KODE5 Global Gaming Revolution

Written by Geoff Richards

February 28, 2006 | 14:16

Tags: #counter-strike #multiplayer #tournament

Companies: #cebit

In terms of revenue, gaming is bigger than the music industry; it is now also bigger than Hollywood. Some 300 million gamers worldwide spend more than US$35 billion a year to fuel their habit.

Given those astonishing figures, a new group is organising a truly global gaming tournament - "now is the time to be recognized for our skills and dedication" says the press release. The Global Gaming Revolution is approaching. The event is KODE5.

KODE5 promises to be different to many of the existing multiplayer games tournaments. Their mantra is along the lines of "by gamers, for gamers" and the overriding theme is to eschew the elitist snobbery of Invitation Only events and let everyone compete and have some fun.

The competition will be open to gamers in 16 countries through a series of regional events. The winners from each region will then fly to an undisclosed location to square off against the world’s gaming elite.

The upbeat press release states "With television crews from around the world broadcasting, international media in attendance, and mass crowds rioting for their favourites, the KODE5 Global Finals will bring gaming to the center stage like no other gaming event. KODE5 will take competitive gaming to another level and gain the respect that gaming deserves. The result will be gamers taking gaming to the mainstream."

Gaming certainly is far more mainstream than it used to be, thanks to the marketing muscle behind PlayStation 2 and Xbox. However, there is still some way to go before esports is featured in mainstream media to the same level as traditional sport. But try telling that to the tournament's organisers.

“Gaming involves more speed and dexterity than most traditional sports and without strategy and cunning, gamers will meet the reaper quickly,” states the ever-energetic Lester Lau, Revolutionary-in-Command. “With KODE5, we will give gamers the recognition and respect they deserve by showing a mainstream audience the excitement of true competitive gaming.”

To kick off the "revolution" KODE5 will launch at Cebit next week with a series of demo matches using Counter-Strike 1.6 and Quake 4. Coco Lee, previously part of the organising squad for Abit's ACON tournaments explained their plans for the Hannover techfest:

“We’ve assembled some of the world’s best Quake 4 players and Counter-Strike teams to come to the booth and celebrate the launch of KODE5,” said Lee, Revolutionary Plotter. “For the launch, we invite all gamers to come to our booth and challenge our gamers for cash and prizes. In particular, if a team is able to beat our mystery Counter-Strike team in a best-of-three match, they will get automatic seeding in the KODE5 German Finals. If you’ve got game, KODE5’s CeBIT launch is the place to bring it.”

The KODE5 Global Launch is taking place at hall 23, booth C42. Counter-strike teams interested in challenging the mystery KODE5 team at CeBIT can write to cebit@kode5.com for details. Exact details regarding locations, schedules, games, and supporters will be announced March 9, 2006 on the official website: www.kode5.com

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