EA’s internet broadcast launch of Battlecast Primetime today (August 14, 2007) marks the first serious entry by an American company into the arena of spectator sports coverage for video games. The program was created specifically for EA’s real time strategy series Command & Conquer, a franchise which is more than a decade old. Fans who watched the first episode were treated to televised matches between top players as well as the announcement of a 2008 C&C expansion for PC and Xbox 360. The program even featured the notorious Kane himself, arch bad guy for the series.
While I’m not exactly a rabid C&C fan, I do enjoy the genre. I passed many a day in study hall (okay, computer class, sorry Mr. Frisbee) playing Starcraft, a RTS that has enjoyed immense popularity as a televised sports in South Korea for the past several years. If those ad execs are still out there, this is another chance to nail a promotion because these televised gaming events are going to bring in the target audience in spades. It won’t be too long before televised Halo 3 matches, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Halo 3 video sneak into the top 10 plays on SportsCenter before the year is out.
This will, of course, cause trouble. Now our significant others will be able to nag us for wasting time watching video games as well as playing them. Let the games begin.
Read [GamBiz Daily] Also Read [C&C]
This seems like it will be a pretty sweet service. Will have to check it out.