Tag: Gaming

High School Esports Rankings: Top teams since 2019

The top esports teams in the country since 2019, according to PlayVS

Ahead of the Fall 2022 high school esports rankings, USA TODAY High School Sports is looking back at the best esports teams since 2019 based on overall data tallied by PlayVS.

With games such as Madden NFL, Rocket League and League of Legends, PlayVS has grown to include high school students across the country, providing opportunities to be part of a team environment and even presenting the possibility of scholarships at the college level.

The esports platform is also recognized by the NFHS and state associations, with individual states able to crown a new official champion every season (fall and spring). 

That official distinction includes tracking stats for the high school esports leagues, too, which helps highlight the best programs of all time.

Let’s take a look…

(Logos courtesy of PlayVS)

Xbox camping gear encourages gamers to explore the outdoors

Even Xbox wants gamers to go outside now.

It’s time to put down the controller and put on your hiking boots. In a surprising move, Xbox has released a collection of branded camping gear. Dedicated gamers can now browse the 14-product line for everything from a camping utility vest to a packable hammock. 

“Whether you’re exploring the great outdoors or planning to establish base camp in the living room, get outfitted with our latest collection of comfy and functional gear,” the Xbox website states.

The signature green and black Xbox color scheme decorates each piece in the collection. Mostly comprised of clothing, the camping gear line features shirts, shorts, jackets, hats, a Nalgene bottle, a folding chair, a hammock, and more. Prices range from $79.99 for items like the windbreaker and anorak to $11.99 for an Xbox-themed bandana.

A person wearing a green hat and sitting in a green hammock.
© Xbox.

Designed in collaboration with Dotexe, the collection is interesting if a little baffling. As Polygon writer Ana Diaz joked in a tongue-in-cheek article about the gear, “It’s a really thoughtful gesture from Xbox, given how many times people have replied to my own posts telling me to go touch grass. Now I (and you too) can go and do that!”

Whether you’re preparing for a camping trip or simply want to see what the buzz is about, the products are now available on the Xbox website.

DraftKings CEO says lawmakers should legalize online gaming before ‘prolonged economic downturn’

Tell us how you really feel, Jason

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins has never been the most deft public speaker.

Foregoing the platitudes most executives tend to live by, Robins instead makes the type of comments board members typically don’t want their consumers to hear.

For instance there was the time last December when Robins said DraftKings didn’t want customers who are looking to profit from the book’s offerings. Well, he outdid himself on Friday at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States conference in Boston.

In explaining why more states should rush to legalize mobile betting, Robins cited a likely economic downturn in the near future. And he phrased in the most craven way possible.

On the one hand, at least he’s not even pretending like rapid expansion, growth and profits aren’t his main objective. On the other, ew, gross.

The idea that ‘times will be getting tougher soon, so let’s get people to spend their disposable income with us’ is hard to look past in this phrasing. Maybe we’ll get some more context and clarification soon. It sure would be helpful.

Until then, remember to play responsibly.

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PlayStation just unveiled new ‘Cosmic Red’ and ‘Midnight Black’ controllers for the PS5 and they’re beautiful

PlayStation’s new controllers look incredible

There are still plenty of people struggling to get PlayStation 5’s out there, but at least you’ll be able to get an amazing controller soon.

PlayStation announced two new colorways for the PS5 controller and they look absolutely incredible.

The standard controller is white and black, which is the same color as the system. The new colorways are “cosmic red” and “midnight black” and they both look spectacular. It’s a black on black and red on black look.

PlayStation posted a video on its Twitter account showcasing both colorways off and they’re both extremely clean. They’re totally different from the base design.

Man, those are so good. Can we get the systems in those colors, too? Sheesh.

According to the PlayStation blog, both controllers will go on sale next month with release dates varying by region. They drop on June 11 in the United States and will retail for $69.99.

Hopefully, by then, more people will actually have systems.

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PGA Tour partners with American Gaming Association to promote responsible betting

The Have A Game Plan campaign intends to help bettors set limits and learn of safe operators while learning the warning signs of gambling.

The PGA Tour has partnered with the American Gaming Association’s Have A Game Plan.­® Bet Responsibly public service campaign to educate and help protect bettors.

The Tour said it will develop content to help bettors “Know When to Lay Up” and bet responsibly. The co-branded content will appear on social and digital platforms along with public service announcements on PGA Tour Radio.

The Tour joins NASCAR and the NHL as partners in the campaign. Topics include setting and sticking to a budget, keeping betting social, knowing the odds, playing with trusted and regulated gaming operators, and learning warning signs of problem gambling and addiction. Monumental Sports & Entertainment and the Vegas Golden Knights also have committed inventory in support of the campaign.

“A key pillar of the PGA Tour’s sports betting strategy is responsible gaming and ensuring our fans are equipped with the appropriate resources so they are properly prepared and educated,” Scott Warfield, Vice President of Gaming at the Tour, said in a media release. “By aligning with the American Gaming Association in support of its Have A Game Plan campaign, we’re able to align our efforts and provide a consistent message focused on responsible gaming.”

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that sports gambling is legal, the Tour has licensed its live scoring data to IMG Arena to distribute to sports betting partners around the world. The Tour’s official sports betting partners include BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel and PointsBet.

Sports betting is now legal in 25 states and Washington, D.C. The media release said that between June of 2018 and November of 2020, $35 billion was legally wagered nationwide, generating nearly $2.5 billion in sportsbook revenues and about $330 million in tax revenue for local and state governments.

“The AGA is thrilled to welcome the PGA Tour to our growing responsible sports betting campaign,” Casey Clark, AGA Senior Vice President of Strategic Communications, said in the media release. “As legal sports betting continues to expand in both availability and popularity, it is imperative that responsible gaming education keeps pace. Today’s announcement is a testament to the Tour’s thoughtful approach to sports betting and marks an important step in continuing to engage all industry stakeholders in our shared responsibility to educate fans on safely and responsibly betting on sports.”

WNBA Star Aerial Powers Join Esports Powerhouse Team Liquid

Powers, who helped the Washington Mystics win the 2019 WNBA championship, is a serious gamer, and she will be a brand and diversity ambassador for Team Liquid.

Powers, who helped the Washington Mystics win the 2019 WNBA championship, is a serious gamer, and she will be a brand and diversity ambassador for Team Liquid.

Fortnite’s ‘Recon Expert’ skin is back in the item shop and that’s just fine

Calling anything OG after three years is dumb. Those are the rules.

Epic Games has never really shied away from being edgy when it comes to Fortnite.

I mean, this is the game that blew up its entire universe and created another one. Nothing is off the table when it comes to Fortnite, and its audience knows that.

That’s why it was so weird to see some people wasting five minutes of their life getting mad online about the “Recon Expert” skin being back in the item shop for the first time in forever.

To quickly recap what’s going on, when some gamers fired up Fortnite on Wednesday, they probably saw the “Recon Expert” skin available for purchase.

Honestly, it doesn’t look like anything special. It’s just a soldier woman with a hat. Pretty cool. But, again, nothing special.

The real reason why this is a big deal is because, back when Fortnite was in its infancy, people were calling it a children’s version of PUBG, the Recon Expert was one of the game’s most popular skins.

If you have a kid that plays this game, they’ve probably asked for your credit card a few times to buy some “skins” and you were probably like “WHAT?!?” Don’t worry. That’s what this is. Skins are simple. They’re basically characters that you can play as on Fortnite.

Recon Expert started off as a normal, beginner skin. But, eventually, as the game grew it disappeared and never appeared in the item shop again. So, basically, the only way to have the Recon Expert skin was to have played the game when it first dropped in 2017. It turned into a badge proving one’s “OG” status on Fortnite.

Until today, anyway.

With the OG skin back in the item shop, newer players had a chance to buy it and play in it. Which is great! Unless you’re an OG. Because now, apparently, people can’t tell if you’re special.

Lots of tears were flowing online. And, if I can be quite honest, for no good reason.

Again, it’s just a skin. If I can be honest one more time, skins are mostly dumb. On this particular game, most of them don’t have special abilities or give you a competitive advantage. You just…wear ’em. That’s it. You wear them.

Being upset about someone else using a skin on your game is the same thing is being upset about seeing someone, randomly on the street, with the same shirt as you. And not, like, a special shirt either. Just a regular, blue t-shirt that went out of stock 3 years ago and is now back.

It’s totally fine for new people to be able to wear this totally normal skin — especially if they’re paying actual money for it. Sorry.

Plus, calling anything OG after three years is dumb. Those are the rules.

Boston’s Tacko Fall talks favorite video games, big screens to play on

Boston Celtics fan favorite big man Tacko Fall talks about his new apartment, gaming and more with teammate Grant Williams.

Boston Celtics two way big man Tacko Fall revealed he’d recently gotten himself a new apartment on the most recent edition of the Grant and Tacko Show podcast — and that he already has plans for decorating it.

A bit of a nerdy guy, the Senegalese center wants the new place to be as well, with a “nerdy style” combining elements of anime and basketball with a dark gray and black theme.

But more than anything, Fall wants a dedicated area to mount a massive television. “I might as well buy a projector,” began the 7-foot-5 big man, to whom many things are simply smaller for than the rest of us.

But it’s not necessarily the UCF product’s unusual height behind the desire for maximum screen space — it’s his love for gaming. “I play video games –I’m a huge FIFA fan,” he offered.

“I think about it now,” Fall continued. “It makes me so happy.

“When I was a kid, I couldn’t afford to buy a gaming console and a lot of my friends had it.” Fall grew up in relative poverty in Senegal, but his height caught the attention of recruiters who would send him to a private high school in the U.S.

“My mom, they made sure they put me in a private school and everything so a lot of my friends could afford it … [I’m] just thankful about this, it is something that I just wanted to say.”

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Fall plays a fair amount of Jedi: Fallen Order on PS4, as well as Call of Duty, the latter especially of late. Fortnight as well, but apart from FIFA, he’s surprisingly not playing many sports games, and doesn’t like to stream them when he does.

To catch up on the rest of he and rookie forward Grant Williams’ favorite games, a robust discussion on Andre Drummond’s fit in the modern NBA and more, listen to the podcast embedded above, or track it down on whatever app you use elsewhere.

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