Professional video gamer says it's not all fun

Professional video gamer Tom Taylor, aka Tsquared, is the envy of every young video game player but he wants to debunk the myth that wielding a joystick for a living is all fun and games.

The self-taught player, who has been playing competitively since aged 14 and turned pro at 16, dropped out of school to concentrate on building a career in gaming.

Taylor, 19, now earns $120,000 to $150,000 a year between prize money reaped playing "Halo 2" and Gaming-lessons.com, an online site he founded last year to teach people gaming skills -- and he is about to almost double the hourly tutoring rate he charges.

But he says he has had to be disciplined to succeed, sometimes playing games for up to 12 hours a day ahead of competitions and sticking to an exercise regime and good diet to keep a mental and physical edge.

"A lot of people think playing video games isn't a lot of work. It doesn't leave a lot of time for vacation. In five years I've never had any personal downtime for myself," Taylor, told Reuters.

Putting in the hours has paid off for Taylor.

In June 2004 he signed a $250,000 contract with professional league Major League Gaming and as team leader of Str8 Rippin, he is one of the league's top-ranked players.

He appears on Stuff Magazine's list of the 20 most influential people under the age of 30 and after the MLG National Championships in Las Vegas later this month, he's raising his video game tutoring rate to $115 an hour from $65.

Taylor is also shifting to a different screen soon with USA Networks, which will start airing coverage of the MLG 2006 Pro Circuit on November 11. The TV series chronicles the eight-month competition that culminates in Nevada's "Sin City," where gamers will battle for the title and a $234,000 purse.  more