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Tag: MLG

  • Major League Gaming App Released For Xbox 360

    Major League Gaming (MLG) today released an official app for the Xbox 360 console. The app allows 360 users to stream and watch watch MLG content at any time of the day through their console.

    “The MLG app for Xbox 360 brings our content directly to gaming fans on Xbox Live,” said Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder and CEO of MLG. “MLG broadcasts the best in competitive gaming content each week via www.MLG.TV and now Xbox 360 users can watch simply and easily. In 2013 our fans viewed 54 million hours of video and we expect that consumption to greatly increase with the addition of the MLG app on Xbox 360.”

    Using the MLG app on the Xbox 360 does require an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Gamers in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia will be the first to see the app appear on their dashboards.

    Though so-called “esports” has shifted in focus to MOBAs such as League of Legends and DOTA 2 in recent years, MLG still has a place as one of the top organizers of first person shooter and real-time strategy tournament events. Given the popularity of first person shooters with the Xbox 360 user base, the MLG app should fit seemlessly into the 360’s content lineup. This is highlighted by MLG’s upcoming programming schedule, which includes a Call of Duty Championship, weekly Call of Duty: Ghosts Pro League coverage, and MLG partner streams featuring “top” Call of Duty players.

    The release of the MLG app comes extremely late in the life of the Xbox 360 console. The new Xbox One console has already been released and the Xbox 360 will soon take a back seat to Microsoft’s new media machine.

    In addition, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have made it easier than ever for gamers themselves to stream video game content onto the web through Twitch. The rise in game streaming in recent years has changed the way video game content is consumed, turning professional video game-playing from a skill-based sport to an entertainment-focused segment.

  • Call of Duty Tournament to Put $1 Million Up For Grabs

    Call of Duty Tournament to Put $1 Million Up For Grabs

    With eSports becoming more popular and accepted every year, it is only a matter of time before professional gamers will be making money comparable to professional athletes.

    Activision today announced the Call of Duty Championship, which will feature a Call of Duty: Black Ops II tournament with a $1 million prize pool. From April 5-7 in Hollywood, California, 32 teams of four players will compete in a live-streamed tournament for their share of the $1 million. The top eight teams will receive a share of the money, with the first place team taking a $400,000 prize.

    “More people play Call of Duty multiplayer every day than watch the average regular season game of the NBA,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision. “The scale and passion of the Call of Duty fan base is simply humbling, and yet there is no formal way to find out who amongst those millions of players is the best of the best, until now. Watching the performances of the very best Call of Duty players is already a mass spectator sport on YouTube and Call of Duty Elite. We are going to bring the best players in the world to Hollywood to compete on the ultimate stage, for the ultimate prize. And we are going to invite our entire worldwide fan base to join in the fun.”

    Registration for the tournament has already begun. Teams will compete for a spot in the tournament via Call of Duty: Black Ops II‘s February League Play on Xbox LIVE. The top eight teams in the League Play season will gain entry into the tournament. Eight more teams will come from Major League Gaming’s (MLG) Winter Championship on March 15-17, as well as eight others from the Electronic Sports League’s (ESL) European Finals that same weekend. The remaining teams will come from Asia, Australia, and Brazil.

  • CBS Interactive Gets Into the eSports Game

    CBS Interactive (CBSi), the online information and entertainment division of CBS, announced today that it will be jumping into live gaming and eSports through two new partnerships with Major League Gaming (MLG) and TwitchTV. MLG is the largest competitive eSports organization and hosts Pro Circuit gaming tournaments in cities around the U.S. TwitchTV is JustinTV’s video game streaming site and bills itself as the world’s largest video game broadcasting and chat community. With the new partnerships, CBSi estimates it will stream more than 3 billion minutes of live gaming and eSports content monthly.

    “The eSports scene is one of the hottest trends in video, and is rapidly attracting the core 18-34 male demographic in greater numbers than any other medium or category,” said Jim Lanzone, President of CBS Interactive. “With these partnerships, CBSi now represents the biggest audience in live gaming and is able to offer our advertising partners a unique mix of trusted premium content along with the huge engagement and audience that the eSports scene is commanding right now.”

    The MLG partnership makes CBSi the exclusive online broadcaster of MLG Pro Circuit competitions and also makes CBSi the advertising representative for MLG. The deal with TwitchTV allows CBSi to sell advertising, promotions and sponsorships for the TwitchTV community. Also, it’s a given that CBSi will be marketing these partnerships through its flagship gaming property, GameSpot.com.

    “Major League Gaming’s live audience is growing in popularity to rival some of the most popular traditional sporting events with a highly engaged fan base worldwide,” said Sundance DiGiovanni, CEO and Co-Founder of Major League Gaming. “Leveraging the reach of CBS Interactive, we will now be able to create a premiere eSports destination for current and future fans alike, while providing some of the most powerful brands an opportunity to reach this coveted, passionate audience.”

    It’s an exciting time for eSports. With its popularity increasing and money beginning to pour into virtual sports, it will be interesting to see what companies such as MLG and CBSi make of the burgeoning industry. Still, it will be a long while before the StarCraft II championships are aired on CBS network television in primetime.

    What do you think? What will this partnership mean for MLG or eSports as a whole? Let me know in the comments section below.