LOC11:41
08:41 GMT
By Yousef Al-Tattan (with photos)
KUWAIT, June 27 (KUNA) -- For the first time in Kuwait, a tournament was
organized for the Playstation 3 video game "Street Fighter VI," in which 64
people competed for the title.
The tournament, held Friday night, with an audience of some 300 people who
interacted with the new moves displayed on the big screens, while others acted
as commentators, and the rest cheered on the players or groaned when a fatal
mistake cost the player a head lead.
Faisal Al-Kuhaidan, one of the organizers and one of those behind the idea,
told KUNA that a 12-man team calling itself "Saracen Tournaments" worked for
five months to prepare for this tournament.
He said the aim of the tournament was to make people aware of the game and
to provide Playstation video game lovers an opportunity to play in a
competitive atmosphere.
This is the first Playstation tournament that Saracen holds, but it will
not be the last, he said.
Playstation games are being played at a professional level in many
countries, he noted, and in Kuwait, video games were now an important pastime
for many youth, and even adults.
Al-Kuhaidan noted that participants were aged 14-40, and said that this
proved that video games were "not only for children."
Counter to want many believe, video games hone people's skills and mental
abilities, including quick reaction and strategizing, while helping them
network through the online games themselves, he added.
Moreover, players of such video games come to quickly master English,
because of the need to understand the game as it unfolds, solve riddles and
move on to the next stage, he said.
In this respect, Al-Kuhaidan noted that revenue earned by video game
manufacturers exceeded those of the film industry in recent times, mainly
because unlike in movies, video game players were the ones who determined the
ending of the story.
However, he said that despite the positive aspects of such games, there
were some downs, warning parents to choose the right type of game for their
children.
The first version of the "Street Fighter" series was released in 1987, and
since then, the game proved to be a popular for those looking for competition.
It is also the most played game in video tournaments around the world. (end)
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