Making Cash Playing Video Game Tournaments

Computer geeks duped us all, as tales of the vast universe of video game tournaments success stories come forth, and geeks around the world walk away with hefty wallets. These gaming "nerds" are, as a rule, quite young people - too young in fact to buy beer and cigarettes. The video gaming industry is growing up, along with its key players, however. With more than 65 percent of all households participating in video gaming on some level, this sport won't be going away any time soon.

Video games considered to be Real Time Strategy, First Person Shooter games, and Racing games, are call Electronic Sports. Initially played individually or in pairs at home on a gaming console, these games can now be played online with other people in neighboring communities, or in other countries. Tournaments have been organized and played online by Massively Multiple player Online Role Playing Games Massively Multiple-player Online Role Playing Games and can be played for cash. World of War-craft Global Arena, one of the most popular games, brought a sizable first prize of ,000 in 2010. Not a bad payout for participating in a game you can play from your basement.

Professional level skills were, in the beginning, sharpened in places such as dorm rooms, basements and Electronics stores. When corporations began to realize the immense potential for marketing products directly to this rapidly growing segment of society, video gaming became a sport. Massively Multiple-player Online Role Playing Games are computer based games which occur online with thousands of other players world-wide. A player creates a character to represent himself, called an Avatar, which interacts with others in the game. The player then controls his character, or Avatar, as it moves through the game, fighting monsters, terrorists, or other enemies, and collecting objects and prizes that are hidden within the game environment. While there are many "experts" playing in these tournaments, it is not necessary to have experience to join in the fun. People often ask whether the money earned during this online game playing is real or not. The money, which is deposited into a trust account via Pay Pal, a credit card, or e-check, is absolutely real, and because the video games played are games of skill, not chance, this is legal in the majority of places.

In 2008 the video game industry earned more than million in sales. A large number of expert gamers brought home sizable sums of money, having quit their full time jobs to play video game tournaments full time. In such a vast industry there are opportunities a plenty for those with nimble fingers and lightning reflexes.

Due to the immense popularity of video games in these times, video game companies are driven to hurl new games out to the public at break-neck speed. They don't always have enough time to test these new games thoroughly, which is bad for business. This creates an opportunity for video gamers to become Video Game Testers. Testers play new games and report any problems or hiccups in the games to the company. Testers get the opportunity to be first to play new games, and game publishers get live-action testing of their products. In this scenario, everyone wins.

With the immense popularity of video game tournaments, it's no wonder Electronic Sports has been evaluated by the International Olympic Committee for inclusion as an Olympic sport.