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The e-sports manifesto – Our vision of e-sports beyond the 'industry'
Part 3: In god money we trust
I have been reading your comments, because that's what I always do, and I came under the impression, that many people think I am an adversary of monetizing e-sports. Of course, in the LAST PART, I raised serious suspicions about the way e-sport is developing. But those suspicions were aimed at the intentions behind the development, not the way the development itself is folding out. Actually I am a supporter of pumping money into the scene, but just not for any price. You can read what I mean when you click on THIS LINK.
This whole argument is of course emotionally charged. There is no „wrong“ or „right“, it's all just a matter of what you want, what you prefer. Speaking in black and white terms is an over-simplification and might just be used as a stilistic device, but it should be mentioned that everything said is just the statement of an opininion.
I think we can all agree that we love e-sports and we want it to grow. That's why we can have a fruitful discussion in the first place. By the way, you should probably read up what I mean by the term „e-sports“ in our first part.
Leaving that in the back of your mind, what I want to talk about today are the (possible) effects money have on the scene, especially what it means for the players and for the audience, for you. I mean big money, not some mouse pads. The effects, while appearing to be 100% positive at first glance, bear some troublesome potential within them.
First price, yay!
The players: The players are of course the winners of a monetized e-sport. They play a video game and they get money for it. It's basically every boys dream (if the astronaut thing doesn't work out). I am sure, none of the current pros will ever say something bad about the current development of e-sports, because 1. they profit from it greatly and 2. they have sponsors who they need to appease.
Let me get this straight: I think it is a wonderful thing that people can make their living of playing a video game for entertainment purposes. Obviously, since it's feasible (I really hope it is), there is a big enough demand to actually make it justifiable. There is nothing out of order about that.
The thing is just that e-sports wasn't about money, at all, when the first gamers sat together in a room and played their hearts out. The only thing that was driving them was the will to be the best. I mentioned that more than once already, because that is for me still the defining essence of e-sports. In these „ancient“ times, players were mostly students. If you were an adult, you would have to cram gaming somewhere in your free time, because with playing alone you couldn't support your life. In fact, it earned you nothing at all. They played anyway, just because their desire to become better and match with evenly skilled players was so fiery.
"Maybe becoming a pro-gamer would have been the better choice."
Now that there is a professional scene, players can basically practice 24/7, because they don't have to worry about money (that much). But what this basically means is that players, who don't have a sponsor or a team backing them, have practically no chance to gain success. When you are not a student with lots of free time, the time you have left for practicing after you come back from work is far too short to bring your skill to the level necessary to be competetive. On the other hand you cannot just abandon your work to follow your (childish?) dream. Such a commitment is unreasonable.
Thus, many people are effectively shut off from becoming a player of the highest caliber. Even if their desire is fierce and their talent is great. Getting into this inner circle of professional players becomes nearly impossible, because those can get away with practicing all the time. You could argue that, in any case, the best level of playing is always guaranteed, but maybe there is an incredible talent out there who just can't get the foot in the door.
Sponsors are also careful with who they sponsor, so the circle of top players gets even more exclusive. That is also the reason why you always see the same old names big in business. Of course there are exceptions, but the main bulk of the current elite have already been into professional gaming for years. The only people who really have a chance to become a pro are students. Because they have time, lots of it.
It's not (entirely) about the heart anymore. It's not (entirely) about the love for the game anymore. You could see Starcraft II as a business venture and play for that sole reason. I am sure, there is no professional player who thinks that way, but your love for the game definitely is not the most important factor anymore. Check out part 1 if you want to see an example of people playing a game obsessively without any chance to gain fame or money. When the love for the game is no longer the prime motivation, though, the whole thing is really in danger to lose its soul and on the verge to become a mere 'industry'.
The viewers: Yes, we, the viewers, can also be very happy with the development e-sport had over the last couple of years. Never before have we had the chance to see players from all over the world compete in gigantic tournaments with high quality streams and professional casters. I, as an avid fighting game player, am always jealous of that. The fighting game scene is not yet developed in such a way and thus chances to see the best players from all over the world in one tournament are rather scarce.
But on the other hand, the atmosphere in the fighting game scene is much more homely. The players, casters and fans are much closer and you can feel that, even while watching the stream. Once again, I am referring to the fighting game scene as an example of a scene that still has a soul. As promised, I will go into that further in a seperate entry. But not now.
What I want to try to express is that the watching experience is greatly changing. When the idea of e-sports came to life, the presentation was very rough, but also very warm. There were no professional casters, the players just sat on the caster table after they finished their match. You could feel that it was unprofessional but just that was the charm, that made it so attractive. We could sympathize with the players, because they were just „one of us“.
Now, when you see them on the big stages, they seem like some kind of deity. There is a big gap between the common viewer peasant and the casters and players in the spotlight. The whole presentation is also much smoother. That might ensure a nice and clean viewing experience but at the same time it takes away that aspect of warmness and homelyness that made it so easy to sympathize with.
This guy probably is not human
That might also be a necessary immolation to the greater gods of mammon, there might be no way around it if you want e-sport to grow. Can we live with that? Probably. But does that mean we cannot weep over the things we lose in the process?
There might be sacrifices we have to make, but those sacrifices should always be for the good of us, not for the good of some corporations who see e-sports as an easy way to make more money. E-sports is ours and we should not let go of it just like that. We shouldn't just quietly sit there, when more sacrifices are made and when e-sports just becomes an entertainment industry with no heart and no warmth left.
I am a bit hesitant to bring it up, as the motivation behind it is really not that hard to comprehend, but I think it is a good example: The HomeStory Cup.
I am not trying to promote the HSC here. It is just that the HSC was something that made me love TaKeTV and its whole concept. The feeling you get when you watch the HSC is something I haven't seen in the RTS scene in a long time. You see all those big players, like at MLG or at the GSL. But in contrast to those events, where the protagonists appear to be that player robot, that greater being with thousands of cheering fans at their feet, they appear to be human. Just like one of us. It is that feeling, that is deer to me and it makes me sad that this feeling plays no role in an e-sport 'industry' where the main motivation is to make money.
I think, or rather: I hope, that I am not the only one who thinks like that. Even though everything is going great right now, we should take a rest and think for a second. Where might the risks lie? What is happening to us? We should keep being involved and keep getting involved. E-sports exist because of us. We, the community, are the reason why companies are interested in investing in the first place. We have the power to change our scene. And I would never allow it for e-sports to become just another slick entertainment show on TV. A fate worse than death.
Lotsa_Spaghetti, editor of TaKeTV
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You can read the whole article on our site HERE
  
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With sponsorship comes inequities and unfortunately on occasion, less talented players given more limelight over their better colleagues.
Without sponsorship however there would be no MLG, DH, GSL, HomeStory Cup.
It is undeniably sad that sponsorship does lead to a set of problems but it isn't a devils bargain. If we want a pro scene, a place where the best can afford to dedicate their time to becoming pro gamers, they need to be paid. Unless the future holds some crazy ESPORTS tax then sponsors are as much the blood of ESPORTS as fans and players are.
There is no alternative.
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This is rather overly dramatic.
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As long as there is room for the HSC I'm happy. Only SC2 tournament I'd still watch I think.
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There's nothing wrong with an amateur scene, with people striving to be the best at something.
The thing is, if it gets popular enough, it attracts crowds. Crowds attract money from companies wanting to attach their brands to something people find exciting. If it's not popular enough, it won't ever bridge this gap. If it is popular enough, it is inevitable that this transition will happen. You can't stop it, nor should you try.
This happened once in Korea with Brood War. Now it's happening globally with Starcraft II. It's happening because people wanted it to happen, and the circumstances and stars aligned to make such a thing possible. It's not a bad thing.
The pro players don't have any less fire in their bellies to prove to everyone that they are the best in the world. And it's not like it's impossible to become a pro when you aren't one already. It's not easy, but it's always possible. Just look at Flash and Jaedong. They were once noobs, and they became the best in the world. We may see this story happen again in Starcraft II in a few years when fresh blood enters the scene and is hungry to be the next "Legend Killer".
I love the HSC and don't want it to ever end. But professionals playing Starcraft isn't a bad thing. And DRG is very human. An awesome human, but nonetheless a human.
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But on the other hand, the atmosphere in the fighting game scene is much more homely. The players, casters and fans are much closer and you can feel that, even while watching the stream. Once again, I am referring to the fighting game scene as an example of a scene that still has a soul. As promised, I will go into that further in a seperate entry. But not now.
this is a lot related to how big the scene got. back in bw the scene was exactly the same u describe the fighting scene is.
Starcraft 2 just growed more than what we could expect. and that`s a normal step in the process.
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i agree wholeheardly to the OP. To me it seems money already transformed the scene into something i can´t identify with anymore.
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No offense meant TaKe, but I think you're looking at it from a rather naive standpoint.
eSports is currently in the grey area, and in fact I think we need to influence MORE sponsorship.
The problem is sponsorships are so thin currently that there is room for two kinds of teams:
Team A that picks up promising players, in hopes that they can help develop growth into a professional contender
and
Team B that picks up professional contenders and gives them more opportunities for success.
The problem is that the only teams that can actually afford to keep this up for a long time are the Team B variety. There just isn't enough sponsorship money invested to allow Team A's to hold on to their players long enough to become Team B's.
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Well the entire SC2 scene started by cash, players switched to it because of money, people play the game for money. What can you expect? BW-like passion? Oh that's going to take you at least 5 years after LoV release. That's about 12 years from now.
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Really great read TaKe, I've never really thought of it that way For me I've been enjoying the hell out of the SC2 scene and the tournaments.
The most recent MLG with DRG winning was an amazing experience to watch live and it's something I hope can continue for a long time. Though you need money to keep these things happening. Thus you need sponsors to get that money to keep this great E-sport alive.
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I think you might have missed a pretty big factor in this equation: The sponsors themselves aren't just in it for the money, they are passionate about e-sports.
decent read, but definitely blows things out of proportion
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There is one thing I don't agree with, and that is most people in the eSports scene esp SC2 are playing still primarily with the drive to be the best and do it with heart. Let's face it being an SC2 progamer at the moment is not the best way to make big money. Most players still go pro because they love the game, they love the scene and they love that they can play this game as a job, and don't mind taking a hit in their income to follow this dream.
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Well, i don't exactly know why a lot of people here say "I don't agree with you here TaKe" when it's not even written by TaKe?
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On June 23 2012 21:23 HolydaKing wrote:
Well, i don't exactly know why a lot of people here say "I don't agree with you here TaKe" when it's not even written by TaKe?
more interestingly, why people say they disagree with him when they actually don't -.-
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[QUOTE]On June 23 2012 11:22 VirgilSC2 wrote:
No offense meant TaKe, but I think you're looking at it from a rather naive standpoint.
(...)
This isnt written by TaKe or does include any of his standpoints :-) It was written by one of our editors and it is reflecting his point of view which is to be honest really intresting.
Good writeup as always :-)
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I really have to say that this is melodramatic. I would be way less interested in the SC2 scene if it were actually like the fighting scene you described.
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What the... this is the most overly dramatic blog I've ever read.
The gods of SC2 haven't even come close to the level of stardom as pro athletes and the like, they seem very human to me. Perhaps if the only thing you watch is tournaments, but if you watch interviews, watch the GSL things where they have fun time with a certain player, watch streams.... they seem perfectly human to me.
Actually, this blog makes no sense at all.
Most pro gamers are doing this for the love of the game. They'd be making more money if they had completed school and got a degree, but they choose to either do both, delay school, or forego school entirely for the love of the game. I don't know what more else you want...
The only ones that make enough money to be categorized in the way you explained are the multiple GSL winners and TBLS, and even they don't have that much money.
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I am a bit confused by some of the reactions. I stated multiple times now, that I am in favor of expansion and that I am in favor of attracting sponsors. I cannot say it more clearly than that.
The thing is just, that this expansion has consequences. You cannot deny that. You may say that these consequences could be called "professionalization". That is fine and a totally legit way of seeing it. But what does this "professionalization" bring with it? This is all that I want to express. I think that this expansion, while it brings us much joy, tournaments, cups, events and what have you, also takes something away from e-sports. There is nothing like that feeling you get when you see people do what they love to do most in an environment that is full of only their kind. An environment that is not restricted by desscode or political correctness or anything like that.
You don't have to agree. That is your opinion. But saying that my blog makes no sense is a bit unfair. As you can see, my message connected with some people, it might be only a very small minority of the people interested in e-sports but that is fine. Not everyone likes the way things are going now and they have a point. You may argue that sacrifices have to be made. That is up to you, how you prioritize things. I am just here for those who may have the same doubts like me and who may be afraid that they are the only ones who think so. While I am NOT an adversay of the growth, I am in doubt about the effects. I think it can only be of positive effect if people at least thought about those effects that will occur with the further "professionalization". If you are okay with them, good. Like I said, I don't want to convert anyone.
Oh and yeah: This blog is not written by TaKe himself!
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I think you make some valid points. However, I'd say that the enduring elements of eSports, the ones that will make it through any amount of monetization, are the ones I truly love.
When I was younger, I used to play hockey. I always loved staying after our team's early games so I could watch the older kids play on the ice when we were done. They were SO much better than us, I really looked up to those guys. I played goalie, and would cheer every time the home team's goalie made a stop. I loved Hockey. There were no logos on the ice, few sponsors, and the only thing that kept score was a half working scoreboard from the 1970's. After the game, I could even stop by the dressing room and say hi to the players (but I was too shy to).
Fast forward 15 years, and I still feel the same elation every time I hear the puck hit the ice. Weeks later, I feel like my throat still hurts from cheering for Brodeur (my favorite goalie) in the Stanley Cup Finals, even though I know he couldn't hear me from 4000 miles away. I love the competition for the competition, the players for the players, the game for the game. I may not be able to play on the same ice as the players, or go see them in the dressing room after the game - but the calibre of play is only where it is today because people have made those sacrifices.
Without these sacrifices, I never would have seen Brodeur play a single game.
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I think the heart of the issue is something like this: in an ideal world, people would do what they love most, and that would be the job where they make the most money. But the world isn't ideal, and people often have to choose between doing what they love and doing what pays. In the past e-sports has suffered from being on the passion-heavy side, where people had to do it solely out of passion, because there was no money to be had from it. This is bad, since ideally people wouldn't have to choose between following their passion and achieving financial success. But in the future, if e-sports became a great deal more profitable, there might be a similar issue of people choosing e-sports despite a lack of any particular passion for it, simply because it was the best way to make money. And I think that would also be a bad thing; I for one am passionate about SC2, and I want people as passionate as myself or more so to be the ones with jobs in the scene. I also think that day is a long way off; I don't think there are too many people in the scene that really hate/don't especially enjoy the game, but keep playing because they're just in it for the money (although I have a friend who apparently got to meet Spanishiwa through a mutual acquaintance, and according to him, Spanishiwa says that he doesn't really enjoy SC2 that much, but plays because it was the most profitable career option in front of him. I can't confirm or deny, and I wouldn't put too much stock in it).
By the way, I hate to be that guy, but on the subject of writing mechanics:
...It is that feeling, that is deer to me and it makes me sad that this feeling plays no role in an e-sport 'industry' where the main motivation is to make money.
(...) That should be dear, not deer.
But on the other hand, the atmosphere in the fighting game scene is much more homely.
(...)
That might ensure a nice and clean viewing experience but at the same time it takes away that aspect of warmness and homelyness that made it so easy to sympathize with.
The terms "homely" and "homey" are often confused. "Homey" refers to a familiar and home-like atmosphere. "Homely" is actually a polite way of saying ugly or unattractive. I assume the noun form of "homey" would be "homeyness" but I'm not certain. At any rate, I thought you might be interested in correcting those issues. If not, and you hate people like me for being grammatically correct pains in the ass, then I apologize.
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