ESports for PS4?

As you have probably already heard, PlayStation has gone online with their own eSports league. Information came up back in early October when a French website went live with information on prizes and a list of games detailing upcoming tournaments. Although with the prizes being listed in Euros, it looks to be a Europe-centered league.

Although the prize money is not listed in our currency, it looks like you are still able to sign up for the tournaments since they are online. (I would test it out for you, but I would rather not accidentally sign up for a tournament where I am bound to get my ass kicked within the first five minutes.) 

The game list isn't too extensive so far and contains fighting, racing, and football (like real football people, not the American version) titles, with Battlefront: Hardline to add some variation.

Would you sign up for this League? Would you compete for the money or just for fun?

The Little Device That's Still Chugging

With mobile games and gaming laptops, it's getting hard for handheld devices to keep footing in the market today. While the Nintendo DS has been able to keep up a relatively loyal following since the device's premier, Sony's PlayStation Portable (better known as the PSP) has had a more rocky past.

Released in 2012 (North America) the Vita was meant to be the savior of the PSP franchise. Although Sony brought new elements to the table (such as a rear touch pad, and having cross-compatible games with the PS3, and later PS4), what scared a lot of gamers away was the price tag. Originally priced at over $250, my consumers didn't think the new design was worth it.

Original PSVita in Black

After a few price drops the little device still didn't attract a very large audience, but many people who decided to take a chance on it don't regret it.

One of the large appeals to the PSVita isn't its AAA titles (most of which are rated very low by critics), but rather the indie games that are typically exclusive to the Vita. Sony made it easy for developers to produce games for the Vita to attract more than just the big names and in order to expand their library.

People have been speculating for a while as to how much longer this little device will last, owners (like me) were hoping that Sony wouldn't throw in the towel just quite yet, and give another push towards reconciliation with the gaming community. Sony acknowledges that the Vita isn't as succesful as they had hoped it would become, even after releasing a new version - the PS Vita Slim - to re-spark interest in the market.

But good news! Instead of halting production on the little device that tried so hard and got so far, they are switching focus to providing indie titles and other lesser-known developments. AAA titles not only cost to get remastered for another system, but they tend to not have that high of sales because of the lesser quality compared to their console and PC counterparts.

Do you own a Vita? What games would you recommend?

Breaking the Gaming Stereotype

Ever been curious about the stereotype of a "common gamer"? Most of you - like me - would think of a scrawny white (most likely American) male within the age range of anywhere from 16 to 30, with the older they are, the less scrawny you become and the more likely you are to be overweight. Part of the problem with this stigma isn't just that fact that it doesn't accurately represent the population of gamers in America, but it also sets an invisible boundary used to keep people that don't fit this mold out of the culture.

But be uninformed no longer! A study done by the Pew Research Center reveals a more accurate distribution of the population of the gaming community, specifically what kinds of people own consoles and handheld gaming devices. (click here for the full article)

What we should think of as the "common gamer" is actually quite different. In fact, the distribution of gender, age, race, and other factors contain a lot less variance than you would think.

Results of the Research Survey (numbers represent %)

So if you took all of the largest statistics from each category, the stereotype for a console owner that we should think of is actually: a Hispanic woman between the ages of 18-29, living in an urban or suburban community who finished some college and has a household income of over $75K.

This study not only shows how inaccurate our current views of the gaming community are, but also that there shouldn't even be a stereotype anymore. Our community has become so diverse that there are actually a very insignificant amount of people who fit what used to be the common mold anymore. Next time you see someone different buying a console, or attending a con, you should be thinking 'damn, its awesome that I belong to such a big community,' because let's be honest, if all of us banded together, we could take over the world.

Where do you fall in these statistics? According to this chart, how 'common' of a gamer are you?

LinkedIn for Gamers

Do you want to be more than just a casual gamer? Or do you want to actually get paid for all those hours you log on your PC or console? Are you dreaming of being one of the people who bring life to everyone's favorite characters? Well theres a website that just launched its beta last week whose goal is to connect people like you and me - people who love video games - to the professional world and other people just like us.

Check them out at www.rezli.com

Although LinkedIn is an awesome resource for job-seekers and employers alike, they are more focused on employing people with "normal" (or as I like to call them, 'adult') jobs. Not saying that jobs in the gaming industry aren't real jobs, because they are, but many people don't take them seriously. Anyone in the same boat as me must be just as tired of having people tell them that "you should be looking into real jobs."

Rezli is different in the fact that they are focused on matching employers and candidates within the gaming industry. From careers in design and engineering, to game testers and professional gamers, the site lets you not only put up the usual information such as experience, education, and preferred careers, but they also have a place to upload your professional (or not so professional for people starting out) portfolio.

Even for people who aren't quite ready to start their career - like me - its a great resource for building a network with potential mentors and employers, as well as fellow professionals and enthusiasts.

Note: they are currently still in beta, so there are bound to be bugs and limitations, but I highly recommend at least starting a profile if you are the least bit interested in potentially entering this field.

Do you know of any other sites or groups focused on getting gamers employed? Or are you currently testing out the beta as well? What do you think of the site so far?