EPTYou're probably thinking to yourself "Blizzard/Activision makes tons of money, why would they need bribes?" Well, in some recently released financial reports, Blizzard/Activision is looking for some ways to increase their income.
As for the company's actual financial figures, revenues and net profit both surpassed projections set in February, but fell short of the company's performance for the same quarter last year. For the quarter, Activision posted sales of $1.17 billion, down year-over-year from $1.45 billion. It also chalked up $384 million in net income, down from $503 million for the same period last year.
The biggest question though, is who is on the giving end?
The Suspects:
KeSPA
Yesterday during the SK Planet Proleague Media Day some thoughts were gathered from the Brood War team coaches about the acclimation to Starcraft 2. Overall, the news was positive, but there were repeated concerns raised about the state of the Zerg in Wings of Liberty.
Han Sang Yong (Eight): Some tried at first, but they ran into tough match-ups so they reverted. Zerg players are having a hard time, so they are considering changing.
S2: I'm not at the skill level to talk balance, but all the races seem good except Zerg.
Light: I think Zerg looks the weakest, and Terran is a race that looks strong when played well. However, I haven't reached that level yet, and TvP is a bit hard.
Is it a coincidence that in the time span of a day some major buffs come Zerg's way? I think not. However, KeSPA might not be the only group behind this.
Evil Geniuses
You shouldn't be surprised they made it on this list. They are after all, both Evil and Genius. With one of their premier players and icons, IdrA, showing results below his capacity lately, perhaps Alex G and his henchmen have decided to take it upon themselves to help him get back in his groove. To counteract the global effect however, they decided to get a spy, in the form of Markus "EGThorZain" Eklof into the same house as MMA, a player notorious for his artful ability to dismantle even the best Zergs. Between the strengthening of the Zerg race, and the inside information to know exactly what Terrans are plotting to combat this should give IdrA the boost he needs to return to his top form. Of course, the drawing board is still blank on figuring out how to get him to beat Protoss.
Stephano
I don't need to say much here. He was considering backing out of Professional StarCraft 2 for medical school, but SOMETHING convinced him to stay for another year. Perhaps something like promised advantages and a GSL Code S seed? I think so.
Quantic Gaming
This is, in my opinion, the most likely suspect in this case. In a surprise move last week, Quantic Gaming absorbed the whole of Team Vile, including young breakout Terran Star, Chris "QuanticIllusion" Lee. What everyone failed to take note of though, is that also on the roster is Michael "QuanticSpanishiwa" Yabut. The infamous North American Zerg player who had a meteoric rise to popularity before he decided to stop playing in order to focus on school. Now, as many StarCraft players know, the school year is coming to an end and you're all dealing with terrible, terrible finals. Mr. Yabut, however, is most likely gearing up to play some serious Starcraft again. What better way to hype his return than to massively increase the effectiveness of the unit that got him so famous? Before you go jumping to tell me Quantic doesn't have that kind of influence, let me spell it out for you. NaNiWa is arguably one of the hottest foreigners in the scene right now, and with the entire foreign community dreading the day that FlaSh learns exactly how good Marines are, Blizzard is anxious to throw it's weight behind any foreign star they can. Quantic was probably able to leverage their control over NaNiWa's secret girlfriend, Flo "QuanticFlo" Yao, to bend him to use his influence to benefit Quantic's mastermind scheme.
Poll: Who is behind the bribes?
Evil Geniuses (39)
65%
Stephano (9)
15%
KeSPA (8)
13%
Quantic (4)
7%
60 total votes
Stephano (9)
KeSPA (8)
Quantic (4)
60 total votes
Your vote: Who is behind the bribes?
(Vote): KeSPA
(Vote): Evil Geniuses
(Vote): Stephano
(Vote): Quantic
Now, naturally I don't want to go accusing anyone of anything, I just thought this was a serious issue that needed to be brought to attention.+ Show Spoiler +
If you didn't guess by now, none of this is actually serious, and if you think otherwise I advise you take off the tinfoil hat and seek medical help.
