Hollywood, move it on over! The Hollywood Walk of Fame is now demoted to the
Walk of Lame compared to San Francisco’s Metreon sidewalk. The San Francsico Walk of Game is a sidewalk thunder stealer, and inducting members by the fist full.
The Walk of Game is gaining 6 more members, on behalf of Sony, the Metreon’s older brother. Starcraft, Final Fantasy, John Carmack, Sid Meier, EverQuest, and of course… the lovely Laura Croft.
October 2004, San Francisco, the WCG conference was held. I was there. Not as a player, but as a volunteer helper. The World Cyber Games is to gamers, as the World Cup tournament is to soccer, the Super Bowl is to football, the World Series is to baseball, the gold medal to ice skating. It’s the one, all the marbles. 64 different countries were represented last year, and this year 67 attended.
Some teams show up in matching jump suits, with handles embroidered on their breast and a team name, sometimes accompanied by a logo, across the back. Geeks Gamers of all shapes and sizes, ages and ethnicities, gather to compete in almost half a million dollars in prize money. This isn’t your neighborhood LAN party, we’re talking Seoul, San Francisco, and now Singapore. In the final standings, the USA placed 2nd overall. Korea took top for most overall wins. Brazil, Germany, and China filled the 3rd-5th spots. This isn’t a game anymore, these… games.
Next year it’ll be in Italy. Bonjourno!
