Subscribe

Local Guitar Hero crowned

Alex Kayle
By Alex Kayle, Senior portals journalist
Johannesburg, 29 Sept 2010

Local gamer Kevin Doran (18) has been awarded Protea colours by Mind Sports SA (MSSA) for electronic sports (e-sports) and has flown out this week to Los Angeles to compete in the prestigious World Cyber Games.

MSSA, an affiliate of the South African Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), recognised Doran's achievement after he won the Guitar Hero tournament playing at the 2010 World Cyber Games National Team Trials, sponsored by Samsung.

Doran and his manager Michelle Marder are now attending the World Cyber Games in the US, where Doran will pit his skills against the best Guitar Hero players in the world.

Colin Webster, MSSA president, says: “Doran is a remarkable player and this is the first time in SA that anybody has been awarded Protea Colours for Guitar Hero”.

According to Webster, MSSA's participation in the World Cyber Games dates back to 2005. He says there are a few hundred Guitar Hero gamers that participate competitively in SA.

By the end of the year, Webster points out that MSSA will have sent out 19 of its gamers to participate in overseas tournaments.

“In terms of computer games, we have several thousand gamers who play online. This is a whole new sporting industry, which enables many South Africans to be recognised for excellence and to be regarded as not only 'guitar heroes' but also as local heroes.

“E-sports is one of the future growing sports in the country. It's not uncommon in countries such as South Korea, which can fill a 60 000-seated stadium with e-sports spectators for games such as StarCraft.”

Webster adds that another growing sector in the competitive gaming market is mobile gaming. He says there are around 70 000 mobile games in SA.

“For gamers looking to compete in a provincial or national tournament competitively, the gamer must first join a MSSA affiliated club,” notes Webster.

Ryan van den Bergh, e-sports gaming representative and national team manager, agrees with Webster, and adds the gaming market in SA is growing significantly.

“The cost of technology and broadband has come down, and mobile gaming, in particular, has become mainstream,” says Van den Bergh.

“However, nothing can substitute players competing in a formal tournament face-to-face, and Guitar Hero is well-designed for competitive game play because it's great for spectators to watch and hasn't got a steep learning curve.”

Share