US Gamers Begin to Go Pro

MSNBC yesterday published an article detailing the new age of E-Sports sponsorship and how pro-gamers are becoming more common in the US. The event that sparked this article was the World Cyber Games held in NYC last week. This US qualifying event will make winners eligible for the championships to be held in Singapore in November. The article discusses how the US is behind the rest of the world when it comes to cyber athletes and sponsors. For example, in South Korea, the most wired country in the world, there are three cable channels that broadcast non-stop video game action. Johnson & Johnson recently announced that a subsidiary will sponsor a 6-man Counterstrike team, the first non-game company to do so in the US. Of course, the article did have to refer to gamers at the event as, "pale young men". Oy. What about the Frag Dolls? Hmm? Hey, gaming is only getting bigger and companies will soon hop on the bandwagon.