http://fxoboss.tumblr.com/

I stumbled upon this via twitter (or something maybe redddddit) and I just have to say that reading some of this stuff is very fascinating. He puts what I'm sure a lot of people (well maybe just some) are thinking into elegant words regarding the world of esports and finance. He also explains a lot of things in great detail that don't seem too obvious off the bat but make a good amount of sense after reading. Definitely worth a check out if you like to be intellectually stimulated.

red4ce

United States7313 Posts

November 15 2011 09:55 GMT

Cool find. I was wondering what happened to Boss. FXO has been really quiet lately. For a while they were the toast of the town when they bought fOu and qxc and sheth were doing moderately well in Korea. I was afraid Boss lost interest in E-sports or something.

Jaxtyk

United States600 Posts

November 15 2011 09:55 GMT

Was watching GSL and thought of Leenock while reading this. Luv the blog thanks man,

sixfour

England11061 Posts

November 15 2011 10:05 GMT

This is actually a really good read and more people should look at it

Torte de Lini

Germany38463 Posts

November 15 2011 10:09 GMT

Ah, I enjoy how he takes the words right of my mouth.
The whole donation bit and E-SPORTS makes me happy and yet, resurges my annoyance of the whole affair.

John Madden

American Samoa894 Posts

November 15 2011 10:22 GMT

"Every day I have a routine. It goes as follows:
- Wake up, shower, brush teeth etc
- Go to PC, check email
- Call driver to take me to the office"
Calling a driver, rich ass bachelor boss

forSeohyun

504 Posts

November 15 2011 10:31 GMT

I find that I disagree with him in as many things as I agree with him. He has a certain perspective on the world (as he is in a certain geographical, managerial, economical and cultural position) which may yield valuable insights and ideas, because he is honest (I think) in his evaluation.

But is it the full truth?
"Should a person of a different nationality win a national event it does not have as great an impact if a local wins an event.

Why is the NBA and not the olympics the greatest basketball league and most expensive basketball league in the world? Because Its american, with american teams, winning american money. ."

Think of something which has a more international appeal (basketball, baseball, american football are pretty insular)
A frenchman hasn't won Tour de France since the 80ies (Hinault!) - what happened since the first american (Lemond) started winning?
1. A lot of American cycling teams, with american sponsors, which exists to this day
2. New american stars such as Armstrong and media interest (a permanent upswing?)
3. The organizers of the tour, which sells the media rights, makes more money than ever and the french interest for their tour has in all honesty not been that much lessened despite the lack of success.

But of course things can get very bad, such as Germany where doping ruined the media attention, teams and interest.

Primadog

United States4411 Posts

November 15 2011 10:45 GMT

I believe he's addressing specific sponsor's ROI. It's a very simple point, having a countryman win a tournament will produce better marketing results within the home country than if it was won by a foreigner. Will it create a surge in interest, and therefore value, outside the country? Maybe, but that's largely irrelevant to the sponsor. You may argue that multinational corporations exists, but that doesn't change the fact that marketing is generally separated country-by-country. The marketing departments won't really care about what happen outside of their zone.

Does it benefit eSports to be international in scope? Yes, but marketers aren't supporting esports for altruism.

forSeohyun

504 Posts

November 15 2011 12:07 GMT

On November 15 2011 19:45 Primadog wrote:
I believe he's addressing specific sponsor's ROI. It's a very simple point, having a countryman win a tournament will produce better marketing results within the home country than if it was won by a foreigner. Will it create a surge in interest, and therefore value, outside the country? Maybe, but that's largely irrelevant to the sponsor. You may argue that multinational corporations exists, but that doesn't change the fact that marketing is generally separated country-by-country. The marketing departments won't really care about what happen outside of their zone.

Does it benefit eSports to be international in scope? Yes, but marketers aren't supporting esports for altruism.

1. It seemed that it was specifically that a tournament win in country X that benefited the sponsors (of a team). I say that is not necessarily the case, especially if it is off-line. I provided a counter-example where "everybody" won.

2. No, I didn't argue that. Why were US Postal pumping in 50million dollars into cycling on European soil? You tell me. What was important for them was that it was a American team that got American media coverage. That the actual racing was in France was not a big issue.

3. International sponsors exist (gaming gear) but that was not my point, in fact I deliberately avoided bringing that up. Though for cycling the international sponsors (excluding bike gear) is outnumbered by national sponsors.

Sorry for not getting his "simple points". Even more sorry that you didn't get mine.

Soleron

United Kingdom1324 Posts

November 15 2011 12:48 GMT

#10

"At the moment, the community is plateauing and revenue is not continuing to grow.. Anyone who states that it is, is most probably lying to you. "

FINALLY someone highly placed admits this.

The Artosises and Day[9]s of this world cannot help themselves repeating that Esports is growing when it is NOT.

--

EDIT: Wow this guy makes complete sense. I will leave esports growth to people like him and just enjoy whatever MLG/IPL/GSL can put out until the bubble bursts.

Cruncharoo

United States136 Posts

November 15 2011 13:30 GMT

#11

Good read with good insights into the business side of things. Look forward to future posts..

FXOpen

Australia1844 Posts

November 15 2011 14:13 GMT

#12

Wait what... I have been blogging for a long time

Today was odd, my posts ended up on reddit and TL.

Thanks for the support guys. I'd just like to clarify that every viewpoint i make is based on the bias of the e-sports market. So comparing e-sports to say, the fifa world cup, isnt very viable to form an opinion around.

At the same time let me apologise for my grammatical mistakes, unfortunately I am good at math, not spelling

Cruncharoo

United States136 Posts

November 15 2011 14:32 GMT

#13

Boss,

I noticed you didn't really talk about the subscription model in your blog post about the models of eSports. I was wondering what you thought of the different types of subscription models (paying for extra stream features + HD, subscription sites offering instructional videos, etc). These seem to be a type of steady/reliable revenue which I assume would be a welcome sight in this business environment.

FXOpen

Australia1844 Posts

November 15 2011 14:36 GMT

#14

I kinda spoke about it, I pay for GSL and IPL because the quality is good.

I refuse to pay for anything like MLG, IEM.. (IEM cos of other issues) and everything else. MLG's delays between games + their payment for entry model makes me not want to support any extra, considering I can get the same for free.. IF they changed their production to not be so brain numbing, I would pay for it.

The model itself is good if you have a product that is worth selling. But online products worth selling are few and far between, at least from a marketing point of view. The community is willing to support anyone in e-sports, but I think they need to be more picky about where money goes instead of just supporting everything. And that includes FXO stuff. If I ask ppl to support financially, I would expect my content quality to be high enough for me to personally pay for it as well... No freebies

Saechiis

Netherlands4989 Posts

November 15 2011 14:37 GMT

#15

Enjoyed reading this, good to get a look in the kitchen.

Cruncharoo

United States136 Posts

November 15 2011 14:47 GMT

#16

Also, I know you talked about how important barcrafts are in the scene.. do you think there is a model based on revenue sharing with the bars that host esports events? This would be similar to how a bar pays a musician on a certain night say 15% of the nights revenue, or all the money collected at the door, because they are banking on the fact that this musician is bringing a larger than normal crowd to the bar. Could a barcraft organizer, in a similar fashion, negotiate a rate with a local bar/pub/restaurant based on the extra revenue brought in by the crowd? It seems like there is a sustainable model somewhere in there..

FXOpen

Australia1844 Posts

November 15 2011 14:50 GMT

#17

This model for barcraft is good, but its not really enough to sustain a business. Its ok if you are an individual, but I don't see people making tens of thousands from Barcraft unless they live somewhere like beijing...

But, without revealing too much, it is a portal to something else.

Unfortunately, I do not reveal business secrets and plans too often especially when I know others haven't caught onto it yet.

Cruncharoo

United States136 Posts

November 15 2011 14:52 GMT

#18

Thanks for the quick replies. I guess I was thinking of it from the perspective of your plan that took the elements and blended them together that this could be a valuable addition.

Good luck with your plans

FXOpen

Australia1844 Posts

November 15 2011 14:55 GMT

#19

thanks alot.

I will try to do some posts from myanmar, maybe macro economical examples of differences between the countries and potential in e-sports

StarStruck

25339 Posts

November 15 2011 23:52 GMT

#20

I would take the principles of charity and streaming outlined in FXOBoSs' blog entry one step further and say they are one of the same in many scenarios. Ad revenue; sham revenue. How do a lot of the smaller events get orchestrated? Through handouts and donations. One example, Total Biscuit's 5k tourneys (because anything over and he'd be hearing from Blizzard). Sure there are some players who manage to pay a lot of their bills from streaming like Destiny, but guys like him will have to find other avenues soon due to the ridiculous amount of streamers. The congestion level is pretty high at the moment and I believe we're getting to the point where a lot of players/personalities are getting overexposure. I certainly don't watch a whole lot anymore; I've already got my fill. I don't want to deal with the hassle of commentators, so if I do watch something it's usually a different player stream everyday so I don't have to deal with the endless crap some commentators spew out everyday. There's my charity for you.

We got more than enough content out there. I do believe there is a place for streaming, but with the current amount of content out there. I'm skeptical as to how much more money people can make off of a streaming model. Not only that, but it has a trickle down effect on everything else as well. Too much exposure isn't necessarily a good thing.

Everyone should feel privileged to be able to get a glimpse inside pro houses. If I were a governing body; I would definitely set in motion a clause where pro teams would not condone this practice as the gamers lose some of their mystique.

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