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With true high-end PC gamers numbering around 20,000, it doesn't seem to make sense for the chip giants to be focusing their efforts against them. However, chip-makers are heavily courting this target as endorsers of chip performance. Tournament players and those aspiring to be, demand a lot from their PCs, especially high clock rates.

AMD, nVidia and Intel are fighting it out in the games arena for bragging rights. Gaming has become the chip makers equivalent of the automotive industry's Formula One racing. Its not only a test bed and R&D workshop, its also a powerful marketing tool, as these gamers are the earliest adopters of new chips.

http://www.ggl.com./news.php?NewsId=276

http://www.intel.com/personal/do_more/gaming/cpl/cpl_overview.htm

Gaming has slowly been creeping into pop culture and the performance/tournament side is starting to emerge after years of trying. The top tournament players are now getting recognition, decent prize money and the players credibility meter is starting to shift from geek to cool geek.

This development is mainly down to the efforts of the chip-makers who have been supporting this group for the last three or so years, but are finding that competition among the three is making marketing efforts more expensive. With more money being pumped into this arena, we can expect to see tournament gaming continue to grow. There is even a dedicated gaming channel, G4 to broadcast the events. Perhaps tournament gaming will become the next X-Games.

For brands, it is always interesting to take a look at their most extreme user group and understand how they might contribute to the marketing process. Engaging and supporting this group is obviously vital to brand health. However, its really easy with the Internet to create events and tools to encourage collaboration. The group can then play a real role as contributors and media; bringing forward brand and product ideas, communicating positive word of mouth and lending credibility to the brand.