Game for e-Olympics? Gonna be a no sweat competition!
Cyber Athletes Vie for Global Attention
By N Suresh
SINGAPORE: A modern version of Olympics is taking shape now. In the digital age, it is the turn of e-Olympics and the participants are the new breeds of 'Cyber Athletes.' However, the only difference between them and their regular counterparts who sweat through the competition in a variety of field games is that all the action at the 'e-Olympics' is on computer screens.
There is no lack of intensity. There are thousands of spectators, mostly young men and women who have come to cheer their teams, from countries around the world, just the way it happens in the traditional Olympics. And the players are playing for the sake of national pride. Over 700 young “cyber athletes” from 67 countries are pitting their computer gaming skills against each other at the fifth edition of the World Cyber Games 2005 at the SunTec convention center here.
After the traditional inaugural ceremony, on 16th November, accompanied by hip hop dances by cheer leaders, and a traditional march past by the 67 national teams with their flags and oath taking ceremony, the WCG has moved into the top gear.
At stake is total prize money of $ 430,000 ( approximately Rs 2 crore) and the 700 finalists who had come through grueling competitions in their respective countries, are pitting their skills at six popular PC-based games: StarCaft: Brood War, WarCraft III: Frozone Throne, CounterStrike: Source, FIFA Soccer 2005, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Need for Speec: Underground 2. There are two Xbox Games, Halo 2 and Dead or Alive Ultimate, also in the competition.
In some ways, the WCG is much bigger than the traditional Olympics. As Hang Jeong, president and CEO, International Cyber Marketing Inc, the organizer, pointed out, these 700 finalists were picked from over 1.25 million participants at the national levels, over grueling sessions beginning last February.
The average age of the finalists is 20 years old. The oldest player in the competition is Lajos Hegedus, 39, from Hungary. The youngest participant was three-year-old Amin Golnam from Iran. He didn't make it to the finals but has been flown in specially for the event by the organizers and is a star attraction at the venue.
WCG started in a small way in 2000 in South Korea, where computer gaming is a big craze. Just 10,000 players from around the world took part in the preliminary rounds in 17 countries and the final was held in Everland, Korea on October 2000. The event was confined to Korea for the next three years.
However, the marketing opportunities were spotted by others and after an intensive bidding process, San Francisco hosted it in 2004. Singapore managed to get it in 2005. “ We got it after a lot of hard work over the past 30 months, “ confided Chan Yeng Kit, CEO, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
Singapore has sensed the potential of the emerging field of cyber games. “ We are keen to develop Singapore as a gaming hub for the region and attract game developers to come to the country in a big way,” commented Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sport and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.
Realizing the importance, Singapore government has rolled out the red carpet for the WCG 2005. SingTel is a key sponsor. The Economic Development Board , the Media Development Authority, Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Sports Councils have pitched in to make it a successful event. The tourism sector in Singapore is expected to benefit by more than $ 50 million ( Rs 140 crore) by the spending of the players, spectators and over 400 journalists form 67 participating countries.
The Indian challenge is led by a nine-member team. A leading player is the young doctor from Baroda, Dr Raxiit Jinjuvadia. He has been practicing computer games for 4 to 5 hours daily, in between his internships, and had emerged a topper beating rivals from Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai.
Like their Olympic counterparts, there are many superstar Cyber Athletes. Seo Ji-Hoon, 20, from Korea is a Cyber superstar in the true sense. He is a champion in the strategy-based game, StarCraft and has a over 7,200 fan club in his country. His ardent fans have come in full strength to greet him whenever he plays.
Turkish teenager, Ogun Akgunduz, got his ticket to WCG, thanks to his video game skills. The Team 3D from the US, Team Titans from Denmark, Team MaveN ( Korea) are all crowd pullers.
Nine countries --- Pakistan, Bangladesh, Greece, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Croatia, Belarus, Macedonia and Egypt-are participating in WCG for the first time. And there are big bucks too. Samsung has been the worldwide sponsor of WCG since its launch in 2000 and Intel and Razer are premium sponsors.
Copyright (c) 1999 Cyber India Online. All rights reserved. Additional reproduction in whole or in part or in any form or medium without express written permission of CIOL is prohibited
By N Suresh
SINGAPORE: A modern version of Olympics is taking shape now. In the digital age, it is the turn of e-Olympics and the participants are the new breeds of 'Cyber Athletes.' However, the only difference between them and their regular counterparts who sweat through the competition in a variety of field games is that all the action at the 'e-Olympics' is on computer screens.
There is no lack of intensity. There are thousands of spectators, mostly young men and women who have come to cheer their teams, from countries around the world, just the way it happens in the traditional Olympics. And the players are playing for the sake of national pride. Over 700 young “cyber athletes” from 67 countries are pitting their computer gaming skills against each other at the fifth edition of the World Cyber Games 2005 at the SunTec convention center here.
After the traditional inaugural ceremony, on 16th November, accompanied by hip hop dances by cheer leaders, and a traditional march past by the 67 national teams with their flags and oath taking ceremony, the WCG has moved into the top gear.
At stake is total prize money of $ 430,000 ( approximately Rs 2 crore) and the 700 finalists who had come through grueling competitions in their respective countries, are pitting their skills at six popular PC-based games: StarCaft: Brood War, WarCraft III: Frozone Throne, CounterStrike: Source, FIFA Soccer 2005, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Need for Speec: Underground 2. There are two Xbox Games, Halo 2 and Dead or Alive Ultimate, also in the competition.
In some ways, the WCG is much bigger than the traditional Olympics. As Hang Jeong, president and CEO, International Cyber Marketing Inc, the organizer, pointed out, these 700 finalists were picked from over 1.25 million participants at the national levels, over grueling sessions beginning last February.
The average age of the finalists is 20 years old. The oldest player in the competition is Lajos Hegedus, 39, from Hungary. The youngest participant was three-year-old Amin Golnam from Iran. He didn't make it to the finals but has been flown in specially for the event by the organizers and is a star attraction at the venue.
WCG started in a small way in 2000 in South Korea, where computer gaming is a big craze. Just 10,000 players from around the world took part in the preliminary rounds in 17 countries and the final was held in Everland, Korea on October 2000. The event was confined to Korea for the next three years.
However, the marketing opportunities were spotted by others and after an intensive bidding process, San Francisco hosted it in 2004. Singapore managed to get it in 2005. “ We got it after a lot of hard work over the past 30 months, “ confided Chan Yeng Kit, CEO, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
Singapore has sensed the potential of the emerging field of cyber games. “ We are keen to develop Singapore as a gaming hub for the region and attract game developers to come to the country in a big way,” commented Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sport and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.
Realizing the importance, Singapore government has rolled out the red carpet for the WCG 2005. SingTel is a key sponsor. The Economic Development Board , the Media Development Authority, Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Sports Councils have pitched in to make it a successful event. The tourism sector in Singapore is expected to benefit by more than $ 50 million ( Rs 140 crore) by the spending of the players, spectators and over 400 journalists form 67 participating countries.
The Indian challenge is led by a nine-member team. A leading player is the young doctor from Baroda, Dr Raxiit Jinjuvadia. He has been practicing computer games for 4 to 5 hours daily, in between his internships, and had emerged a topper beating rivals from Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai.
Like their Olympic counterparts, there are many superstar Cyber Athletes. Seo Ji-Hoon, 20, from Korea is a Cyber superstar in the true sense. He is a champion in the strategy-based game, StarCraft and has a over 7,200 fan club in his country. His ardent fans have come in full strength to greet him whenever he plays.
Turkish teenager, Ogun Akgunduz, got his ticket to WCG, thanks to his video game skills. The Team 3D from the US, Team Titans from Denmark, Team MaveN ( Korea) are all crowd pullers.
Nine countries --- Pakistan, Bangladesh, Greece, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Croatia, Belarus, Macedonia and Egypt-are participating in WCG for the first time. And there are big bucks too. Samsung has been the worldwide sponsor of WCG since its launch in 2000 and Intel and Razer are premium sponsors.
Copyright (c) 1999 Cyber India Online. All rights reserved. Additional reproduction in whole or in part or in any form or medium without express written permission of CIOL is prohibited
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