Don’t Hate The Player, Hate The Gamer

It’s not the NFL. It’s not the MLB. And it sure as hell is not the NHL (it is even too good for the Outdoor Life Network).

This post is focused on the MLG, which will make its debut on the USA Network on November 11th. MLG stands for Major League Gaming, and is a sport rising in popularity by the day. Over $2 million is at stake for the competitors, and I have not begun to mention the amount of money that the USA Network and individual players will make from advertisements/sponsorships.

7 weeks of programming have been announced at MLGPro.com. The website is featuring a trailer on Episode 1 of the program, which highlights Walshy: your normal 22 year old who signed a multi-million dollar deal with MLG.

The MLG Pro Circuit already has corporations like Scion, Boost Mobile, GameStop, and Red Bull as sponsors. I anticipate that many more companies will be jumping on the bandwagon in the near future. Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards is even a fan. According to a press release by PR Newswire, Arenas will be on the USA Network’s TV show, and he has decided to sponsor one of the competing teams. Arenas is quoted as saying:

“MLG and Final Boss are going to be huge. It’s a great investment for
me to get in at the beginning like this, and it’s fun to be involved with.
The MLG competitions are unreal — the level of talent and energy is
unbelievable. And once the show airs in November, Final Boss will be
celebrities,”

If the show takes off, expect video gaming to gain even more exposure, hype, and money as individual gamers become superstars like Walshy. That’s when the real endorsement deals start rolling in. These athletes will need agents the same way that professional football/baseball/basketball/hockey players need them.

-Darren Heitner 

[tags]video games, video gaming, video gamers, mlg, major league gaming, gilbert arenas, arenas, walshy[/tags]