REAL GAMING TELEVISION

matt just returned from an excursion to korea, where he was visiting kristina -- who is coming to visit next week -- yea! he came back with one of the coolest dvd box sets i've ever seen, and i thought i should share it with you.

as big as gaming is over here in the states, the scene just doesn't get the respect that it does in other parts of the world. as gamers, we hear tales about korean starcraft tournaments, and how important gaming is to their culture. but unless you actually see it, i think it's difficult to appreciate the difference. i had heard staggering figures like, one in four korean citizens has heard of (or played) starcraft. i've been told about the 24-hour starcraft television network... but again, i'd never seen it. well, now i think i have a much better understanding. the dvd i've mentioned is a 3-disk set released by starleague that is filled with 222 minutes of footage highlighting high-level starcraft players in tournament finals. it has commentary tracks, bonus features, a t-shirt, and even a package of player headshots. the production value is very high, with cg intros before matches and some of the highest quality pc game footage i've ever seen running on a television. and it's so serious. the announcers -- men who get paid to talk about starcraft matches on the air -- get very excited when the matches get heated. as does the immense audience... there are like giant concert halls filled with people watching two dudes play. and, boy are they into it. they cheer, and wince and cry... i wish i had a screen capture of these three young girls... they are huddled together, hands over their mouths in sheer terror when it looks like the boy their rooting for is about to lose. then when he comes back -- he amazingly took down some carriers with a few goliaths -- they yelp and scream and jeer. it's incredible.

the whole time carlos, matt, and i were watching, i kept claiming that, "we're so far behind..." carlos simply kept saying, "this is the best thing i've ever seen." i don't know what the people at g4techtv (get a new name) are doing, but they should be watching these dvds. seriously. why there isn't a 24-hour FPS competition channel in america, i do not know.

here are some photos of the discs and packaging. and yeah, that's one of the gamers on the cover.

Posted by ryan at July 1, 2004 09:36 AM