What KL Taufan means to me

I have been a gamer for nearly 1 and a half decades of my life, from playing on the early SEGA and MicroGenius systems to representing Malaysia on the global stage at Counter-Strike. I suppose you might say, I have seen and felt it all. The sweet success of victory, to the bitter taste of defeat, I have made friend and foes from near and far.

The one common goal as friends or foes that we share as gamers, is that ever lingering question that remains on the forums, websites and never ending debates at our local mamak shops “Will professional gaming ever see light in our beloved Malaysia?” pro-gamers in short.

Well let us take that thought and digest on it a little, what do we actually mean by being a pro-gamer? By definition a pro-gamer is a gamer that plays games for money, insofar as a cyber athlete is financially dependent upon gaming then the time spent playing is no longer "leisure" time. This begs the question is this possibility even remotely feasible in Malaysia. The answer is yes.

With the arrival of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS), and with the inclusion of Kuala Lumpur being only 1 of 6 selected cities to have an actual CGS franchise (Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Dubai and Wuhan making up the rest). The thought of pro-gaming in Malaysia is finally no longer a fantasy, provided we don’t mess it up.

Now for those of you who don’t know, the CGS is well-capitalized global media company which uniquely targets the $37 billion global video gaming category with an innovative and compelling sports entertainment offering. Developed and financially backed by News Corp. (NYSE:NWS) companies DIRECTV, BSkyB, and STAR, CGS is the first worldwide professional video gaming league. Launched in 2007, CGS features the world's best pro gamers and is broadcast to more than 100,000,000 households in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Key strategic partners include Microsoft, Dell, PepsiCo, and IGN.

What makes the CGS unique and stands out among the other competitors (WCG, ESWC, WGT, etc) is the fact that as a franchise, the players stand to be able to be contracted to the CGS, with salaries of up to 2,500 USD per month. That’s a whopping RM8,000 (give or take) per player, per MONTH! Instead of the usual, win the local qualifier get a free PC and then wait for next year for your next shot at the global stage. The money provided will actually fund, and propel any eager gamer to commit full time at their gaming aspirations. Can you imagine an 18 year old just fresh out of SPM, going into college starting out on this diploma for Mass Com raking in RM8,000 from his part-time hobby?

The bad news is, most of the CGS games, Counter-Strike: Source, Dead or Alive 4 and Forza Motorsports 2 are not very popular titles here in Malaysia, therefore it has not generated enough buzz around the community. Seeing as most of the CS players here play 1.6, the general fighting game community playing Tekken, and our strong but minute racing community spread out over TrackMania or Need For Speed. I implore that the general gamers take a step back, and genuinely study what the CGS is offering in terms of growth and the future of pro-gaming in Malaysia.

Imagine, the Kuala Lumpur Taufan, contracted paid professional gamers (from Malaysia), broadcasted globally to 100 million homes world-wide, what an impact that would send throughout the community, how many eyes would eventually be opened, how all the negative ‘gaming is bad for kids’ mentality can be abolished, and how our dear government will finally recognize us and acknowledge pro-gaming in Malaysia, unlocking the muscle and strength needed for us to host world class events, right here on the shores of our beloved country. Wouldn’t the entire community benefit as a whole?

The contract my friends, and Kuala Lumpur Taufan is just the first step, into a positive spiral that will set the tone, for gaming in Malaysia for years to come.