Rumor: NBC Is Developing A Video Game Show

ScorpionXIII

This wont catch on, let alone last. Video games have begun to catch on in our culture, yes, but not to the level where we can have a mainstream program about it. This show would be banking on the hope that gamers who grew up in the 80's and 90's will watch, along with the far younger gamers. How many of these people would actually watch a show about video game news when most of them get their game news via the internet.

If you want to bring video games to television, you need to do so in an entertaining way, and not just news and reviews like x-play. What you really need is two things.

With the first, you need to demonstrate that video games have more to offer people than just the "sit in front of the T.V. and waste your lives" concept that has taken hold in the mainstream. People in America have far to much of a disconnect from what our culture really is nowadays, from every aspect of daily life. In order to do this, you need to show what can be learned from games - the big things: Art, History, economics, writing, Orchestral music, and so on. Show how these things can be learned, explore the gameplay of some of these games. Go behind the scenes with a t.v. show and go step by step in showing how a game is created from start to finish to show people the creativity, talent, technology, design, and the difficulty involved in making a game. When exploring the music, employ orchestras like Video Games Live or Play to appear in concert in primetime, like VGL will be doing at the end of July:

http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=uzHLeDBKprA&playnext_fr om=TL&videos=nDM3rbJbHIA
The second thing a t.v. needs to do, and the most important, is entertain, which almost all game shows in the U.S. have failed to do. The key way to do this is to showcase competitive gaming. Take the most competitive games out there, hire commentators that show excitement, and explain the games as they are being played, because rarely in America will an adult watch a game that do not understand, even a sport like Soccer has had a difficult time catching on, and has done so largely because of newer generations that have played and enjoyed it explaining it to others.

But competitive gaming should not be taken lightly. Games like FIFA, Guitar Hero and other sports titles should be excluded, because their is no spectacle in watching someone do something that i can see far more entertainingly in reality by changing the channel. Games that are showcased should be ones that have little parallel to reality, like shooters such as Counterstrike, Quake and Unreal T; Fighters like Soul Caliber, Super Smash bros. and Street Fighter; And Real Time Strategy games, the perfect example being Starcraft, and its near successor, Starcraft 2.

The method of showcasing completive gaming has been perfected in South Korea, where major companies sponsor teams and players who receive salaries, where there are tournaments with celebrated pomp and ample rewards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=r25PajPUeaM
http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=XAVC-ltaLR0&feature=rel ated

Remember, to do a T.V. show about gaming means respecting 3 things: The Game Itself, The Players, and the Fans. Korea exemplifies this, and it is the reason why shows like WCG ultimate gamer are a joke. Gamers are there to play their game, and fans are there to watch the best players do so, not run around like a reality show for idiots. The closest that America has come to achieving this, is the MLG, and its few attempts to televise itself, but unfortunately not on a major venue. They have a good game selection(Although excluding major RTS genre titles, which hopefully Starcraft 2 can remedy) and they focus on the players playing and the fans enjoying.

It is only when these conditions are met, will Esports, and gaming in general become largely accepted. If it doesnt happen, then gamers will be waiting for a looooooong time to see what they enjoy enjoyed by the mainstream as well, as we will have to wait for the generation of people who grew up playing games and accept them to replace the generations of resisters that do not.