XBox 360 League - The Largest Organizations And Challenges

Video game leagues aren't new, but they're also not widely advertised and it's likely that if you don't play games much or monitor the gaming scene, you've never heard of a video game league before. However, they've grown to much larger sizes of the years, with rewards reaching half a million dollars for the winners. Usually, events are held annually and focus on half a dozen or so popular games that emphasize competition. These events are held all over the world, sometimes live, while other times they'll simply be online. Some leagues utilize all the platforms, such as computers, Xboxes and PS3s, while others focus exclusively on a certain platform, such as an Xbox 360 league, for example. Those who qualify and pay entry fees can take part to challenge some of the best players in the world.

Major League Gaming

In existence for ten years now, it's considered one of the foremost and most venerable of video game leagues. It focuses on annual tournaments utilizing multiple tiers to filter out the champions. Within these tournaments, there are six major events to coincide with the six games in use. There are some games that have been part of the competitions since the start, only changing to sequels, and some are brand new to the tournaments. With Major League Gaming, the PS3 editions of games are usually used, but in the case of some exclusive games like Halo or Gears of War, the Xbox 360 is utilized. MLG hosts both online and live events around the world, depending on the event.

The Games

Halo has been the mainstay of the tournaments since the start with Halo: Combat Evolved. It's a first person shooter with many non-realistic elements, which means it's very fast paced and focused primarily on twitch-based skills. The close-quarter maps amplify this and it is considered an exemplary competitive game. Over the years it's been updated and Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo: Reach have all made their debut. Call of Duty is another game of exceptional popularity and has also been used in several iterations. Modern Warfare provided a good deal of competitive gaming and features realistic scenarios in contrast to the sci-fi Halo. The gameplay is still somewhat unrealistic, however, and is still very much twitch-based. Modern Warfare 2 has also been used and the upcoming Black Ops is expected to debut next year. Gears of War strays from the mold as it provides third-person cover-based shooting, but focuses on team-based play. It can, however, provide matches for free-for-alls and pairs and is a very good example of controlled competition. The sequel is currently in place with Gears of War 3 likely to be put in place when that is released.

Rules

Unfortunately, not everyone is beyond such practice. While cheating in an online, video gaming league might be somewhat easier, the console's low-level interface means it's a lot more difficult. However, cheating can be perceived in a number of ways. For example, perhaps the easiest method of cheating is purchasing a controller with macro keys. This button has a string of other button presses attached to it, so all you need to do is press it once to perform combination moves or something similar, which is inhumanly possible at such a speed.

Video Game Leagues, The Main Leagues, Procedures And Rules

A dream amongst younger individuals and maybe older ones, the thought of making a living simply by playing video games is usually a dud one. There are many possibilities, such as video game testing, but the reality behind that is that it's terrible hours, terribly boring and only a small chance of promotion. However, for those who wish to look further afield, video game leagues might provide the reality to your dream. Allowing players to compete against other challengers, these leagues offer serious sums of prize money and items to those that win said leagues. It is, however, a very difficult process, as you will be competing against the best and most serious gamers the world has to offer, either in person or over the Internet and on your own or as part of a team.

The Main Leagues

Competitions are generally set up by several major competition-holders, but these generally don't hold official game-specific leagues. For example, there is no official CounterStrike league. The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) is the big one and the one who has dished out over 3 million dollars in prizes over 6 years. Venerable, this big hitter provides competitions primarily in the area of first-person shooters (FPSs). The World Cyber Games (WCG) is considerably bigger than the CPL in that it offers up to 500,000 dollars a year and features dozens of games of varying genres. The Pro Gaming League features gaming on consoles, rather than personal computers, but offers less prize money.

Competition

Like all sports, gaming leagues follow a set process to filter out the losers from the winners. Essentially, the competitors and challengers fight it out, either with or without the champions, until only two are left. If the champions were not involved, this is where they join in, as either the last competitors faces off against the champions or the remaining two challengers compete. The last remaining player or team is declared the ultimate winner. The prizes are not always monetary. They can sometimes be physical items such as graphics cards, consoles and other items of varying monetary values. The following year sees the champions written in to face either returning or new competitors.

Rules Against Cheating

Cheating is a serious issue as with any major sport. Unlike other sports though, gaming makes cheating a lot easier as there are practically thousands of ways to manipulate a game into making it easier for the player. Some may utilize 3rd party programs, while others might exploit game glitches to provide themselves with an advantage. To combat such irregular methods of play, referees and judges are sometimes present to supervise players.

Hardware can also provide unfair advantages. For example, some controllers designs come with a macro button, which allows a series of button presses to programmed to a single button press. This allows players to do more within less time, usually more than is human possible. This is yet another form of cheating and these controllers are generally banned from such competitions.