Video game leagues are nothing new, but they're so unknown by the majority of the population that their existence is generally only spread by word of mouth. Only those that monitor such news channels or are very much into their gaming will know of such leagues, their titles and the sorts of games they include in their lineups. In actual fact, gaming leagues are extremely lucrative, both for the industry and for the competitors, with prizes worth up to half a million dollars being offered every year by certain leagues, such as the PS3 league Major League Gaming. The only requirement is that the player pays the entry fee and then they are given a chance to qualify.
The Primary Video Gaming League
It's safe to say that the Major League Gaming collective is probably the biggest gaming league in existence today. It's been going strong for eight years now and provides consistent, annual tournaments with the latest games, though never sacrificing quality. They hold live events throughout the world, but also provide online video and audio for those unable to attend such events. The tournaments act in a similar way, sometimes taking place live, but most of the time online. Major League Gaming hold between four and six tournaments on a yearly basis.
For the most part, MLG utilizes the Playstation 3 console for their gaming, but in some cases, the games have exclusivity on a certain console and cannot be purchased in any other format. In these cases, the game's native console is used. For live events, the participants are provided with all they need to play. Here is the latest lineup of games for MLG.
The Game Lineup
Halo has become a very venerable series, especially with MLG who have featured these games from the start of their annual tournaments. Even today, they provide Halo action with both Halo 3 and Halo: Reach having two separate tournaments to themselves in four versus four team matches. The Halo series is known for its twitch-based first person shooter style based in a science-fiction realm. To complement this, MLG also include the Call of Duty series, grounding the topic to a more realistic environment, yet providing similar gameplay with Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.
Fighting games are coming in strong this year with Tekken 6 making the first of its series' debut in the Major League Gaming. While it didn't have a predecessor in the league, Super Smash Bros. Brawl did and it has now taken over. Both of these games provide good one versus one matches that require excellent coordination and reflexes. Starcraft 2's release saw booming sales, especially in Korea, where it's become a favorite pastime of the nation. Its own debut in the MLG tournament makes it the first real-time strategy game and a solidly backed one at that. It provides excellent support for competitions and is updated regularly.
Ps3 tournaments have featured the long-running World of Warcraft, Gears of War, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas and it's sequel, Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, Shadowrun, Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Generally competitors don't crossover to different games and only compete within their own tournaments yearly. Next year is likely to see some newer games, including the next Call of Duty: Black Ops.
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