since we’re same Gen. The movie The Wizard with Fred Savage from the late 80s. If not, there was huge tournament at the end. It was also the first major memorable video game placement in a movie that I remember. The game…Super Mario Brothers 3! I’m definitely adding this to my que on BB/NF.
March 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
[...] In the past, I’ve written about talent agents in many different capacities including music and video games. Some music industry pundits would say that the most promising position to have in the upcoming years is on the “agent” side, and for the competitive video game space, major talent houses such as CAA & UTA are creating divisions to rep extremely talented gamers. [...]
March 29th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
[...] In the past, I’ve written about talent agents in many different capacities including music and video games. Some music industry pundits would say that the most promising position to have in the upcoming years is on the “agent” side, and for the competitive video game space, major talent houses such as CAA & UTA are creating divisions to rep extremely talented gamers. [...]