This is one for all the teachers who told you that playing games won’t get you anywhere. Just in time for E3, Twitch TV, Alienware, and SteelSeries have announced a new college scholarship for gamers that is unique in its audience. Applicants will need to apply via Twitch TV, and show that they have both impressive grades and impressive game scores.
“We’ve seen the competitive gaming landscape explode over the last year, as marked by our site’s traffic, as well as the sharp increase in the number of pro tournaments, sponsor interest and number of players who are able to support themselves by streaming their games,”Emmett Shear, CEO of TwitchTV said in a press release. “The scholarship concept was inspired by our desire to give something back to the community that has helped us grow to more than 17 million unique visitors a month, less than one year from our launch in June 2011.”
The grades part is straightforward enough. Do well in school and you will be half way towards qualifying for the $10,000 scholarship. As for the game scores, you will need to prove your gaming prowess.
The winner will be judged on several factors, including online rankings and any awards given for gaming. This means that competitive gaming will play a major factor, but aspiring gamers could find a way to impress the judges, who will be made up of members from each of the three companies, by other means. You can find more details, including how to apply, on Twitch TV.
“The goal is to encourage the top players to pursue higher education while continuing to compete at the highest levels of gaming,” said Frank Azor, Alienware General Manager. “We’ve got a pretty competitive community out there and we are looking forward to providing an opportunity to foster that same passion for education.”
It is a great way to kick off E3 by offering a scholarship that defies conventional scholarships. The gaming community is growing and thriving, and finding a way to encourage gamers towards good grades while also rewarding good students that are also gamers is an idea long overdue. It is one more sign of the maturity of the gaming industry, plus the strength and vitality of the gaming community.
