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New Proleague Studio and nostalgia

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GTR 51602 Posts December 31 2012 08:36 GMT #1 Many have been critical of KeSPA's decision to allow the Korean IPTV broadcaster SPOTV rights to produce the Monday and Tuesday matches of Korea's most popular ESPORTS team league. With games being played at the Intel e-Sports Stadium in the suburb of Sindorim in Seoul, South Korea; the PC bang, located inside one of Seoul's largest technology malls, had to be quickly transformed into a working studio in time for the upcoming Proleague season. Before it was turned into the Proleague stage Personally having been to the Sindorim studio to observe the OSL qualifiers, I can attest that it is definitely not the size of OGN's Yongsan, Gretech's Mokdong and even MBC's old LOOX studios. However, what I see in it is one of going back to the roots of ESPORTS. Let us go back to before the times of when Proleague was being broadcast on two channels. While some like to define eras of Korean ESPORTS in different ways, from my personal standpoint, I like to define my eras as to where the games were being broadcast; the first generation being inside the production facilities of Tooniverse (1999-2000), the second generation being the first iteration of the Megaweb Studio in COEX (2000-2004), the third generation being the relook of the Megaweb Station (2004-2006) and the latest, fourth generation being the Yongsan studio at iPark Mall (2006-Present). For posterity's sake, let's also clump the old MBCgame studios into this reminiscence. After doing their initial broadcasts in their production studios in Yeoido, they moved on to a new studio, a part of Sejong Game World which was opened in Samsung-dong in 2003. MBC would later move nearby to COEX and open up the HERO Centre (2006-2007), before moving their studio to the (much abandoned) larger LOOX Mall (2007-2011) in Mullae-dong. Now lets have a look at the past studios that have reminded me of the current Sindorim one. This is the first iteration of OGN's Mega Web Studio, located in the underground mall of COEX in south-east Seoul. Shown is a Challenge League broadcast in 2002. Note the types of seats being used, the same as the ones in Sindorim. This is the studio used by MBCgame inside of Sejong Game World. Shown appears to be an MSL game between a SUMA GO player and someone else. Due to the nature of the studio (open for everyone and being inside of an arcade), it would be a common occurrence that large crowds would show up and watch whatever games were being broadcast. This is the second iteration of OGN's Mega Web Studio. The new configuration allowed for more seating and standing space for the spectators. There would also be a new waiting room at the back for the players and coaches. The first iteration of the new HERO Center at COEX had a circular design, allowing for the spectators to circle around the 'arena'. The second design went back to the traditional way of designing a studio. Anyway.... this is enough of me rambling and being nostalgic. Maybe if I can be bothered, I can document the history of OGN's Yongsan studio and the now defunct LOOX studio. I'll leave with this anecdote; LoL's success in Korea has caused the Yongsan studio to fill up almost every night Champions is being broadcast. Is it possible we could see a new, larger studio pop up in the near future?

Arceus Vietnam8333 Posts December 31 2012 08:57 GMT #2 exactly what I feel about the new Sindorim for PL look around my pc and found a shot of MBC studio in early 2004 i think

Wolfswood United States349 Posts December 31 2012 09:02 GMT #3 My fear regarding the Sindorim studio is based on the power of aesthetics. In order to be successful, you have to appear successful. While its true that PL has roots in similar settings, it had outgrown them. It was bad enough that PL lost two days in Yongsan to LoL, but to be wind up in some PC bang like a common LAN party...it feels like a slap in the face. Its like if the Seahawks (I live in Seattle) weren't drawing well but the Sounders were, so ownership decided to save money by making the Seahawks go play on a high school field. People would be outraged, and many who were still showing up would stop because they are so attached to not just the team, but also to Qwest Field. "If the Seahawks aren't playing at Qwest, they must not be a big deal anymore!" (and yes, I know its Century Link now, but I grew up with Qwest and it will always be Qwest to me) And that's what I'm afraid is happening to PL. Koreans hear its being held in a PC bang in a mall and they either laugh or cry

Sumahi Guam5609 Posts December 31 2012 15:40 GMT #4 Thank you for the cool history lesson. This is my first Proleague that I'm actively following and so its always nice to learn more about its evolution.

RanDomFox United States84 Posts December 31 2012 19:16 GMT #5 i enjoyed the studio from the 2002/early seasons of ongamenet the most, the crowd was right next to the progamers and made for an excellent atmosphere

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