A long way since ‘Pong’

Costa Mesa hotel hosts video gaming contest; prizes are in the thousands of dollars for the weekend’s high scorers.A new video game costs about $50. Winning video game tournaments can be worth thousands.

Though the fact may disappoint the many parents who have told their children that video games are a waste of time, there are tournaments that offer cash prizes to top gamers.

“If you’re good, you can make a lot of money,� gamer Nelson Triana said.

Triana, who lives in Ottawa, Canada, is set to compete in a video game tournament in Costa Mesa this weekend.

This year, Triana said he’s made more than $11,000 in Canadian money playing video games.

The event, hosted by Brooklyn-based Major League Gaming, is scheduled to be held at the Hilton Costa Mesa through Sunday. The contest is the Western Conference Championship for the organization’s tour. Gamers playing “Halo 2,� “Super Smash Bros. Melee� and “Tekken 5,� will compete in the event, which has a $40,000 purse, said Adam Apicella of Major League Gaming.

“There’s a lot of intensity -- they talk a lot of smack to each other,� Apicella said.

Apicella said 150 competitors were invited to the contest, which is scheduled to be held at the Hilton Costa Mesa. He anticipated 500 people would show up for last-chance qualifying matches -- “a frantic single-elimination event� -- scheduled for Friday evening and early Saturday.

One of the players invited to the tournament is Tom “T Squared� Taylor of Jupiter, Fla. Taylor, whose 18th birthday is today, said he’s played competitively for four years, though he first picked up a gaming controller to play for fun, competition and bragging rights.

Taylor said he earned about $40,000 so far this year playing in video game tournaments. Outside of competition, he offers video game lessons -- for a fee -- online at www.gaming-lessons.com.

Taylor’s specialty is “Halo 2,� a first-person combat game in which players use a variety of weapons to shoot, blow up and otherwise annihilate their opponents. Taylor said players form teams of four and battle other teams in events such as virtual capture-the-flag matches.

The atmosphere at the competitions, Taylor said, is “sort of like a mix between a poker match and skateboarding.�

The event schedule for the competition is online at www.mlgpro.com. Though the event is in Costa Mesa, people have to click on the MLG Los Angeles link to access event information.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at [email protected].