So it seems that after 2 years the Champion Gaming Series will be shutting its doors. It comes as no surprise with how the economy is that a concept such as CGS would be ahead of its time. While E-Sports is definitely taking off better than ever before it is still evident that it will be a while before people start getting into it as much as they have for say football or baseball.

The official press release after the jump.

AN IDEA WHOSE TIME CAME TOO EARLY

Today BSkyB, STAR and DIRECTV ended their Championship Gaming Series� (CGS) joint venture.
While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of what weve accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future for us to sustain operations in the interim.
Our goal was to be ahead of the curve in the e-sports space, and conceived of CGS as a true sports league. We invested wholeheartedly in the venture and presented viewers with a top-notch production, but the economics just didnt add up for us at this time.
Our only regret is that we will lose a team of creative and talented individuals who invested their hearts and souls into Championship Gaming Series. We recognize their achievements and thank them for their hard work and passion.
BSkyB, STAR and DIRECTV continue to be committed to the video games sector, which is an important part of many of our customers lives and a great source of entertainment.


I have definitely seen where the interest of E-Sports is some what declining and it could be because of all of the great games that have come out this year alone. At E for All I saw what had to be the smallest attendance for viewing a tournament I have ever seen, WCG was there this year and I have to say I was completely bored to death just barely watching the competition going on. While CGS wasn't able to stay afloat in this ailing economy it still seems that tournaments such as MLG are still fairing quite well with their partnership with ESPN. I am sad to see the CGS go and to see so many great players have to find their way into other gaming tournament fields I do hope that CGS can find some way to return at some later point when they can figure out a good way to keep people engaged to watch E-Sports..they should look into live streaming on the web like ESPN/MLG does their tournament coverage.

What are you thoughts on Gaming Tournament Circuits? Ahead of their time or trying to reach the wrong audience?

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MasterFang

It's all about the MLG! Which I still maintain is pretty engaging.

You know what though, I remember G4 had a show called Arena, which was pretty entertaining, and kept my interest during the game, because of expert cutting!

Honestly though, they are a mix of both ahead of it's time, and reaching the wrong audience. It's hard to want to watch other people play video games. In addition, it all too often is very boring. I think it can be mainstream though. It just needs the right push.

greensabre

I guess I just don't understand professional gaming. I personally would never pay to watch someone else play a video game, no matter how good they are. I think it's also worth noting that professional sports like baseball and basketball do not change, whereas video games are constantly evolving. I don't expect today's competitive games to be popular 5-10 years down the road, so I'd hate to be investing hours upon hours of practice time into games. These are just my opinions of course, but I just don't see professional gaming becoming a big thing.

klasco

maybe they should have noob matches. ie find the most annoying noobs and make them verse each other, cmon what do ya think peoples?

Zumbikilla

@ Miz_calamity, i'm glad to see you posting again, about the post theme, i'm not so familiar with professional competitive gaming, but i feel bad about such a big project become a failure, the words from BBSkyB show passion for the idea and sadness at the same time, even if like greensabre I won't pay for seeing people playing, maybe with time and new gaming ways (in the next console generations) this could change.

CQC_NastyN8

@midwest_metalhead

yah dude DJwheat is a hella kool guy. I miss EG show so much. Hope to see him on other shows or even do his own podcast would be awesome

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