X-Games to Feature Call Of Duty Competition

Confirming what everyone already knew about the X-Games, it was announced that today via ESPN's X-Games Website that a Call of Duty tournament has been added to the events of this year's games in Austin.  It is now official that X-Games has lost everything it based on, what it was supposed to be about.  Videogames are cool and all, but is there really anything "eXtreme" about sitting on a couch staring at a screen?  And what's next?  Best trick shots competitions?

This is a slap in the face to every real action sport already in the X-Games, and the ones that have been taken out or never let in (which is us.)  Read on for the full press release-

 To capitalize on a rapidly growing competitive league right in the heart of its demographic, X Games, together with Major League Gaming, announced Monday that there will be a "Call of Duty" tournament as part of X Games Austin in June.

The "MLG Call of Duty: Ghosts" tournament will feature the top five "Call of Duty" teams based on MLG Pro Points plus the top three teams from the "Call of Duty" championship held in Winter Park, Fla., last month. The eight teams will compete in a double-elimination group format, with four teams advancing to a single-elimination bracket. X Games medals will be awarded to the winning teams.

"It's going to be [MLG] bringing our high-level production into a really full weekend," MLG CEO Sundance DiGiovanni said. "We're looking to build something here that hopefully becomes a tradition at both the summer and the winter X Games over time."

MLG is one of several professional video game leagues worldwide and the largest in North America, hosting tournaments in such games as "League of Legends," "Call of Duty" and "Starcraft" and sports games like "NBA 2K14." Teams of gamers make up MLG rosters and will compete in online preliminary tournaments broadcast on MLG.tv. Then major tournaments are held in venues like the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California, where thousands have watched tournaments in-person.

"We are for the first time in a position where we have the league structure, the broadcast piece, the direct access to media and brands who are interested in advertising and marketing to this audience, and it's built in such a way where there's this tremendous scale in front of us," DiGiovanni said.

No stranger to ESPN -- he was the video gaming expert on "Cold Pizza" -- DiGiovanni said the partnership with X Games was an extension of a longtime relationship he has had with the network.

The partnership with X Games was about a year in the making, according to Tim Reed, senior director of content strategy for the X Games. X Games Austin expands this year into a three-day festival with top-tier musical acts and events surrounding the competition.

"As X Games looks to grow and launch into the festival event we're producing, this is great added content to the overall plan," Reed said. "I'm definitely excited to see how it translates [to X Games]."

Joe "Merk" Deluca, a member of Team EnVyUs, will be at X Games Austin because his team finished second in last month's COD championship. He said the partnership between MLG and X Games makes a lot of sense. Deluca played in front of as many as 20,000 people over the course of a weekend at the MLG Championships in Anaheim last year, but he says the ability to compete for an X Games medal is what sets this MLG competition apart from the rest.

"I want to win an X Games medal," Deluca said. "That would be a dream in itself."

Bringing gaming to the X Games was a good match because people interested in professional gaming are likely to be fans of the X Games and other action sports, Reed said. Couple that with the surging popularity of the new genre of e-sports and X Games has what it hopes will be a popular attraction inside the festival grounds at the Circuit of the Americas.

"It made sense from X Games' perspective," Reed said. "The audiences are similar: youth, fun to play with, and they like music, sports and gaming. So it all kind of lines up with [the X Games] audience."

A three-day ticket to X Games Austin will cost $89 and allow holders access to the MLG tent and other attractions at the festival. There also will be an upgraded ticket option for reserved seating inside the MLG tent, a gift bag and other perks. Ticket information can be found here.

The "Call of Duty" franchise is one of the best-selling series in gaming history, but first-person shooters like COD feature realistic violence. "Call of Duty" games can't be bought by anyone under 17, and ESRB rules will be followed at X Games. No one under 17 can enter the tent at X Games without a parent or guardian.
"The subject matter is mature and it's not something that is going to be right for everybody, but there's a huge section of the audience that plays these games," DiGiovanni said. "You'll see when these games are released -- one of the main places they are advertised is on the ESPN networks."

New York-based MLG claims better than a 1,500 percent growth in online video consumption over the past four years and 600 percent growth in total audience over the past three. Much of the interest in e-sports comes from South Korea, Japan and China, but video game tournaments and leagues are rapidly growing in the American market.

There is also money to be made by the competitors. Some of the top professional video gamers can earn over six figures, and many have become celebrities within the gaming community. Having a league that can provide a living wage for many of its professionals was one of the early goals of MLG. Now that it has achieved sustainability, the league is looking to grow in areas where its audience already is, like the X Games.

If the Austin event is successful, MLG and X Games may look to expand their relationship, possibly making on-site gaming a regular attraction at X Games.

"Ideally, we get the [X Games] brand to travel in the gaming space and drive some engagement with an X Games audience," Reed said. "If the tent is full and people are enjoying it, then it's a success."

Team Razor Video #32- Scootering at X-Games 2012

Here is a lot (13 minutes worth) of footage from the scooter demo at the X-Games this year.  The video is all slow-mo set to some weird remix of a Billy Idol song...but there are some clips of John Radtke on the Razor dirt scooter which looks pretty rad.  Props to everyone for throwing down for the huge crowds.

2012 X Games Scooter Demo/Interview

So as I'm sure you know, scooters were included as a demo in the X-Fest at the X-Games this year.  Some guy from something called CraveOnline was there and talked with announcer extraordinaire Jake Hershey about the sport while guys like Kota, Corey Funk, and Cam Ward rode the course in the background.  This is a pretty big step for getting into the Games as a real event, pretty cool.

Breaking News: Scooters In 2012 X-Games? ***UPDATE***

As you probably have seen by now, there is a plethora of buzz on the social networking sites over rumors of scooters getting into the X-Games.  From what I can tell Scooter Hut is the first to break the news, without many (or any) details at all.  I've yet to see any real details or even confirmation from X organizers.  I do know that the ISA (governing body consisting of many of the sports companies) have been pushing to get scooters involved in the games.

But rest assured, if I hear anything new, I'll post it up here on Inside Scooters.


***UPDATE***


"Dear All, My name is Scott and I am the owner of Scooter Hut. We allow some of our staff to work as administrators on our Facebook page, which normally works well for us as a means to keep in touch with our customers and friends. Today, one of my staff overheard a private conversation regarding the involvement of scooters in the xGames and wrongly decided to make an announcement on our Facebook Page in relation to this before running it by me. There is no doubt scooters will be in the xGames at some point, but we have no "official" announcement as to when this will be, so I am sorry if we have given false hope of a 2012 inclusion. On a more positive note, I can confirm we have been in talks with Nitro Circus this week and as a result of these discussions, we will have at least two scooter riders performing in every show of this year's Nitro Circus Tour of Australia. One giant leap at a time for this beautiful sport :)"


What I can say is this. I am glad that Scott announced that. Also let me say that if there is any negotiations about Scootering in the XGames, I hope that Scott is the one doing the negotiating. I know him really well, and he knows what is good for the sport. Surely you guys remember Nitro Circus last year, which he is obviously doing again this year.

So yeah calm down people haha. False Alarm!

-Steven Tongson

X-Games Discussion

With the 15th annual X-Games occurring this past weekend, the inevitable talk of getting scooters into them popped up once more throughout the community. Seeing comments like, "Let's send the X-Games executives emails to get us in!!!" and "Scooters in the X-Games would be sooooo COOOL!" from not only normal scooter kids but even industry types is common. While some kids would love to see freestyle scooter riding become an event at X, others could care less, and yet others would actually like to keep scooters out. My opinion dabbles in all 3 categories.

My main opinion is that I could care less. I love the sport the way it is now; as an underground thing. I love the fact that riding scooters is different. Most people are impressed by even the easiest things, I like that. If the sport gets big enough to be in the X-Games, then that would mean there would be thousands and thousands of more riders than there are today. And that would mean more awareness of the sport, which would take away the originality of riding a scooter, one of the things that appeals to me the most about the sport...but that wouldn't really matter to me. I love the sport enough to keep riding whether the scene is non-existant or ballooned to the level skateboarding is today. However, in order to reach the X-Games, the sport WOULD have to get close to that, which brings me to my next point.

The MegaRamp.

There are kids out there who think all it takes are some emails with some pictures and videos attached to convince those in power to make scooter riding an official event at X. These kids are sadly mistaken. It takes not only myriads of riders and companies, but also things like corporate backing. Once big name companies, companies like DC, Mtn Dew, and Levi's, for example, become involved in the sport, executives would see that there IS money to be made in scooters. Money is THE deciding factor in deciding what sports to put in, and what sports to keep out of X. They don't care whether someone can do a triple backflip to fakie, or air 20 feet out of a quarter on a scooter, because as long as that triple backflip isn't generating any money, they aren't even going to consider putting it in X. Something you have to realize is that the X-Games is no longer about pushing the trick level, and supporting action sports...its about getting more viewers, higher ratings, and more money. Why do you think sports like BMX dirt, flatland, and inline skating are no longer events at X? It's because it wasn't worth the money to put in. If you haven't noticed, every year it seems like the ramps get bigger, the tricks crazier, and the crashes gnarlier. People LOVE seeing athletes like Jake Brown fly across the Megaramp because they know that at any time, he could easily make a simple mistake and get seriously hurt, like what happened in 07. And as nobody has ever actually ridden the Mega (although I know Ricky Wernicke rode the quarter), and there is only a handful of riders who can ride real box jumps, and flow around a park like the Superpark they've been setting up the past couple years at X, I doubt any X exec's will be taking notice. I think within time, as the sport grows, and more people become aware that scooters can be used for more than just a kids' toy, freestyle scooter riding CAN be in the X-Games. But I don't think that that will happen for 5-10 years, maybe even more.

On the other hand, I could be completely wrong about this. After all, there WAS a scooter minipipe event at the 2007 Planet X Games in Melbourne, Australia. The first scooter competition tour, the Fuzion Raise The Gnar Tour, has already made one stop, and is going to make its second soon. The implementation of the American Freestyle Scooter Association (AFSA) is something that will standardize competitions and legitimize the whole sport itself. Nextsport, the company behind the RTG tour, has even said that, "The Dew Tour is NOT opposed to allowing co-sponsoring/events from a scooter company." So perhaps we might be closer than I think.

Scooters at the Planet X Games

The best thing we can do if we want scooters in the X-Games is to continue to support the parts industry, attend comps and jams, and simply just keep riding hard. If the sport continues to grow as fast as it has these past few years, I'm sure its only a matter of time before we reach the big venues like the X-Games and Dew Tour. But until the sport has grown to be as big as current X-Games events, and until there's some major money flowing around the industry, we will only have Dreams of X.

X-Games Live Feed

If you're like me and don't get satellite or cable, this is pretty much the only way to watch X. You can also watch it on ESPN 360 if you have an affliated internet service provider.

Doubleflip on a snowmobile?

Almost.