This ain't your daddy's Starcade! That 1980s after-school video game TV show is fondly remembered by first-generation gamers, and now the USA Network and Major League Gaming are teaming up on a modern-day tourney devoted to blowing the pixelated bits out of the competition.
The hour-long series will air Saturday mornings in November, just in time for the holidays. Pro single and team competitors in seven US cities will face off on such console favorites as Halo 2, for Microsoft's Xbox, and Super Smash Brothers Melee, for the Nintendo GameCube.
The format of the show will follow that of a sporting event, with shots of the gamers intercut with video of the games they are playing. Commentators will keep viewers apprised of the action and introduce special featurettes pertinent to the players and games.
The show will highlight some of the real-life characters in the world of pro video gaming. Folks who go by the names of Tsquared, Team 3D, Killa OR, and Xena will all show up to add spice to the button mashing and joystick twiddling.
"After three years of grassroots initiatives to build a credible, authentic professional video game league, MLG is now on the threshold of truly breaking through to the mass market," MLG cofounder and CEO Mike Sepso said in a statement.
Overseas markets already support several video game channels, and now US TV is eager to nab its share of the $25 billion gaming market. Satellite giant DirecTV is also readying a televised gaming league, called Massive Gaming League.
G4TV stinks! After Starcade was removed the only decent show on there.
Sorry, doesn't sound like "Starcade" to me.
Prefer it when it was in the 1980's! Sorry!
this sucks we want The 4400 !!!!!
I'm giving this a chance solely because it sounds it'll actually amount to something more than G4 and SpikeTV's integrity-challenged, Booze N' Broads garbage.
starcade!
I, as a gamer, think this a cool concept, but it will probably suck. ( i.e. G4TV )