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CNN Live Today

Got Game?

Aired October 27, 2003 - 10:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Football fans gearing for a major tournament. We're not even talking about the NFL, well, the video version of the NFL. This contest is a match-up of some of the best couch potato quarterbacks from across the country. They're all competing in a virtual playing field.
Brian Intahar (ph) from Electronic Gaming Monthly joins us. He is here to talk to talk about the Madden Challenge.

Brian, good morning.

BRIAN INTAHAR (ph), ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY: Thanks for having me.

KAGAN: So playing video games is not about couch potatoes, we are talking cold, hard cash now.

INTAHAR: That's right, the Madden challenge this year, it started in August, it's going to end in January, and we're going to see the winner of the 32 regional winners, they are going to come to Las Vegas and they're going to play for the grand prize of $50,000. So it's pretty impressive. If you're a good football player with video games, you have got to check it out and come out to your local area. You can go online and you check out where the closest one is to your area and you can go play, go see if you have the skills to make the bills.

KAGAN: And our thanks to Melvin Lindsay (ph), who is making the skills right now, watching this.

You know, the lines are blurring a little bit, Brian, between what is reality and what is video. ESPN using these graphics to preview the games.

INTAHAR: Last year, they showed them on Monday Night Football and now they are doing them as kind of like their NFL match-up, kind of to preview what is going on in the field. So it's pretty accurate to what you're going to see every Sunday.

KAGAN: We know what it takes to be a good NFL player, but what kind of skill does it take to be good at Madden Challenge.

INTAHAR: You just got to practice -- practice, practice, practice, just like you do in real life. These guys -- I was out here yesterday watching them in Atlanta, and these guys just are so dedicated players and they know their playbooks like the back of their hand. It's just so amazing, these guys dedication to these games. They spend so many hours per day. Yesterday, some of the guys were there for 12 hours. So they are pretty dedicated players.

KAGAN: That's one way to put it. Some people would call that something else. But so you pick a team, like let's say, I don't know why anybody would want to be the Atlanta Falcons, but let's say you were the Atlanta Falcons, then I can't imagine that this video game adjusted to reality, you might be the Atlanta Falcons and have Michael Vick, but the real Atlanta Falcons don't have Michael Vick.

INTAHAR: No, you know, it's too bad he got hurt this year. What you're going to see is, I can see on the screen, Michael Vick is pretty accurate to how he is in real life. He's a great runner, so you can kind of use him on quarterback sneaks. It's really probably the closest thing you can get to the real life game. I mean, it's just pretty true to life. From Michael Vick to all the other players across the league, their attributes are spot on.

KAGAN: Well, whether through fantasy football or games like this, lots of people are doing their own way to participate in the NFL. So if people are interested, they can go on line, tell us quickly where.

INTAHAR: It's maddenchallenge.com.

KAGAN: All right, pretty easy to learn, Maddenchallenge.com. All right, and, Melvin, thanks. The game is looking pretty good there. All right, he is focusing.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 27, 2003 - 10:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Football fans gearing for a major tournament. We're not even talking about the NFL, well, the video version of the NFL. This contest is a match-up of some of the best couch potato quarterbacks from across the country. They're all competing in a virtual playing field.
Brian Intahar (ph) from Electronic Gaming Monthly joins us. He is here to talk to talk about the Madden Challenge.

Brian, good morning.

BRIAN INTAHAR (ph), ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY: Thanks for having me.

KAGAN: So playing video games is not about couch potatoes, we are talking cold, hard cash now.

INTAHAR: That's right, the Madden challenge this year, it started in August, it's going to end in January, and we're going to see the winner of the 32 regional winners, they are going to come to Las Vegas and they're going to play for the grand prize of $50,000. So it's pretty impressive. If you're a good football player with video games, you have got to check it out and come out to your local area. You can go online and you check out where the closest one is to your area and you can go play, go see if you have the skills to make the bills.

KAGAN: And our thanks to Melvin Lindsay (ph), who is making the skills right now, watching this.

You know, the lines are blurring a little bit, Brian, between what is reality and what is video. ESPN using these graphics to preview the games.

INTAHAR: Last year, they showed them on Monday Night Football and now they are doing them as kind of like their NFL match-up, kind of to preview what is going on in the field. So it's pretty accurate to what you're going to see every Sunday.

KAGAN: We know what it takes to be a good NFL player, but what kind of skill does it take to be good at Madden Challenge.

INTAHAR: You just got to practice -- practice, practice, practice, just like you do in real life. These guys -- I was out here yesterday watching them in Atlanta, and these guys just are so dedicated players and they know their playbooks like the back of their hand. It's just so amazing, these guys dedication to these games. They spend so many hours per day. Yesterday, some of the guys were there for 12 hours. So they are pretty dedicated players.

KAGAN: That's one way to put it. Some people would call that something else. But so you pick a team, like let's say, I don't know why anybody would want to be the Atlanta Falcons, but let's say you were the Atlanta Falcons, then I can't imagine that this video game adjusted to reality, you might be the Atlanta Falcons and have Michael Vick, but the real Atlanta Falcons don't have Michael Vick.

INTAHAR: No, you know, it's too bad he got hurt this year. What you're going to see is, I can see on the screen, Michael Vick is pretty accurate to how he is in real life. He's a great runner, so you can kind of use him on quarterback sneaks. It's really probably the closest thing you can get to the real life game. I mean, it's just pretty true to life. From Michael Vick to all the other players across the league, their attributes are spot on.

KAGAN: Well, whether through fantasy football or games like this, lots of people are doing their own way to participate in the NFL. So if people are interested, they can go on line, tell us quickly where.

INTAHAR: It's maddenchallenge.com.

KAGAN: All right, pretty easy to learn, Maddenchallenge.com. All right, and, Melvin, thanks. The game is looking pretty good there. All right, he is focusing.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com