Valve, SteelSeries, and DreamHack to host $250,000 Counter-Strike tournament

September 16, 2013 3:17PM PDT

By Cody Conners and Rod Breslau

Valve's community-funding eSports initiative leads to to largest Counter-Strike tournament prize pool in the game's history.

Valve announced today that the 2013 DreamHack Steelseries Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Championship taking place at DreamHack Winter will feature a $250,000 community-funded prize pool. The prize pool is the largest in Counter-Strike's history.

The funds were generated from in game item purchases. On August, 13th Valve released a patch called The Arms Deal to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that added weapon and weapon case drops to the game. All weapon cases require a purchasable key to be opened. A portion of the revenue generated from one of the weapon cases types, the eSports Weapon Case, was set to "be redirected to fund prize purses at upcoming CS:GO eSport events worldwide." The DreamHack Steelseries Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Championship is the first tournament that is seeing the benefit of this initiative.

Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund, member of the multiple DreamHack winning team Ninjas in Pyjamas, remarked to GameSpot that he has "been dreaming about something like this ever since [he] has started playing Counter-Strike." Alesund's manager, former teammate, and fellow champion, Emil "HeatoN" Christensen added, "I think it's a great step forward to bring Counter-Strike back in the spotlight. Since the growth of the MOBA it has kind of been in the shadows. Even if we see the game growing steadily it needs something like this tournament to make it grow even faster, and hopefully create another Counter-Strike boom."

This is not the first time that Valve have used in game item purchases to help community-fund an eSports tournament. Part of The International 3's $2,874,407.00 prize pool came from Interactive Compendium purchases in the Dota 2 in game store. This item granted the purchaser certain perks like virtual item drops and access to exclusive compendium owner polls that allowed owners to vote on things like the participants of The International 3's all-star game. Interactive Compendium's cost $10.00 to purchase with 25% of all purchases going towards The International 3's prize pool.

Henning Christiansson, SteelSeries' Marketing Manager, told GameSpot, "For us events like this means everything, our foundation builds on giving back to our fans all over the world. We have always worked close with our partners and when this opportunity came around we were really honored that our tournament at Dreamhack was the one Valve selected." When asked if Valve's involvement changed SteelSeries' allocation of resources and capital he responded, "…when a partner like Valve commits and raises the bar to this level, you have to follow. There will be more information presented later on that I believe the community will enjoy." Christiansson noted that casters would be announced at a later date.

At the time of publication the SteelSeries' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Championship boasts the title of largest single event prize pool in DreamHack history. The tournament will take place in Jönköping, Sweden from November 28th to 30th.

Photo credit to Hampus Andersson and DreamHack.

→ More coverage of ESPORTS on GameSpot.com

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Community News: Monday 9/16

Happy Monday GameSpot, we've got a lot going on this week!

What to look forward to

GameSpot is coming to SXSW… Maybe!
But we need your help! Games media veterans GameSpot's Ben Howard and Red Robot Labs Inc. John Davison will lead a discussion about the challenges publishers of core, big-budget franchises face as well as what emerging companies in the mobile and indie scene are changing all expectations about the games industry and its future. - please go vote for our panel!

GTAV is coming, are you ready?
Carolyn took part in a bit of an Ask me Anything style Q&A today after our GTAV review was posted. If you missed out don't worry, we'll be having another sit down with Carolyn later this week on GameSpots Reddit page.

GameSpot is on Tumblr!
Just in case you missed it, GameSpot now has a Tumblr account, we be all up in these social medias!

The new site… it's almost here.
Currently the due date for the new site is early October, and baring any major issues we find along the way things should be pretty classy around here. We will be having another one of our Fireside Chats this Wednesday with the ever spiffy Lark Anderson to host. Have questions about the new site? Ask them below.

Community Spotlight

This weeks GameSpot Member Spotlight shines on Stevo_the_gamer a valiant System Wars Mod.

A bit about him: PC gamer first, console gamer second. Video games is one of my major hobbies. Currently studying Criminal Justice; getting a major in that, and will pursue a minor in Sociology and/or Psychology.

Contests

The rumor mill spins as Team Social plots and plans for this weeks contest. While nothing has yet been confirmed, there are whisperings' of a Grand Theft Auto V giveaway in the works. Make sure you're following us on Facebook and Twitter the the latest contest updates!

That's it for today Spotters! Be sure to check back on Wednesday for our next Community News Update!

→ More coverage of COMMUNITY on GameSpot.com

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GS News - GTA V reviews, Battlefield 4 and Mass Effect updates

Again with the funny stuff, Chris. (I secretly don't mind, continue being clever!)

The hype that developed on GTA Vs backside hasn't left me yet (I can happily say) as I'll grab that work when it comes out for my laptop to munch on. Just saw the review though (awesomely done by Ms. Petit) and the expectations that sat on MY backside were realized pretty quickly as I was satisfied through the footage.

I was ecstatic to hear that the missions that would carry GTA Vs story were so spectacular, as I'm playing Saints Row The Third right now, and am bored, disappointed and frustrated at times by the forced generic qualities that a lot of the missions have. That's not to say that the game doesn't have its moments in flair and spectacle, and I'm entertained for the most point so far, so I guess that's all I can ask for in a title that doesn't promote any depth in its atmosphere and story. In short, looking forward to GTAs variety and originality in structure.

A lot of my buds have been shaking waiting for Battlefield 4 to debut, and news of the open October beta will make them human again, so thanks for that. And another Mass Effect game?

Never played a single one, but have heard plenty of the series legacy as a hard story driven RPG. That'll be neat to cover. 

Another enjoyable episode, man. Keep up the good work and stuffs.

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Top Five Skyrim Mods of the Week - ALIENS!

September 14, 2013 12:00PM PDT

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By Johnny Chiodini, Video Producer | Cameron Robinson, Video Producer

This week's Top 5 Skyrim Mods sees Cam, Johnny and the ever brave Kevin VanNord face off against the terrifying Xenomorph Alien Horde!

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Zelda Music Swap by -cC+ Wolfy

aMidianBorn Blades Armor by CaBaL

ALIENS by Dogtown1

HD Armored Circlets by cyanideja

Goat Dynasty: Genesis by Fisto the Sexbot

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Always with the double posts :o

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Battlefield 4 beta starts October 1

An open beta for Battlefield 4 will launch on October 1, Electronic Arts has announced. The beta will be available on that date for all Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC players.

An "Exclusive" Battlefield 4 beta was previously announced for Battlefield 3 Premium owners, those who preordered the Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe version, and owners of Medal of Honor: Warfighter. It is not clear when this version will be released.

Battlefield 4 launches for current-generation consoles and PC on October 29. For more on the Battlefield 4 beta, check out a FAQ page on the game's website.

EA also has announced Xbox One and PlayStation 4 launch dates for Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, and Battlefield 4.

These games will be available on November 19 (North America)/November 21 (Europe) for Xbox One and November 12 (North America)/November 29 (Europe) for PlayStation 4.

For more on Battlefield 4, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

→ More coverage of ESPORTS on GameSpot.com

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StarCraft II and Counter-Strike: GO head into finals at DreamHack Bucharest

September 14, 2013 7:43PM PDT

World's best players from around the world travel to Romania to compete for over $40,000.

The best StarCraft II players and Counter Strike: Global Offensive teams from around the world have come to Bucharest, Romania to compete for over $40,000 at DreamHack's Open Bucharest event.

The final day of competition has now arrived for what is said to be the most competitive DreamHack StarCraft II tournament in the event's long history. Players competing this weekend include Blizzard WCS Season 1 Champion Lee "INnoVation" Shin Hyung, Artur "Nerchio" Bloch, Lee "Jaedong" Jae Dong, Samuli "elfi" Sihvonen, Song "HerO" Hyeon Deok, Lee "Life" Seung Hyun, and Mun "MMA" Seong Won, and are among the final 16 players remaining. Brood War legend and favorite Lee "Flash" Young Ho was eliminated in the first day of competition, with losses to MMA and Jung "YugiOh" Seung Il.

The winner of the StarCraft II tournament will earn $9,240, and 750 WCS points to help in their quest to qualify for the WCS Grand Finals at BlizzCon later this year.

The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament has only four teams remaining, featuring reigning Swedish champions Ninjas in Pyjamas led by Christopher "GeT_RiGhT Alesund, Ukraine's Na'Vi and Astana Dragons, and Sweden's Lemondogs. Each of the teams dispatched their opponents convincingly 2-0 in the quarterfinals, while Lemondogs eliminated fellow countrymen Fnatic from the event in what was the biggest upset from the first day of competition.

Both tournaments resume in the morning hours of Sunday, September 15, beginning at 5 a.m. EST/2 a.m. PST. Watch the StarCraft II event at DreamHack's Twitch channel, and CS:GO also through Twitch.

Check out more eSports coverage at the GameSpot eSports hub.

Image credit: Helena Kristiansson, eSportPhoto.

→ More coverage of ESPORTS on GameSpot.com

13.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Torture Chamber - Unfair Mario

@Karjah I bet you play sports better than those fools on TV as well ;)

It's always easier when you're not the one who has to do it.

You have to remember he's on livestream with an office full of people giggling at him and a chatroom full of trolls + he needs to think of what he says and keep an eye on the chat and be entertaining and think of how he looks etc. Then the controls may not be as responsive as you might think.

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Coming of Age with the Press of a Button

Chris Watters analyzes the remarkable bond between narrative and gameplay in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons blew me away. The heartfelt story of two brothers going on a grand journey moved me, the gorgeous environments and evocative art delighted me, and the clever control scheme and light puzzles intrigued me. These are the familiar elements that many games use to captivate players, but few games use them in harmony as well as Brothers. By designing narrative and gameplay to complement and enhance each other, Brothers conveys emotion in a uniquely poignant way and proves itself a powerful example of the expressive potential of video games.

(Be warned, the following contains major spoilers for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. If you are merely curious about the game, I suggest you read Mark Walton's eloquent and spoiler-free review. The game only takes about 4 hours to complete and I highly recommend experiencing it for yourself before you read on. It's wonderful.)

This video review is your last chance to get out of here spoiler-free.

Brothers begins laying the groundwork for its best moments in the tragic first scene. The younger brother watches helplessly as his mother drowns in front of him, and soon after, his father falls ill with a mysterious ailment. In order to save him, both brothers embark on a journey to find a mystical tree high in the mountains. When they come upon a river they must swim across, however, the younger brother balks. Still traumatized by his mother's death, he must cling to his older brother's back to make it across.

This dependency goes both ways. The older brother is too large to fit through small gaps that the younger can squeeze through, and big brother can boost his sibling up to ledges that neither would be able to reach alone. Such simple puzzles build on the theme of connectedness. The two brothers are already bound to each other narratively by blood and by the quest to help their father. The environmental design forces them to work together to overcome the obstacles they face, cleaving them to each other through gameplay. And because the left stick and trigger control the elder and the right stick and trigger control the younger, the two are even further bound together on a fundamental mechanical level.

Having to control two characters at once is a curious sensation. The two are physically separate and are controlled separately, yet they must act--you must make them act--in unison. As the brothers are bound to each other through different aspects of the game's design, so too are you connected to them. This is a particularly good example of one of the fundamental strengths of video games: the ability to make you feel connected to characters by putting you in control of them.

Brothers builds on this basic connection by drawing you into the emotional bond between the two boys. The gibberish they speak conveys mood and tone perfectly well, and through their exclamations and their actions you see their personalities emerge. You may be drawn to the elder's politeness or the younger's ebullience, or put off by the younger's impertinence or the elder's rigidity. With strengths of one complementing the flaws of the other, the brothers cover more emotional range than a single character could and make it easy to identify with them.

And so Brothers crafts a deep fellowship. By controlling them both, you develop an instinctual sense for each boy's place in the world. Each spoken phrase or idle gesture speaks volumes to you. You get the sense that no more could these two part ways than your hands could detach and walk away from each other. This easy, unthinking intimacy feels like brotherliness, and only through the harmonious interplay of narrative, level design, and gameplay is Brothers able to achieve such a credible representation of that deep bond.

With the foundation of brotherhood established, Brothers sets its sights on other, darker emotions. Because the brotherly bond is so skillfully woven, it becomes all the more upsetting when it begins to fray. A beguiling new presence captures the elder brother's attention late in the game to the confusion and dismay of the younger. There is a period of uneasiness that puts you on edge, and after a dramatic and tragic encounter, the older brother is gravely wounded. For the first time in the game, the younger sets off on his own, desperate to find the item he hopes will save his brother. As you guide him up a twisting, winding tree, the contorting environment mirrors the disorienting feeling of using only your right hand to play the game that has demanded both for so long. When you emerge from the tree, disorientation turns to shock. The older brother has died.

I was playing the same game, but I was no longer playing the same game. How can you convey the feeling of loss? The death of a beloved character can make you feel sadness and regret, but grief goes deeper. There is an emptiness, a hollowing out, a physical sense of loss that mere narrative often fails to capture. But the sensation of my left hand gripping the controller passively, lying dormant while my right continued to work, that sensation felt to me like loss. The physical balance of my play experience was upset; I was playing the same game, but I was no longer playing the same game. Something had been lost.

When a beloved family member passed away recently, my life took on a similar fractured quality; I was leading the same life, but my life was no longer the same. A loss like that reverberates throughout many aspects of life, and so it seems only natural that to convey this poignant sense of loss, Brothers uses multiple aspects of the game. The narrative informs you of your loss by showing you the lifeless body and the weeping younger brother. But you aren't simply told, not merely shown. You are forced to change the way you interact with the game on a physical level and then, in your hobbled state, you must bury your brother. With each pile of dirt you push onto his corpse, you see him passing from your life and you feel your left arm lying limp by your side, a physical manifestation of virtual death.

The emotional impact of this moment is intense, and only the interactivity of the medium allows it to carry the weight that it does. But this isn't Brothers' last trick. Carried to within shouting distance of his home, the younger brother faces an insurmountable challenge. In order to reach his father and deliver the cure, he must swim across a dark expanse of water. It's not possible. At every watery obstacle prior, you moved the elder brother to the shore, pulled the left trigger to make him dive in, then moved the younger towards him and pulled the right trigger to make him grab on to his brother. Yet even as you remember this simple solution, it dawns on you what you must do.

You pull the left trigger. This is a profoundly odd feeling because your mind has so securely bonded the younger brother to your right hand. It feels wrong. It feels uncomfortable. But sure enough, the left trigger sends him foundering and flailing into the water where he slowly makes his way across to the far shore. In that brave act, the younger brother confronts his fears and forges onward, growing up a bit in the process. This narrative coming of age is underscored by your physical action; by pulling the left trigger, you make the younger assume the role of the elder. Because this act is a subversion of what you've been doing for the whole game, you feel some of the trepidation and unease that accompanies the transition from childhood to adolescence. And amidst this tumult of emotions, there is a note of comfort, an assurance that even when our loved ones pass away, a part of them stays with us.

Brotherhood, grief, maturation. These aren't the themes you might expect to find conveyed honestly and authentically in a video game, and yet Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons does just that. By treating the physical act of using the controller as part of the emotional experience of playing a game, developer Starbreeze Studios leverages the interactivity of the medium to create something special. The potential of video games to probe the human condition is vast indeed, and it's inspiring to play a game that takes on that noble challenge.

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NPD: 3DS outsells Xbox 360, PS3 in August

The NPD Group today released United States sales data for August 2013, revealing Nintendo's 3DS was the top-selling platform during the month, outpacing the PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Nintendo did not reveal specific sales data for the 3DS, but Microsoft chimed in to say the Xbox 360 sold 96,000 units during the month, down sharply from the 193,000 systems sold during August 2012. Total Xbox 360 platform revenue (hardware, software, accessories) was $213 million, the most for any platform in the United States, Microsoft said.

Sony did not reveal August US sales figures for the PS3 or PS Vita.

Overall, US hardware sales were down 40 percent year-over-year to $90.8 million and every platform saw a decline. "We hope to see hardware sales improve with the launch of the Xbox One and PS4 in November," NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement.

Overall, total industry sales rose 1 percent to $521 million, though this number only reflects about half of the true market spend on games during the month, Callahan said.

"These sales figures represent new physical retail sales of hardware, software, and accessories, which account for roughly 50 percent of the total consumer spend on games," he said. "When taking into account our preliminary estimate for other physical format sales in August such as used and rentals at $178 million, and our estimate for digital format sales including full game and add-on content downloads including micro-transactions, subscriptions, mobile apps, and the consumer spend on social network games at $528 million, the total consumer spend in August is just over $1.2 billion."

Excluding January 2013, which posted gains due to an extra reporting week versus January 2012, the last time retail sales were up overall year-over-year was October 2011.

Switching to software, this category jumped 21 percent to $305 million, compared to $253 million last year. This was principally driven by the shift of Madden NFL 25 into the NPD Group's August reporting period and the release of Saints Row IV, Disney Infinity, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Callahan said.

"Collectively, August 2013 launches made up an astounding 58 percent of overall dollar sales for the month and 41 percent of units sales, which compared to 24 percent of dollar sales and 15 percent of unit sales that August 2012 launches represented in that month," he said. "Due to a greater percentage of sales stemming from newer games at full price and have higher priced collector's editions, overall software average pricing grew by 25 percent."

Callahan said it is "remarkable" that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sales grew over 50 percent during the month and were only down 1 percent year-over-year considering the arrival of the Xbox One and PlayStation is just months away.

Madden NFL 25 was the top-seller during August, followed by Saints Row IV and Disney Infinity. The full list of top August titles is below.

The accessories category rose 7 percent to $136.7 million for the month. The NPD Group said with the launch of Disney Infinity, which includes physical toys, the research group has begun categorizing these sales--along with Skylanders sales--within the accessories category as Interactive Gaming Toys.

"Sales of Video Game and Subscription cards were also strong in August 2013, and when combined with Interactive Gaming Toys, these two types of accessories represented over 50 percent of dollar sales this month," Callahan said.

AUGUST US GAME SALES (August 4-August 31, 2013)
OVERALL DOLLAR SALES

Total retail sales: $521 (1%)
Non-PC hardware: $90.8 million (-40%)
Non-PC software: $293.4 (23%)
Accessories: $136.7 (7%)
Total software: $305 million (21%)

TOP 10 GAMES FOR AUGUST 2013
Title (Platforms) - Publisher

1. Madden NFL 25 - (X360, PS3) - Electronic Arts
2. Saints Row IV - (X360, PS3, PC) - Deep Silver
3. Disney Infinity - (X360, Wii, PS3, Wii U, 3DS ) - Disney Interactive
4. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist - (X360, PS3, Wii U, PC) - Ubisoft
5. Minecraft - (X360) - Microsoft
6. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - (3DS) - Nintendo
7. NCAA Football 14 - (X360, PS3) - Electronic Arts
8. PayDay 2 - (X360, PS3) - 505 Games
9. Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn - (PS3, PC) - Square Enix
10. Pikmin 3 - (Wii U) - Nintendo

→ More coverage of PS4 on GameSpot.com

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Pikmin 3 US sales reach 115,000 units

Pikmin 3 has sold 115,000 combined physical and digital copies in the United States since launch on August 4, Nintendo announced today, citing data from research firm the NPD Group.

Another August release--Mario & Luigi: Dream Team--sold nearly 190,000 combined physical and digital units, Nintendo added. That game was released on August 11.

Nintendo also called out New Super Luigi U, saying the game has now sold nearly 120,000 copies. It was originally released as downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U in June and became available at retail earlier this month.

The 3DS was the top-selling games system for August in the US, beating out the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Nintendo said today that is has now sold more than 6.47 million systems so far in 2013, up more than 30 percent compared to this time last year. Thus far in 2013, nine 3DS games have sold at least 250,000 copies.

Nintendo also provided updated 2013 and lifetime sales figures for various 3DS and Wii U games. Check out the list below.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon - 863,000 units (2013)
Animal Crossing: New Leaf- 739,000 units (2013)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - 406,000 units (2013), 1.85 million units (lifetime)
Fire Emblem: Awakening - 390,000 units (2013)
Mario Kart 7 - 352,000 units (2013), 2.84 million units (lifetime)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity - 298,000 units (2013)
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - 268,000 units (2013)
Super Mario 3D Land - 265,000 units (2013), 2.86 million units (lifetime)
Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins - 264,000 units (2013)

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