The World Cyber Games (WCG) is an international e-sporting event that has been growing in size over the past few years. This years Games in Seattle were the biggest yet, with 700 competitors from 74 countries duking it out in a wide variety of games, from Counter-Strike to StarCraft.
When the WCG Challenge was first held back in late 2000, there were a mere 174 competitors from 17 countries playing 4 games. Since then the number of competitors has quadrupled, the number of games has tripled and the total prize pool has more than doubled, with $448,000 USD up for grabs in Seattle.
So where to from here? With hardware and games sales skyrocketing, investors and sponsors would surely have noticed events such as the WCG by now. With the right coverage, sponsorship and development, the WCG and other similar events could easily become multi-million dollar affairs, on par with major sporting events such as the Olympics and the Superbowl.
Korea is a perfect example of what the future may hold for competitive gaming, with multiple 24/7 gaming channels, live coverage of competitions and events and the winners becoming celebrities. Large companies and banks are investing millions of dollars into making games like Starcraft, Warcraft III and FIFA spectator sports with the champions becoming household names.
Personally I think it would be fantastic! After a hard day at work (honest) I’d be able come home, crack open a beer on the couch and watch a few rounds of StarCraft or Counter-Strike — heaven. The only thing that might be holding back possible investors would be the large amounts of negative coverage that games are getting in the mainstream press at the moment. With wank… I mean people, like Jack Thompson running around, trying to get games banned and attempting to link them to shootings some investors would probably be warey of how the public may percieve their support of gaming.
Anyway, here are this years results:
Counterstrike
Gold- France
Silver- Denmark
Bronze- Ukraine
Warcraft III
Gold- Norway
Silver- China
Bronze- South Korea
Starcraft: Brood War
Gold- South Korea
Silver- China
Bronze- Germany
Fifa ’07
Gold- Germany
Silver- Spain
Bronze- Bulgaria
Need for Speed: Carbon
Gold- Brazil
Silver- Netherlands
Bronze- Russia
Command & Conquer 3
Gold- United Kingdom
Silver- Germany
Bronze- Germany
Age of Empires III
Gold- South Korea
Silver- U.S.A.
Bronze- Germany
Carom3D
Gold- Brazil
Silver- Italy
Bronze- Brazil
Gears of War
Gold- U.S.A.
Silver- Netherlands
Bronze- United Kingdom
Dead or Alive 4
Gold- U.S.A.
Silver- Sweden
Bronze- U.S.A.
Project Gotham Racing 3
Gold- Netherlands
Silver- U.S.A.
Bronze- China
Tony Hawks Project 8
Gold- U.S.A.
Silver- United Kingdom
Bronze- Austria
For a full run down of all the results, head on over to the official World Cyber Games website.
