Eric Velarde-Wright the 21’st century gaming prodigy
Bryant Irawan/Indonesia Media
 Today, Indonesia Media has given me the opportunity to interview one of the world’s best Madden Sport Games’ professional players, Eric Velarde-Wright. Only the age of 19, he has already earned over $200,000 worth of cash prizes and has already earned world-wide recognition in the gaming community.
Q: So Eric, tell me a little about yourself.
A: I’m a current student at Citrus College and I competitively play Madden Games (mostly football) on Sony’s Playstation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
Q: Wow, so how long have you been ranked in your current position?
A: Since 2005, I’ve always been at least in the top 10 internationally. This year, however, I was ranked number one in Madden Football for 2007/2008.
Q: Ok, so you’ve been a high ranking member for a few years now. But what made you get into playing professionally?
A: Well, I am currently a flag football coach for a youth league so I’ve always been into sports and I believe that inspired me to favor athletic games over shooting or role playing games.
Q: How many awards do you think you have won?
A: Over the past four years, I’ve won over twenty awards including a $50,000 gift card. Overall, I believe I’ve received at least $200,000 in cash and prizes.
Q: Wow, so what are your plans with the cash prizes you have won?
A: My friends always pressure me to buy a new car and lead a hedonistic lifestyle, but I know the right choice is to save it and use it when the urgency of the situation demands.
Q: What do you think is the most prestigious award you have received?
A: Madden Challenge and Madden Nation are the biggest competitions I have entered in. Madden Challenge is an annual international tournament usually consisting of around 14,000 participants from twenty six cities. This year I placed 1 st place in the Final round at Los Angeles. Madden Nation is a bit different. It’s a reality show on ESPN and the top players are assigned with real NFL players and basically we compete by playing the NFL player in the game.
Q: Are there any recent tournaments you are attending?
A: I’m looking forward to participating in the Player’s Bowl on April 12 th and the Megabowl in June.
Q: I know you’ve won tons of awards, but do you have any records?
A: Yes, I’ve always been at least in the top eight in every tournament I participated in. In a year and a half, I have never lost and I placed first in five tournaments. I’m also first player to ever win professionally on both systems (Playstation 2 and Xbox). However, my most outstanding accomplishment is being the first ever player to win both the Madden Challenge and Madden Nation.
Q: How did you start playing professionally?
A: Well, I started playing since 1993 with Sega and as the games evolved, I discovered Madden Sport games and started to compete in local tournaments. At the age of 16, I entered the final eight, but was eliminated. With that tournament, I saw I had great potential to play professionally. I went from struggling at local tournaments to winning international events in only 2-3 years.
Q: But do you still have time to manage school?
A: Of course. I usually practice two to three hours a day after completing homework. School is definitely my first priority.
Q: Along with being a professional gamer, what other occupations are you interested in or are you going to stick with professional gaming?
A: I’m currently undecided. However, I am majoring in business management and I plan to continue playing professional as long as Madden’s around. However, I am starting a website ( www.themaddengoats.com) to train people which will be up and running soon.
 Q: It’s quite obvious that you can be considered a gaming prodigy, but I admire your ability to manage being a college student and a professional gamer at the same time and you’re getting huge amounts of money at the same time! But, most of all, you have the ability to overcome peer pressure and save your money instead of spending it all at one place. I honestly don’t know how you do it, but you’re doing great so far. You say that you are undecided what your other occupation will be, but I think with your excellent management skills, you’ll have plenty of options.
A: Thank you.
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