Most of us claim real estate in one or more online communities.

Whether through a literal sense, such as the virtual land grabs in Second Life, or by achieving notoriety on a leader board, most of us have a stake in a virtual world. While nothing new, the rate at which we’ve devoted ourselves to these communities has exploded in recent years.

The collection of online services, from social networking sites to online gaming, has expanded the role that online communities play in our lives, and how we in turn, play in them.

The online gaming community, in particular, has experienced massive growth in recent years. Record numbers use services such as Xbox Live and the PlayStation network to visit virtual stadiums, racetracks and battlefields. Alongside the straightforward growth in popularity, online gaming is witnessing a peripheral burst of growth in sophistication, where virtual victories lead to very real rewards.

A handful of new companies, such as BringIt, have led the charge on creating platforms where gamers can meet and earn something more tangible than bragging rights when competing online. We’re talking about translating Halo 3 skills into stacks of real-world cash.

There’s no question that professional tournaments, such as the EA Sports Challenge, as well as the Gillette and EA collaboration “Champions of Gaming” and the popular MLG tournaments, have upped the stakes of online competition in a more mass market manner.

There’s real money and prizes to be won in these highly organized, heavily funded events. The problem with this approach is accessibility and control – namely, the everyday gamer just doesn’t have them. Gamers need to set the stakes. Gamers need to spark the challenge.

If we move control over to individual gamers we could see the transformation of online gaming into something truly unique – where tens of thousands of players across the gaming spectrum can compete and win real money whenever and wherever they choose. These organizations have helped to set the stage for the next generation of competitive challenges; taking the gamer’s game online where he can have total freedom and flexibility to meet and compete with alike individuals.

Of course, this requires a new breed of service; one that offers as much safety and reliability as traditional online gaming. At its core, the real goal is to combine the near instant gratification of everyday multiplayer matches with the rewards and thrills of professional tournaments.

At a time where more and more services have become available on-demand, the game industry is ready for the next big-step in multiplayer. The professional gaming scene – until now only available to upper-tier players – will spread among the masses, where anyone with enough drive and skill has a shot at winning money. People are always talking about making money doing what you love – for many, that’s playing videogames, and it’s time the money started flowing to more gamers.

In turning virtual skills into real-world currency, BringIt and other services that offer skill-based gaming competitions would really innovate in the games business. It would lend real value to something strictly virtual; value a gamer can take to the bank. But this needs to happen from the ground up, with players taking the lead in challenging other players and setting their own terms.

Everything from the amount of cash involved, to the timing of the match, should be in the hands of the participants with minimal intervention from an outside party.  Furthermore, these community-level competitions will add a new dimension of replayability to many games.

Multiplayer sessions for supported titles will take on added weight and significance when there’s more riding on the line than a gamers place on the leader board. But again, it’s at whatever level that players are comfortable with – from a single dollar to multiple thousands – it’s in the hands of the player to decide.

In creating an ecosystem where players can safely earn money from playing videogames, we may see the start of something revolutionary – a logical combination of modern skill-based videogames with the thrill and excitement of established monetary gaming.

In closing, I hope that the industry will embrace services like BringIt as there is proven interest and sustainability with services like BringIt. We know first hand from our members that competing online for money is something that helps to fuel gamers and their thirst for true excitement and entertainment.


Woodrow Levin is the founder of BringIt.