Boston rising: Esports, tournaments and 'Infinite Crisis'
By Benjamin Cavallari, founder, ARC
What do sold out arenas, tens of millions of viewers and P-1 travel visas have to do with video games? Esports, of course. Video game competitions have been a part of gaming culture for years. But recently, a dramatic rise in the popularity of amateur and professional esports tournaments has attracted a huge new generation of players and teams. .
In fact, many video games, like Infinite Crisis from Needham-based developer Turbine and WB Games, are now built with features designed, esports in mind, to maximize the competitive spirit. Infinite Crisis is a free-to-play MOBA-style game that stars a roster of DC Comics characters like Batman, Superman, The Joker, Catwoman and Green Lantern and allows players to take control of various altered versions of the popular villains and superheroes.
Next month, Turbine will be hosting an Infinite Crisis tournament open to area college students – and spectators, too. The tournament will be held on March 23rd at Boston’s District Hall. Teams will compete for a cash prize pool and the winners will be invited to take part in the Infinite Crisis PAX East Invitational Tournament in April.
Local students looking to compete should drop me a line or read here for more information. No visa required. Let the games begin.
Benjamin Cavallari is the founder of ARC. Follow him on Twitter @ArcConsult.
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The State of Play blog, organized by MassDiGI, features posts by digital and video game industry insiders writing about creativity, innovation, research, and development in the Massachusetts digital entertainment and apps sectors. Follow along @Mass_DiGI.
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