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MLG reportedly had over 40,000 people watch their SC2 tournament. An unprecedented number for them and a massive eye opener that there is potential here for great things. One of the biggest hurdles that "ESPORTS" has always had to overcome was the fragmentation of the viewer base. Some people like FPS games, some like RTS, others for some reason like MMORPGs. There hasn't been a game in North America that has captured the attention of all the different competitive gaming fan bases out there. It seems to me, from the attention that these tournaments are getting, that Starcraft 2 could be that game.
Many of us are not representative of the average viewer. As Brood War fans, we have for a very long time been on the outside looking in on the Korean scene. Statistically we were virtually irrelevant and logistically almost impossible to cater to.
It took the initiative of Gretech, a Korean company that already had been testing the waters of global expansion in mind to make even the most preliminary efforts into bringing us esports.
Gretech was founded in late 1999/early 2000s as just another small internet start up company. They developed a small variety of services, based around things like online storage. In 2003 they released Gom player, which has since become the most used media player in Korea. It's now available in multiple languages and boasts millions of users across the globe. It's a freeware program, their only source of international income derived from it is through donations.
GomTV is their popular internet TV streaming service in Korea that offers free ad supported content as well as paid content. It's their primary source of income.
The point I am trying to make is this: While Gretech continues to show an interest in international exposure for their products and for fostering esports outside of Korea, they do not have the experience or the resources to do it on a significant level alone.
GSL is the premiere Starcraft 2 league. If Blizzard wants to foster esports on an international level, they need to step up. They cannot expect a Korean company with only the most preliminary/exploratory experience into international markets carry the burden of broadcasting it overseas. There are no other leagues of its magnitude. If this is to be the flagship tournament, it has to be accessible. It is in their interest, if this is to be an esport, to make it so.
They've stated publically that they have partnered with Gretech, now help your partner. Blizzard has the technical capability of hosting HD streams stateside, offering free vod service, offering coverage on the battle.net website for this, their big tournament. Why haven't they done any of that?
Vods need to be free, and not at the expense of Gom. Only the most dedicated fans will pay money to view vods. If esports is to flourish it has to be accessible to the largest number of people possible. That means free viewership. If you must support it by ads, then do it.
Gretech really does not deserve the shit they have been getting recently over the stream quality and the pay sites. They've been trying to accommodate us despite it clearly not being their area of expertise. To me, it has been nothing short of another failure by Blizzard to not anticipate and meet the demands of the international esports community.
 
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On September 05 2010 00:23 floor exercise wrote:
. If Blizzard wants to foster esports on an international level, they need to step up.
They dont. They want to take advantage of the structures in place now.
It's not evil or anything, it's just the most cost effective.
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I think both blizzard and gretech deserve shit for what they're doing to BW more than anything else. If BW ends, then I refuse to watch Sc2
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blizzard just wants the money now. Notice how they threw ad money @ korea, and even that they are with GOM now they basically sit back and do nothing e-sports wise. Like some say, they're just using the things in place to cash in on SC "this time around" since they did not the first time around, and look how that's turning out...
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Kennigit
Canada19447 Posts
Can you give me an example of the technical expertise Blizzard has in streaming/broadcasting events and why a company thats primary product is broadcasting television over the internet has the inability to investigate new markets and how to approach them?
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On September 05 2010 00:44 Kennigit wrote:
Can you give me an example of the technical expertise Blizzard has in streaming/broadcasting events and why a company thats primary product is broadcasting television over the internet has the inability to investigate new markets and how to approach them?
Because Gom is a small start up, that was founded on about $100,000 who offer internet streaming in the most wired nation in the world. They don't have the capital or the knowledge of new markets that are technologically less sophisticated (massive barrier) than their own.
Blizzard streams their Blizzcon's every year in addition they've offered to us high res battle reports, and downloads of all their games, they have a proprietary bit torrent client for patch and other data distribution, they have ridiculous server farms across the country. They have an established relationship with DirectTV. How are they not perfectly situated to offer rebroadcasting for Gom in addition to hosting vods? They injected so much money into this tournament for prizes alone, they have spent who knows how much on legal fees just to stick their hands in the pot over in Korea. They have the resources and technical wherewithal to support GSL stateside if they wanted, all they lack is the intent or the foresight to see importance of fostering a community that can sustain 40,000 viewers for a random weekend tournament let alone a massive one like this.
Why do you think Gom is a better candidate for this than Blizzard themselves? They don't have to handle the production they need only give it a presence overseas which they are more than capable of doing financially and technically.
This is their tournament in conjuction with Gom, they haven't done a single thing to promote it or esports outside of Korea
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I agree with the op completely, but I have been reluctant to bother posting here about it because TL is really a microcosm hardcore fans. (That and the SC2 forum scares me.) The amount of business potential to be had here is shrouded by people living inside the box that Brood War made. The stagnation in vision is a direct result of people too used to how Brood War developed. Starcraft 2 does not have to be directly built upon or run in any way even close to the Korean leagues, but because that infrastructure works, people automatically assume it, or variations of it, will always work and always be right. Just like MLG was entirely right to be skeptical of Starcraft's potential relative to their cash cow, Halo, Blizzard and Gretech are also shaking in their boots at the potential failure in Starcraft 2's future relative to the Korean scene. Korea does not somehow dwarf the potential the rest of the world has, period. It's time for Blizzard to come out from hiding behind their investors' briefcases, to man up and be a real frontrunner company again. If not, then I swear Valve will crush them under their heel in a few years time, guaranteed.
On September 05 2010 00:26 ella_guru wrote:Show nested quote +On September 05 2010 00:23 floor exercise wrote:
. If Blizzard wants to foster esports on an international level, they need to step up. They dont. They want to take advantage of the structures in place now. It's not evil or anything, it's just the most cost effective.
Cost effectiveness is not always good business. It is the mark of an expert businessman to judge where the line is drawn between them. Blizzard is trying too hard to make Starcraft 2 profitable in the short run. With their current IP's starting to dwindle in longevity and impact with the current generation, they need something new to carry their brand image through the next few years. Blizzard is shooting themselves in the foot by not supporting Starcraft 2's long term growth, by not throwing the weight of their name around alongside these organizations they have partnered with, by not actively interacting with and listening to the massive community, and thus target consumers, gathered around the Starcraft franchise. It will not cost them an extra arm and a leg to help market MLG and Gretech and get closer to an already rabid fanbase. Yes, they will have to invest money out of their own pockets, and it will most certainly not be cost effective now. But at the rate the competitive scene is growing, a well oiled infrastructure will be nothing but good business in a few years.
On September 05 2010 00:27 SubtleArt wrote:
I think both blizzard and gretech deserve shit for what they're doing to BW more than anything else. If BW ends, then I refuse to watch Sc2
I will not force you away from your views, but BW is going to end no matter what. It's only a matter of when. It won't die out completely. The love and support for it is too strong, but it will definitely take a backseat while SC2 takes the wheel. I don't know if Blizzard is actively trying to kill BW, or if this is just a result of their absolutely terrible bottom-of-the-barrel PR department. If Blizzard's trying to kill BW, that's just a bad business decision at this point. It has already been established that SC2 is capable of carrying the torch forward. Trying to kill BW is both wasted effort and bad publicity.
Actually, both SubtleArt and Blizzard are afraid of similar things, which is change and uncertainty. The entire Starcraft franchise's true growth will come from pushing boundaries by trying new forms of presentation to an established target audience, and trying to attach itself to new markets through associated content. However, with growth always come change and risk, both in the form of investments and mindsets. But if Blizzard truly just wants this to be just a one-shot deal at profit, then my fear that this is the beginning of the fall of Blizzard will come true. Bottom line is: Blizzard needs to stop sitting on their hands, stop acting like Acitivision and EA, and show us the bravery, inspiration, and quality of vision Blizzard used to stand for in the industry.
@Kennigit
to add onto floor exercise's post, I also really strongly believe neither Blizzard nor Gretech has any idea what the hell they are doing, which pisses me off. Blizzard's E-sports Team been doing nothing besides terrible damage control and staying invisible in the community. I doubt Gretech even has anyone on their payroll who can really advise them on E-sports, and their administration of their old GomTV Brood War leagues was OK at best. Business is a war, and they need to be aggressively trying new things, especially with such a supportive and responsive fanbase. It only makes sense. They don't even need to spend money to throw a few ideas at the community and ask a few questions about what they think. At least Gretech seems to be doing something after their stream pricing issue. But instead of striding triumphantly into the international E-sports room with Starcraft as their flagship, Blizzard has been holding back. A whole lot. They can do much much more than what they have already. If they can plan and execute a yearly Blizzcon, all while operating at a loss, they can throw some money and effort at supporting Starcraft.
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I think that would be somewhat unfair towards Gom's competitors, namely ESL and MLG.
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There's nothing unfair about it. Business is business and competition is competition. Gom has Korea, MLG has the US, ESL has Europe. They can all have worldwide leagues with their own regional influence. OnGameNet and MBC (and partially GomTV) competed in Korea as well and there were no problems. The problem with GomTV being ousted was that there wasn't enough pie to go around since it was just Korea. The pie has since gotten bigger, and healthy competition on an international scale can breed a better industry overall. Blizzard doesn't have to do anything spectacular. They can just do what past sponsors of Korean leagues do -- sponsor (just a bit, leave room for other real sponsors), get some community exposure and free advertising potential, maybe a little money back once leagues have buy-in prices (which they should eventually).
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I will not force you away from your views, but BW is going to end no matter what. It's only a matter of when. It won't die out completely. The love and support for it is too strong, but it will definitely take a backseat while SC2 takes the wheel. I don't know if Blizzard is actively trying to kill BW, or if this is just a result of their absolutely terrible bottom-of-the-barrel PR department. If Blizzard's trying to kill BW, that's just a bad business decision at this point. It has already been established that SC2 is capable of carrying the torch forward. Trying to kill BW is both wasted effort and bad publicity.
They are...until this point Blizzard didn't lay a finger on the proscene. Now all of a sudden they're arguing IP rights and claiming Kespa doesn't have the legal right to broadcast Sc:BW without their consent, which they are only going to give if kespa gives in to their ridiculous demands.
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Osaka27154 Posts
On September 05 2010 01:13 floor exercise wrote:Show nested quote +On September 05 2010 00:44 Kennigit wrote:
Can you give me an example of the technical expertise Blizzard has in streaming/broadcasting events and why a company thats primary product is broadcasting television over the internet has the inability to investigate new markets and how to approach them? Because Gom is a small start up, that was founded on about $100,000 who offer internet streaming in the most wired nation in the world. They don't have the capital or the knowledge of new markets that are technologically less sophisticated (massive barrier) than their own. Blizzard streams their Blizzcon's every year in addition they've offered to us high res battle reports, and downloads of all their games, they have a proprietary bit torrent client for patch and other data distribution, they have ridiculous server farms across the country. They have an established relationship with DirectTV. How are they not perfectly situated to offer rebroadcasting for Gom in addition to hosting vods? They injected so much money into this tournament for prizes alone, they have spent who knows how much on legal fees just to stick their hands in the pot over in Korea. They have the resources and technical wherewithal to support GSL stateside if they wanted, all they lack is the intent or the foresight to see importance of fostering a community that can sustain 40,000 viewers for a random weekend tournament let alone a massive one like this. Why do you think Gom is a better candidate for this than Blizzard themselves? They don't have to handle the production they need only give it a presence overseas which they are more than capable of doing financially and technically. This is their tournament in conjuction with Gom, they haven't done a single thing to promote it or esports outside of Korea
Blizzard hires a production company to stream Blizzcon. And, they released like 4 battle reports over the span of months. They are not broadcasters. They could hire someone for the issue, but it would be funny to hire a broadcasting company to... help a broadcasting company.
GOM isn't this tiny company. I really don't think you have an idea what capital they have on hand unless you are their accountant. From my dealings with them though, they are not exactly running out of someone's basement.
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EPT
