MLG nabs TV, mobile deal

Professional gaming league will be shown on USA Network, Boost Mobile; Boost, Scion sign on as major sponsors.

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Sports fans can tune in on Sundays and watch their favorite stars battle it out in heated competitions, but what about gamers who want to watch some pros battle it out on the Xbox or GameCube? Major League Gaming (MLG), a professional gaming league that tours the US, is giving gamers a reason to turn off their own Halo 2 matches and tune in to someone else's.

The league, which MLG claims to be the first professional gaming organization, today announced several deals that would bring the MLG to the public. The biggest deal involves the broadcasting of seven one-hour episodes of MLG programming on the USA Network. The television shows, which will be available on MLG.com, will air this holiday season.

Gamers on the go will also be able to get info on the MLG through their mobile phones, provided they're hooked up with Boost Mobile. Original content, including tournament highlights and contestant profiles, will be available over the youth-oriented mobile phone service.

Boost and Scion have also signed on as major sponsors of the tournament, with the first stop of the Boost Mobile Major League Gaming Pro Circuit presented by Scion kicking off on April 21 in New Jersey. More than $800,000 in cash and prizes will be given to participants throughout the year.

For more information on Major League Gaming events, head over to the official site.

36 Comments

  • comthitnuong

    Posted May 31, 2006 11:41 am PT

    so mlg has mobile tournaments?

  • Aeoxins

    Posted May 1, 2006 8:20 pm PT

    glassedsoul said:
    "Hopfully they will have some good StarCraft or RTS tournaments, and not just a FPS/Fighting game fest."

    MLG is only Halo 2 and Super Smash Brothers Melee.

  • vgmaster6

    Posted Apr 24, 2006 8:15 pm PT

    This is awesome! But how come it got a cold in the Hotspot?

  • RX-78GP02A

    Posted Apr 24, 2006 1:22 pm PT

    The only reason I could ever care out MLG is if I can be paid and play with them. If not, screw that and I'll just play games instead of watching people do it. The show Arena on G4 was cool though, lol.

  • Sgt_Levy

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 11:58 am PT

    *****
    Daitenzinman
    Ok, so after reading through these comments, I am apparently one of three people who thinks this is stupid as hell. Doesn't it bother anyone that we're paying people to play videogames?! This is money that could be used for research to cure diseases or shelter the homeless, BUT IT'S BEING USED TO PAY NERDS FOR PLAYING VIDEO GAMES!!! What a sick, sad world we live in... Posted Apr 19, 2006 10:27 am PT
    ******

    I guess I'm number 4. That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard of... Why in the h3ll would I want to watch someone play a video game? If they could make it interactive, maybe... but we already have xbox live....

  • Daitenzinman

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:27 am PT

    Ok, so after reading through these comments, I am apparently one of three people who thinks this is stupid as hell. Doesn't it bother anyone that we're paying people to play videogames?! This is money that could be used for research to cure diseases or shelter the homeless, BUT IT'S BEING USED TO PAY NERDS FOR PLAYING VIDEO GAMES!!! What a sick, sad world we live in...

  • MadGamer132

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 2:31 pm PT

    that's sound cool!

  • Rej72380

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:40 am PT

    At least I'll have a reason to watch television other than Desperate Housewives or Law & Order: CI on Sunday nights

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 4:45 am PT

    mmm...cash AND prizes!

  • Rarehunter0165

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 9:34 pm PT

    MLG used to have tournaments for Gran Turismo 3, Soul Calibur 2, and Tekken but they were all dropped due to low attendance.

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 7:47 pm PT

    whatever

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 6:23 pm PT

    I'm going to tune into that... sounds very cool.

  • Kwiksilva

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 5:36 pm PT

    hey i'll murder people in madden

  • darque27

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 5:33 pm PT

    just in case, i'd like to make sure everyone knows that i wasn't shutting down any of those other games, like cs or starcraft.

    *is there a way to edit a post you have made on here, i dont like this double posting*

  • darque27

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 5:29 pm PT

    i'd like to see you play smash against ken or play some halo 2 with the ogresor even people on the lower end of the charts. And games too arcadey to be professional. im guessing you guys have no idea what SBO is.

    and soul cal. is really not that tournament worthy, smash is way more skill based than sc.

  • legendJRG

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 3:53 pm PT

    I have gone to MLG's for about a year now but before SSBM and halo I was a PC player and I played Dawn of War, Starcraft and C&C Generals all competitively and trust me, casual viewers do not want to watch those games. And 3D is currently the most dominate team in halo 2 and trust me when I say that no one here that says h2 is easy could take top 32 let alone 64 at a tournament. This is a big step for pro gaming and although console games have autoaim and i'd much much rather play with a keyboard and mouse, it's for the better because most PC games will not be interesting to the massess considering that most are slow and to be a top performer you need a kickass computer which the majority of people can not afford or understand so they go with a easy console. On top of it all SSBM and Halo 2 are very fast paced and are enjoyable to watch some PC games that are along the lines are CS and BF2. All in all I hope if it blasts off that they add more titles to the lineup(would love to see a racing game and another fighter or fps)but don't count on any RTS ,besides starcraft where fastpaced play is needed, to ever be a part of televised gaming.

  • PiMacleod_basic

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 3:45 pm PT

    Agreed with SuperH75mil.

    Not just SFA3, but 3S (3rd Strike, for those not in 'the know'), Neo Geo Battle Colliseum, Tekken 3/5 (take your pick), almost any KOF, and yes, even SSBM. Personally, my game of choice (for fighters) is SSBM, and the game is surprisingly deep when you give it a chance.

    There's plenty of good tournament-worthy games out there that aren't just FPS and fighters as well. Like, puzzle games. Hardcore Tetris Attack players move lightning-fast, and the game can be very unforgiving. Super Puzzle Fighter can be complex in it's own right as well. ...I don't even have to go into original Tetris....it's a 'shoe-in'.

    RTS' are cool too...but that'd have to be it's own reserved 'block', because those games can take quite some time.

    And what about racers? You can't tell me that racing games have 'no skill' attached to them. GT4 or 3, Mario Kart (any edition except Double Dash), and more....lots of skillful racing games available.

    I believe this could be very cool -- as long as it's advertised appropriately, and given the amount of respect it deserves. Who knows -- with enough positive influence given towards it, the media might start looking even more favorable towards video games, unlike Mr. Thompson.

  • SuperH75mil

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 2:47 pm PT

    Oh sure, console games are a REAL buncha' sissies.

    >_>;

    Although I agree on the FPS thing (where auto aiming applies), I dare you to call Street Fighter Alpha 3 sissy after you're on the losing end of a beautiful-yet-brutal Vega slashdown.

    Rolling Izuna Drop for the win. (That's right, I said it without the acronym. Bite me.)

  • Romanticide

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 2:37 pm PT

    Yea I wouldnt call it professional if Halo 2 is played. It's a good game but it's definately not a skilled FPS. To be honest all console games are too arcadey to be professional. Real skill lies in a mouse and a keyboard, not in an auto aimed training wheels game.

  • louie2k

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 2:33 pm PT

    They Need Stop Playin that n00bish Game HaLo 2 which Takes No Skill at aLL

  • WolfSkill5544

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 2:08 pm PT

    wow. that sounds really cool.

  • sasuke_

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 2:07 pm PT

    lol who wanna watch console games?

    i would much rather wanna watch cooller vs toxic duke it out in quake, or team 3d vs sk in cs than xb0xz0wnZ0rd00d89 vs c00LdUde87 in halo 2

  • ufopuller

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 1:37 pm PT

    Nab - that would be right

  • ultimatiumomega

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 1:30 pm PT

    What crap. I went on to this website, and they only have 2 games. That's it! Halo 2 and SSBM? Can anyone on this 'professional' list handle real games like Starcraft? Counter-Strike? Soul Calibur? I doubt it.

  • gdogg4210

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 1:24 pm PT

    who needs a league when you have tournament tv on gs

  • joeamis

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:47 pm PT

    I agree with glassed, the RTS tournaments would be the most interesting to watch.

  • Moondogg1982

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:39 pm PT

    Bout time. Why did it take soo long for games to get this? Im mad games didn't get this Before the whole texas holdem fad thats goin on.

  • discipleofsin

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:38 pm PT

    RTS tournaments? That would be like watching paint dry!

  • fluffballNo1

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:37 pm PT

    Now if only I could bring myself to care.

    The reason I don't watch sports on TV is that I would prefer to play sports myself.

    Same thing with this. Yeah, it would be nice to see hints and tips and tricks, but I just don't see this kind of programming as holding that much of an interest.

  • Dantes_Monkey

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:27 pm PT

    only I think ITV are going to make a mess of it

  • glassedsoul

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:27 pm PT

    Hopfully they will have some good StarCraft or RTS tournaments, and not just a FPS/Fighting game fest.

  • Dantes_Monkey

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:26 pm PT

    ITV in UK are doing the same sort of thing

  • FMunro3251

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:21 pm PT

    I'll watch

  • XlpranksterlX

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:15 pm PT

    Boost Mobile lol. Seems logical what gamer wouldnt want to quit watching desperate housewives and watch someone else he doesnt know play a game he could be playing right?

  • xxPantherxx

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:11 pm PT

    major step in spreading games throughout the nation? YES!

  • damned_beast

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 12:00 pm PT

    intresting

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