Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Pro Gamer Salaries on the Rise

Recently I was playing video games with my roomates and I sat there wondering why I couldn't get paid for my skills in Madden. At that time I didn't realize that people actually got paid to play video games. And even more shocking was the fact that some players exceed 70k per year. Some players have even been documented as to have won over 100k in one tournament. That is more than either of my parents make and they both have 4 year degrees. This fact does not even seem fair, uneducated teenagers can make more than the average college graduate. Players specialize in popular games like Halo and Super Smash Bros. Even though these games sometime cause certain students to flunk out of school because of the addiction they have to the games. Is it ridiculous that video game players make these salaries? Or is it the same as professional athletes making more money than doctors and lawyers?

1 comment:

EBO said...

What I am wondering about is who is willing to pay them for this and why? If it is a video game company paying people to test their games before they hit the market then it very well may be worth it to the company to pay what to us seems like a huge amount for the services that are provided. The companies in this case might be paying more for the expertise the gamer has on what people like and do not like then they are for the person to actually play the game. Paying the game very well may just be the best way for the gamer to familiarize themselves with the game well enough to say what is good or bad with it. Whatever the reason these people are being paid to play, there has to be some benefit to those paying for it or this simply would not be a service offered.