Spotted around the Northwestern university campus
It seems that Dell has organised a computer gaming league for titles like COD4, WOW, Counterstrike and Forza, along with less traditional titles like Guitar Hero 3.
It makes sense from the larger perspective – it’s clear that hardware has become a commodity in the PC market, and margins are pretty thin *except* in the case of high powered PCs. One way for Dell to raise revenue is to raise demand for higher end gaming hardware, and this seems like a nice way to stimulate demand.
However – it’s not all roses, and creating college based online teams can have its drawbacks. With physical sports, bonding groups at the campus level works well – college “jocks” are a familiar sight on the American football field, and tailgating is a tradition. Could it be the same for online gaming?
- It’s not as easy to watch an online game
- It’s certainly not a traditional sport or pasttime
- Online gamers might feel ambivalent about the association with other college sports
The fact is that online gaming is starting to turn into a sport. It remains to be seen whether the models applied to physical support apply here too.
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