Championship Gaming Series Coming To G4

G4 is about to get another dose of genuine video game focused content as it has struck a deal with the Championship Gaming Series—the only worldwide professional video gaming league, according to them—to air four 90 minute episodes of other people playing video games beginning this summer. They will, of course, be playing video games much better than you or I ever will, if that sort of thing appeals to you.

If you're a "young male viewer" you might be "passionate" about the CGS-G4 announcement, which is just after the jump. The release doesn't specifically mention what CGS teams will be playing, so we'll assume it's everything, from Counter-Strike to Dead or Alive 4 to World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

Let's lead off what will be an epic Sunday with a goldmine of retro-game nostalgia: Starcade. Not the commenter, the TV game show in the early-to-mid 1980s that ran in syndication, and featured contestants battling it out on Ladybug, Sinistar, Mr. Do, Defender, etc. Fifteen of the shows are available at the site, and it also features a rich "games of Starcade" to serve as a nice stroll down that memory lane.

And I'll throw it out here, too, does anyone remember "TV Powww!" (hope I got the right number of Ws). That was a mirror into just how hamfisted folks were to make a buck off the video game craze. Kids would call the studio on the phone, and then say "Pow! Pow!" whenever a spaceship floated across the crosshairs on the screen. If anyone's ever played that, let me know

Starcade! Complete Episodes [Starcade.tv]

Pro Gamers Carrying Olympic Torch

Time to carry the Olympic Torch. Who are you going to choose? Pro gamers! That's right, famous pro Warcraft III gamers Jae Ho "Moon" Jang and Li "Sky" Xiaofeng will be carrying it and will be joined by StarCraft players Junchun "Pj" Sha and Lei "Leilei" Shen. No clue when these gamer luminaries will be carrying the torch, but probably sometime before it reaches Beijing.

Is it me or is pro gaming is so 2007?
Moon, Sky Carry [GGL Thanks, Craig!]

Whoops. Apparently this is going on right now. (Or 11:15 CDT, which is ... I dunno what it is in Crecente Mountain Time.) Four guys playing College Hoops 2K8 with the real Final Four teams are tipping off, live on stage, in San Antonio, in the third annual Pontiac Virtual NCAA Final Four. Winner gets top bragging rights. And a car.

Your participants (let's do this arena-intro style):

• For KANSAS, from Alorton, Ill., age 23, RO-LAND FULLLLLLLLLLLER!
• For MEMPHIS, from Sayreville, N.J., age 20, KEVINNNNN RYANN!!!!
• For UCLA, from Pawnee, Ill., age 20, JONAS ... THE PARK BENCH ... PARKER!
• For NORTH CAROLINA, by way of Webster, Texas, age 20, JAAAAAAAMES WHITE!

KU and UNC were both rated 88 when the game came out, tops of all teams. Although I'm thinking Kevin Ryan, with Memphis, might be a good sleeper pick. The Tigers have great size and individual talent, two characteristics that an elite gamer can turn into a strong advantage. But a news release says the four above survived a field of more than 8,000, playing more than 200,000 games, so I have to think at least one of them could win with NIT runner-up Ole Miss UMass.

2008 Pontiac Virtual Final Four [2K Sports]

ESPN To Take Major League Gaming Seriously

We don't think you'll be seeing ShocKWav3 or OGRE2 appearing on SportsCenter any time soon, but it would appear that ESPN is taking Major League Gaming at least as seriously as lumberjack competitions, as the outlet has struck a deal with the pro gaming league for coverage. Sure, watching sports reporting on other people playing video games very well may not be your bag—or even a considerable alternative to actually playing games yourself—but it's a big deal for the MLG, we think.

ESPN will be on hand at all of this year's MLG Pro Circuit Competitions, with coverage appearing online at ESPN360.com at the very least. Thrilling, no? The prospect of hearing from your favorite wispy virtual athletes with extremely toned thumbs? Sign us up!

Additionally, we've signed a content agreement with the press release. Our contractual obligation is after the jump.

"Most Important TV Event in the History of Video Games" Airs on Unwatched Channel

Of course I'm sure someone watches DIRECTV's Channel 101, where the Championship Gaming Series Word Final will be aired later this week, but if the press release for the finals is going to go all crazy with hyperbole by calling this THE most important event in television history, I think I'm allowed to counter that with anti-hyperbole.

What exactly happened to the Championship Gaming Series? It's certainly hasn't stopped airing, in fact it's chugging along quite nicely, but it seems to have failed to break free of the niche fans that have always followed pro-gaming. I don't have any hard numbers to back this up, mostly because none have been released, but anecdotally the main stream audience doesn't seem interesting in pro-gaming, still.

What's more, while I certainly was impressed with the vast amount of resources DIRECTV dumped into the Championship Gaming Series, I can't imagine the company will continue to do so, not with rumors of shake-ups and firings within the company surfacing.

One problem, I think, is that DIRECTV is started with a limited audience and trying to attract them to something that is a hard sell to people who aren't gamers, heck even to people who are gamers.

While I wonder if they series will survive, let along thrive, it might be better to start wondering when, not if this league will go under.

$1 Million Halo 3 Tourney

The Cyberathlete Professional League today announced an open Halo 3 competition at the Extreme Winter Championships in Dallas in December.

The tourney, which runs from Dec. 18 through Dec. 22 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas, will give away $1 million in prize money. The winner of the tourney will receive $250,000 in cash, with the rest of the cash paid out to at least 64 places. The competition is open to gamers worldwide and does not require pre-qualification. Team Kotaku need not apply.

CPL announces $1 million Halo 3 tournament [GGL]

WCG Presents Team USA

World Series Of Video Games Strikes Out, Cancels Tourneys

Dell Sponsors Frag Dolls, Team Pandemic

Dell is sponsoring a search for the "most hardcore, competitive female PC gamer" to offer her a spot on the Frag Dolls, as part of their sponsorship of the Ubisoft gaming team.

"We can't wait to welcome a new Frag Doll to the team," said Morgan "Rhoulette" Romine, Frag Doll team captain. "One of our goals is to be advocates for gaming on all platforms and Dell is an ideal partner to help us make this a reality."

Dell is also sponsoring Swedish pro-gamers Team Pandemic, setting the team up with Dell XPS systems and then sending them around to universities to host on-site and online collegiate gaming tourneys.

Hit the jump for the full release.

South Korean Navy Starting Pro Gaming Team

The World Cyber Games Will Be Televised

Resistance Tourney Announced

Gaming's First Draft

Live... From Playboy

Fatal1ty In Time On Miyamoto

CGS Announces Draft

Gears Tourney Delayed