Tomorrow may be a big moment on the history of gaming as broadcast giant CBS formally becomes the first network of its class to show a video game tournament as a regular sporting event like other athletic spectacles such as the Masters and March Madness.

"There are an enormous amount of people of all ages who play video games these days, so we’re going to try to see if video games’ popularity can translate into a viable television audience," says CBS Sports Vice-President Rob Correa as he explores the possibility of people looking at this moment as a poignant event after a decade or so.

The tournament concerned is the World Series of Video Games which will be held in Louisville, Kentucky. Edited footage from the event will show highlights of face-offs between players in games such as Fight Night Round 3, Guitar Hero and other non-violent titles. First-person shootouts in Halo and Quake will sadly not make it on air because of the nature of the content.

The idea of the tournament and the coverage by CBS is pegged on the South Korean model which has an entire nation embracing gaming and making it a part of pop culture. A full-time coverage in the manner that ESPN covers sports isn't possible for video games just yet but for now, this is the biggest step game broadcasting can take in the US.

The CBS coverage is also a pilot test of sorts on how game programming in cable TV initiated by G4 and Gameplay HD can work in a bigger scale. The response of viewers will determine future plans on the coverage of electronic gaming as a sport on the network.

If you're hot for some Tabula Rasa news, make sure to check out G4-TV on May 4. Tabula Rasa creator and recent zero-G flight participant Richard Garriott will be appearing on the Friday, May 4 one-hour G4-TV special, "X-Play Summer Games Preview".

During the one-hour special, hosts Morgan Webb and Adam Sessler will be taking a unique behind-the-scenes look at what makes the new assortment of games so exceptional. Since Lord British has highlighted quite a few of Tabula Rasa's innovations over the past few months, perhaps we'll see some in-game examples.

Anyway, check it out. The one-hour special will air May 4, Friday, on G4-TV at 8PM ET.

 

Gamasutra received details on IDG Entertainment's E For All (can we get to calling it E4 sooner or later? Saves on the keystrokes) that shows how the post-E3 is shaping up to the legacy of its predecessor. Never did the phrase "Meet the new boss; same as the old boss" ring any more true: heading up E For All for IDG is Mary Dolaher, previously operations head for E3.

And to that, as so far as Gamasutra had received updated info from IDG (as of March 6), E For All shall feature (subject to change):

• Currently, Sony's and Nintendo's booth presences in E For All, while considerable, will actually be a tad or two smaller than their E3 presence, because the main show floor is limited to the LA Convention Center's South Hall (nothing mentioned for Microsoft; we assume that IDG is still receiving details from Redmond about that)
  
• Other booths include Future Publishing, G4, DirecTV, and the World Series of Video Games Tournament.
• Noise caps are being enforced: nothing above 85 decibels, just like in previous E3.
• Also like in previous E3s: "family friendly fare" that prohibits full or partial nudity, "including live models" and "bathing suit bottoms." No booty calls here either.

So you've been wanting to visit the Outland (on a more regular basis), or you want to try out being a sexy Horde member (read: female Blood Elf) for a change, or you're thinking about riding to the danger zone on a flying mount. The only question you need to ask now is, can my computer take all of that (and a bag of chips you're bound to be munching on in the process, eh, Cartman)?

Well, Blizzard has recently announced, through its FAQ pages, exactly what Outland, sexy female Horde members, flying mounts, and everything else packed into The Burning Crusade expansion will take. So check what you've got under that casing of yours, and see if it can grind to the following stats:

For Windows-based PCs:

• OS: Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4); Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
• Processor: Intel Pentium3 800MHz or AMD Duron 800MHz
• Memory:
  • 512 MB RAM,
  • 1GB RAM is recommended
• Video:
  
  • Minimum: 32MB 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting, such as an NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card or above.
    
  • Recommended: 64MB VRAM 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability, such as an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 class card or above.
• Sound: DirectX compatible sound card

For Macs:

• OS: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or newer required
• Processor:
  • 933MHz G4/G5 processor,
  • 1.8GHz G5/Intel or better recommended
• RAM:
  • 512MB RAM,
  • 1GB DDR RAM is recommended
• Video:
  • NVIDIA or ATI graphics processor with 32MB VRAM,
  • 64MB VRAM recommended
• Controls: A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported

Blizzard expects to release The Burning Crusade late this year in Europe, Korea, and North America, with their regions quickly following suit. Further details will be released by the company in the months ahead. No word on whether the Sword of a Thousand Truths will be included in the final release package.

Jack Thompson, whose 15 minutes of fame were up, is back yet again to try and steal some extra seconds! G4's 'Attack of the Show' featured Jack Thompson, Adam Sessler (X-Play co-host), and Mark Friedler (GameDaily CEO). The topic? The upcoming PS2 and Xbox title, Bully. Of course, it all revolved around the entire "Violence in Games" issue in general which is something relevant to every single console from the Wii to the PSP. I won't comment too much on the argument because I don't want to spoil anything. It's fairly short at just seven minutes. If G4 were smarter, they'd have dedicated the entire hour to this argument so you guys could watch some fireworks!