I wrote this thing randomly about some new upcoming games that could help e-sport exposure and take it to newer heights. There are no real facts but it could realistically happen I think.
I'm going to answer this question with a very firm yes. Of course people will ask me for a reason. “Saya, why? It'll just be your opinion right?” Well of course, most speculation is an opinion of some sort. But I feel that in the coming years e-sports will make a HUGE jump to the next level. Higher than the biggest games currently are. The reason I say this is because two things are happening right now in e-sports. People are starting to catch on (That's to say sponsors and organizers) more and more that e-sports is becoming bigger. The current generation is lending itself to that also, I believe. Another thing is that there are games coming out in the future that may help boost e-sports higher in an international sense.
First and foremost, the number one candidate that will cause e-sport to erupt is Starcraft 2. It may very well become the next staple competitive RTS for a relatively long time. I envision that there will be many tournaments, and many people all over the world already know about the longevity of BW and what it takes to play that game. So many people will try it. And many new people will try it too, like the younger kids that weren't around much for BW. It will help everyone. It will become international. Say, like the WC3 scene. (Also please note that I'm talking about e-sports as a whole. I may not like some games but that's not what I'm going for here.) We'll have tournaments with different appeal. Different ages, races, countries, backgrounds, stories. Will the WC3 players make it higher? Will the BW players make higher? Or would a random kid thats like sixteen years old with a fresh mind for the game to mold make it? It should break many barriers. I also believe that in it's gaming infancy the tournaments will pick it up rather quickly and we will see exciting things come from that.
The next thing I want to touch on, is the evolution of the fighting game world. Starting very recently, fighting games are now moving on to the online world of gaming. It can't be only going to your local arcade anymore. With the release of multiple games, such as Street Fighter 4, Soul Calibur 4, Tekken 6, and the various other games that are going to be available to play online. It used to be that the best players had a good community around their area with good people to play with, so that they get better. The other people who were not so lucky had to figure things out on their own and travel to get actual experience.
The online idea is to breakdown this barrier a bit. If it can connect more people together, more people can learn from each other, play versus other regions/countries/what have you. There will be online tournaments, offline tournaments, things with prelims, stuff like that. The net kids will show up to tourneys to show their might to the arcade players and etc (Well, only if the companies don't fuck up and the console versions are identical to their arcade counterparts). Sponsors and organizers will have to take note of this. I remember listening to an interview djWheat had with Justin Wong. He asked something along the lines of, “Justin if I gave you 2 million dollars what kind of tournament would you run?” Justin responded with SF4, SC4, Tekken 6, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl (All of which are familiar games, can be played casual/hardcore and have online play). He also explained why. He said that those games would be the one's that could bring in the most people, whether hardcore or casual. I agreed with what he said. Fighting games could rise to computer game level. Also another thing, is that the players who go to the events can socialize and become new blood in other games too. More people will help the scene (Whether good or bad ;_; look at Halo lol).
I know my points are really unorganized but I'm just writing a bunch of crap I'll forget about. I don't know much about the computer FPS category, but I do hope that a predecessor will come soon. Perhaps a new game that will rise about quake/counter-strike. Also I'm not trying to make older games disappear either they can stay! I guess WoW Arena can stay too, I mean a lot of people actually play that so I don't mind it being around. Also more tournament organizers should have more varied game lineups, such as WCG, and you know events that have more than one genre of game. I say that because gamers themselves should connect to more people even outside their game, because if more gamers come together good things may come to be. Let's go e-sports!
Yeah I agree SC2 will really boost e-sports. Honestly SC has been experiencing a revival in my school, mostly because the news of SC2 sparked interest in the game. Like even my friends who barely play any video games at all are starting to get into it.
In Korea, the commonly used analogy with BW and comptetive gaming is that it's like the WWF here. (In fact, I think Rek was the one who dropped that) People know what it is, but it's really a niche community. It's no where near the level of real sports. Right of the bat, before any other arguement, what makes you think that competitive gaming is going to 'take off' here if it currently plays a minor role in the most tech savy nation in the world??
Furthermore, what makes you think SC2 is going to be the catalyst in that change here? We're a small niche man—the big genres are FPS. If anything, it's the next quake or halo or something similar that will really blow up the market. RTS is too much work for casual people—you need to learn counters, balances, strats, etc, or it's really hard to understand.
FPS is complete opposite. Shoot, Kill, Repeat. That's retarded easy, and that's why it works. Obviously, there's still a lot of strategy involved, but you don't need to know the intracasies (fuck spelling in the ass) of the game to get what's going down. Simple example: get a non-gamer friend to sit down and watch 10 minutes of each game. One's going to be slow, boring and hard to understand, while the other he'll know what's going on. Fighting games are probably in the middle, since they can be hard to master with long combos and whatnot...
The great thing about RTS is that RTS has WAY more potential of being a spectator friendly sport/e-sport than FPS EVER will. In RTS, you can visually keep track of all of the units and objects in play - just like football. In FPS, you have to normally go thru FPview, or a condilluded 3rd person camera view which is hard to follow.
So basically, here's what we need to reach "the next level:"
1. Exposure of the games SC/SC2 By getting the names out there, getting people playing, and thinking about the game SC will be able to help perpetuate itself.
2. Education of the VIEWER This is the tough one, and it's one that the SC scene only WITHIN THE PAST YEAR (!) has broken into. I'm referring to Tasteless's and GOMTV's casting of professional SC games in english. Tasteless isn't just a commentator (he prob knows this) but he is an entire window into the game of starcraft for the uneducated viewer, and simply put, once the viewer is educated about what is going on in a starcraft game that in itself will promote more people to consistently be interested in watching SC games on T.V.
3. Professional teams and monetary payment for the top top players If money can be put into the sport, there is potential to make a return on that investment. For esports to reach the next level in the U.S./europe we NEED more powerful sponsors to take on the mantle of supporting e-sports. If big companies can jump on the band wagon, so can the average american.
4. Players worth watching! There has to be excitement with the players playing the game, and with the game itself. SC2 will obviously have to have good gameplay, as any esports game will have to to reach that status as an "esport." But there has to be a human component as well. The viewer wants to invest into their favorite player, their favorite team, they need someone to cheer for. This goes along with the need for big money/sponsors to invest into SC2/esports.
edit: 5. oh, and of course players playing the game!!! There has to be a gigantic player pool for a game to be an esport. And skill differentiation determines the difference between professional and fan. But yeh, there has to be new blood that can say, "oh wow, did you see that game the other day and what so and so pulled off! was awesome!"
On October 10 2008 03:20 Hawk wrote: What's 'the next level' to you?
In Korea, the commonly used analogy with BW and comptetive gaming is that it's like the WWF here. (In fact, I think Rek was the one who dropped that) People know what it is, but it's really a niche community. It's no where near the level of real sports. Right of the bat, before any other arguement, what makes you think that competitive gaming is going to 'take off' here if it currently plays a minor role in the most tech savy nation in the world??
Furthermore, what makes you think SC2 is going to be the catalyst in that change here? We're a small niche man—the big genres are FPS. If anything, it's the next quake or halo or something similar that will really blow up the market. RTS is too much work for casual people—you need to learn counters, balances, strats, etc, or it's really hard to understand.
FPS is complete opposite. Shoot, Kill, Repeat. That's retarded easy, and that's why it works. Obviously, there's still a lot of strategy involved, but you don't need to know the intracasies (fuck spelling in the ass) of the game to get what's going down. Simple example: get a non-gamer friend to sit down and watch 10 minutes of each game. One's going to be slow, boring and hard to understand, while the other he'll know what's going on. Fighting games are probably in the middle, since they can be hard to master with long combos and whatnot...
As for the next level, I want it to be that e-sport is growing out of the niche and into something bigger. Not like a quantum leap however, something that will become gradual. Where we have major international tournaments (maybe something like majors) giving prizes say, higher than Korea ever gave out.
The reason why I think SC2 has a good chance to be the catalyst is because it's coming from a deep background. The people who play Brood War and even Warcraft 3 to an extent know some of the inherant mechanics of the game already and the knowledge of some of the things in the game. As for new people on the other hand, say non-gamers as you put it, they would have to be educated in a way. Seeing is not the whole game. Another analogy would be like, if you were watching football with a friend who had never seen it before you would be able to explain most of the things that were happening to him right? (Assuming you watch it enough of course) And soon he would be able to understand and appreciate some of the things that happen by himself. And also in the beginning of starcraft 2 stuff there won't even be enough information to say concrete stuff as we can in BW right now. So those people if they stick around long enough can see the knowledge grow. I know RTS is a niche itself, but it could grow out of that.
As for the FPS genre, I agree with you. It may not take SC2 by itself to take off, maybe another high powered shooter that everyone can flock to. The next Quake or Halo or Counter-strike. Whatever we need. MLG's National Championship for Halo 3 has a 100k prize for first place lol and i think Halo 3 is in WCG this year.
I think that the major reason why e-sports is going to take off is because more people who grew up playing video games (such as starcraft/counterstrike) are going to tune in and watch these games being played.
Sc2 could be the catalyst, but I think that the transformation of e-sports into the mainstream has been a long time in coming. The number of people who have played a competitive video game has gone up, and will only continue to go up.
Moreover, you don't only need people who play video games- imo, you need people who are passionate about the video game. RTS's seem to be easier to commentate/understand/watch, but that might only be because of my background (starcraft/RTS holds more interest for me). The teamplay inherent in counterstrike could be a large draw for many other people.
At any rate, the better video games get, the more online play that occurs, and the longer most people spend playing video games, the more valuable video games will become as a source of entertainment. Which is a good thing for e-sport; at some point a critical mass will be reached where enough people will watch sc2 that it may be on espn. With tasteless commentating >.>
On October 10 2008 03:20 Hawk wrote: What's 'the next level' to you?
In Korea, the commonly used analogy with BW and comptetive gaming is that it's like the WWF here. (In fact, I think Rek was the one who dropped that) People know what it is, but it's really a niche community. It's no where near the level of real sports. Right of the bat, before any other arguement, what makes you think that competitive gaming is going to 'take off' here if it currently plays a minor role in the most tech savy nation in the world??
Furthermore, what makes you think SC2 is going to be the catalyst in that change here? We're a small niche man—the big genres are FPS. If anything, it's the next quake or halo or something similar that will really blow up the market. RTS is too much work for casual people—you need to learn counters, balances, strats, etc, or it's really hard to understand.
FPS is complete opposite. Shoot, Kill, Repeat. That's retarded easy, and that's why it works. Obviously, there's still a lot of strategy involved, but you don't need to know the intracasies (fuck spelling in the ass) of the game to get what's going down. Simple example: get a non-gamer friend to sit down and watch 10 minutes of each game. One's going to be slow, boring and hard to understand, while the other he'll know what's going on. Fighting games are probably in the middle, since they can be hard to master with long combos and whatnot...
As for the next level, I want it to be that e-sport is growing out of the niche and into something bigger. Not like a quantum leap however, something that will become gradual. Where we have major international tournaments (maybe something like majors) giving prizes say, higher than Korea ever gave out.
The reason why I think SC2 has a good chance to be the catalyst is because it's coming from a deep background. The people who play Brood War and even Warcraft 3 to an extent know some of the inherant mechanics of the game already and the knowledge of some of the things in the game. As for new people on the other hand, say non-gamers as you put it, they would have to be educated in a way. Seeing is not the whole game. Another analogy would be like, if you were watching football with a friend who had never seen it before you would be able to explain most of the things that were happening to him right? (Assuming you watch it enough of course) And soon he would be able to understand and appreciate some of the things that happen by himself. And also in the beginning of starcraft 2 stuff there won't even be enough information to say concrete stuff as we can in BW right now. So those people if they stick around long enough can see the knowledge grow. I know RTS is a niche itself, but it could grow out of that.
As for the FPS genre, I agree with you. It may not take SC2 by itself to take off, maybe another high powered shooter that everyone can flock to. The next Quake or Halo or Counter-strike. Whatever we need. MLG's National Championship for Halo 3 has a 100k prize for first place lol and i think Halo 3 is in WCG this year.
Some of you guys (not saya, cuz he's rather realistic) need to get your head on straight. Remove yourself from your argument—none of you can say with a straight face that BW (or any RTS) is easier to get the hang of or even understand than Countstrike.
As for your response, how do you expect that jump to happen? RTS is barely a niche market (in terms of pro gaming in the states) and that's taking into consideration everyone who watches Korea and everything. Even the FPS, that's a drop in the bucket—how many times do you even see that stuff on TV? Most people don't even get the channels that it would be shown on.
That's probably the biggest problem in itself—exposure. Look at the NHL. It's an established product that was pretty successful because it was here so long and was on main stream channels. After their lockout, they were relegated to Versus network (obscure channel that not many get.) and they've been getting killed in ratings since. Something like versus would be about the most exposure any kind of competitive gaming league would get, and that would be a stretch too. You can't build a market if people don't even have your channel.
That leaves the internet as basically the only way this thing grows. And without some kind of unification—maybe a CAL league or WCG league for every game—nothing's gonna change too much. Most games (obviously BW is an abberation) come and go in like 2-3 years. And you can't even count on a fan of one genre to just pick up the next game and fall in love with it. Many people only pay attention to one game series or one genre. So viewers probably are limited, and that means that advertisers will be too. It will probably just be the Razers and the other comp companies of the world, since it wouldn't make sense for other companies.
Iunno, there's just too much in the way now for the market to grow much, plus the economy and all now. Maybe in 50 years, when the old farts die off and you'll be looked at like a neanderthal if you don't have PLAYSTATION42. But until then..
Ya definitely Hawk. There's no way e-sports stuff will ever be on like digital cable while we're young hahahaha. MLG had a fairly low stint with the USA Network and that didn't go too well, because it's obviously not shown anymore, but MLG does have a sponsorship from ESPN when they do their online broadcasts which may help them get a TV slot in the future, maybe. Also I like the idea CGS has, but it's not exactly perfected yet because of... I don't know the games? The only good game they got on there is FIFA (I don't mind WoW and the racing game).
If the internet is going to help it grow and send it in the right direction, it would need to have a good league for the top games. Some of which may or may not be the right one's established. I would say MLG is a good foothold in the American console FPS, but I wonder if it's possible for them to branch out to an international standpoint (with Gears of War 2 and those types of games coming out soon. Also a UK team actually flew to their Gears events and placed good for them lol).
Oh wait. I don't know if this could be sustainable, but an Internet channel? I know some of those exist but they aren't totally free are they? If something like that could be established and have broadcasts of different kinds of e-sports, covering certain event then we could get a point in the right direction. Another thing would be that something that has to happen not from something that e-sports itself can do, but something a region or place would have to do. Kind of like how Korea has the internet stations from GOM and DAUM and people setup streams there when they want. Perhaps if it was possible that USA or the World moved to something like that. Oh well just another hypothetical.
In any case yeah there's way too many barriers in our world right now for this to happen. Maybe when I'm 65 hahah
EPT
