In a move that is somewhat surprising, Disney XD is bringing a competitive video game series to their network titled ‘Clash of Karts: Mario Kart 8’. With YouTube turning skilled gamers who record their videos into celebrities, it is kind of surprising that it has taken this long for a network to start a competition television series that shows off just such talent though this isn’t where I expected one of them to land. The new series is a one off show that will follow eight of “America’s best young gamers” who are teaming with some of the YouTube celebrities mentioned above for a live Mario Kart 8 competition.
Some might scoff at the idea of watching other gamers play but eSports have become a multi-million dollar business as top gamers show off the latest and greatest with videos and competitions getting high viewership numbers on top of that.
The program will air on Saturday December 5th at 8pm PT/ET and is most likely testing the waters to see if it is a show that can capture ratings which may lead to others in the future.
According to Disney XD senior vice president Marc Buhaj:
“eSports is something that’s blossoming, but it’s still early days. How it’ll be covered for the kids’ audience is still something that remains to be seen.”
The video game industry is big money and we’ve already seen online that eSports can be as well. The real question is whether viewers will be willing to tune in to watch this on network television? We’ll find out soon enough.
Does ‘Clash of Karts: Mario Kart 8’ sound like something you might be willing to check out? Are you someone who can enjoy watching video games or if the controller isn’t in your hands are they a waste of time? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Slash Film
