CNNMoney.com
Companies Economy International Corrections Pre-market Trading After-hours Trading Winners/Losers/Actives Bonds Currencies Commodities World Markets Money Magazine Real Estate Taxes Jobs Ask the Expert Money 101 Autos Mutual Funds The Help Desk Loan Center Best Places to Live Ask the Expert Ultimate Guide to Retirement Retirement Calculators Best Funds Best Places to Retire Fortune Brainstorm Tech Apple 2.0 Blog Big Tech Blog Sectors and Stocks Tech Talk Resource Guide Small Business Makeovers Questions & Answers Small Business Video 100 Best Places to Launch FSB 100 Fortune Small Business Fortune 500 Brainstorm Tech Investing Management C-Suite Rankings Main Create Portfolio Edit Portfolio Create Alerts Edit Alerts
 
Halo 2 gamers go pro
According to videogame news site TeamXBox, Major League Gaming -- the first professional sporting league for videogamers -- has signed a four-man Halo 2 team to a $1 million contract. Described as "by far the largest" deal ever for professional videogamers, news of the multi-year exclusive deal came as MLG also announced that Red Bull would become the league's official drink. All this has, not surprisingly, provoked discussion on Digg about whether gamers should be considered athletes. Commented one wag, "Gamers are not athletes. Try and have an ounce of respect for the people who wear that title. Except baseball players." Foul ball!

Should gamers be considered athletes? Tell us what you think.
Posted by Oliver Ryan 11:03 PM 6 Comments comment | Add a Comment

Gamers are athletes.

Quick fingers and fat bellies :-)

I think Pro gaming will emerge as the next "sport" to watch in the next 5 years.
Posted By Me, Cincinnati Ohio : 7:27 AM  

I love Halo just as much as the next guy, but calling video gaming a sport is ridiculous. It's like calling chess a sport. It's a game and should be called a game. Great for the guys who are getting paid millions now but calling it a sport based solely on money is just wrong. Money doesn't determine if something is a sport.
Posted By Brian, Baghdad, Iraq : 12:30 PM  

Gaming has the potential to become a sport. The competition, that which is the basis of any respectable sport, is there for any person to see. However to place it in the same catagory as professional athletics is just silly. Gaming first and foremost is a mental activity. One along the same lines as chess or any other game created and passed down throughout the centuries.

Gaming in general should not be placed on the same level as professional athletics. If anything a whole new and separate level should be formed. The competition is there. The audience potential is undeniable. Someone simply has to put it all together.
Posted By Jordan Schnaidt, Sioux Falls South Dakota : 1:00 PM  

If poker and darts are considered "sports", why not video games?
Posted By Mark, Edmonton, AB : 1:34 PM  

People actually have fun watching someone playing a video game?

A sport, by definition, should include some physical activity. If you're someone who can't walk up a few stairs without passing out, you definately are NOT an athlete.

I suppose if gaming will be considered a sport, so should sitting and/or sleeping. I'd be considered a grand master then! Interested in offering me a $1 million contract for watching me sit?
Posted By Sam, Bayonne, NJ : 4:11 PM  

In my humble opinion, no. But then again, ESPN thinks that Spelling Bee kids are worthy of air time.
Posted By Jason, Phoenix, AZ : 4:51 PM  

To send a letter to the editor about The Browser, click hereTop of page

Got a news tip? Send it to The Browser


© 2009 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2009 BigCharts.com Inc. All rights reserved. Please see our Terms of Use.
MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc.
Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real-Time Services and subject to the Terms of Use.
Intraday data is at least 20-minutes delayed. All times are ET.
Historical, current end-of-day data, and splits data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data.
Fundamental data provided by Morningstar, Inc..
SEC Filings data provided by Edgar Online Inc..
Earnings data provided by FactSet CallStreet, LLC.