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Where would Michael Jordan be without the NBA?
I am speaking in general terms so please understand and I would appreciate it if you don't take some of the things I write out of context.
For the most part, outside of Korea you are 'gamers' and here in Korea you are 'athletes', they are cyber athletes if you will, because of the 12 professional teams and pro leagues we have, it legitimizes them.
Why are they legitimized? Well for obvious reason, but to point out a few, you can be financially viable by being a ProGamer, and 2nd you become, in a way, TV personalities, basically it's on TV 24/7 to put it simply. What good is Michael Jordan without the NCAA, NBA or TV for that matter. The medium of TV certainly did change our culture. Why does the NBA exist? Because people watch it, it has spectators, which means people involved in it can make money, and money keeps the leagues alive, you know the cliché 'the world makes the world go around'.
After all Michael Jordan is just a guy who does wonders with a basketball isn't he? Where would he be without the NBA? Baseball was created over 100 years ago, imagine how baseball players might have been perceived by the public? or by family members? Bunch of grown men playing with bats, balls and gloves?! Instead of working to plan for the safe future or to provide for the family? I'm sure rocks were thrown at them. Why is it when some kid aspires to be a professional baseball player it's ok and when a kid aspires to be a ProGamer he is looked down upon? When someone shoots hoops in hopes of becoming a pro all day long it's a 'Kodak moment' and when someone plays a game all day in hopes of becoming the best player he could possibly be on iccup a 'freaky moment'?
The rest of the article here on his blog:
http://starfeeder.gameriot.com/blogs/Super-Daniel-Man/Where-would-Michael-Jordan-be-without-the-NBA
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basketball will always be basketball
new videogames come out all the time. Its not the same.
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thanks dan! these are awesome articles.. gives people like me a much better understanding of the whole e-sports scene.
Please keep writing.. I look forward to reading them all the time!
Also, fantastic commentary with nick.. I can't wait for season 3!
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The world makes the world go around, eh?
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United States3824 Posts
I disagree Sadist, Basketball is basketball because it is a solid game and we have chosen as a social group to like it. There are athetic events that go in and out of cultural style all the time (remember the XFL?) If there was a video game that was as solid as basketball then it would continue to be popular for a long time.
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u can make millions off of basketball
games...
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Basketball and other athletic sports promote physical fitness, which make one physically attractive and more likely to succeed in terms of primal survival of the fittest.
Video games on the other hand...
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On March 20 2009 12:09 Insane Lane wrote:
Basketball and other athletic sports promote physical fitness, which make one physically attractive and more likely to succeed in terms of primal survival of the fittest.
Video games on the other hand...
lol survival of the fittest for whoever has the biggest muscles? What is this, jumanji?
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On March 20 2009 12:25 Cloud wrote:Show nested quote +On March 20 2009 12:09 Insane Lane wrote:
Basketball and other athletic sports promote physical fitness, which make one physically attractive and more likely to succeed in terms of primal survival of the fittest.
Video games on the other hand... lol survival of the fittest for whoever has the biggest muscles? What is this, jumanji?
No its darwinism
Also, there is no real comparison because basketball has stayed essentially the same for a hundred years (obviously equipment etc has changed) while videogames are constantly changing. Its amazing that starcraft has stayed popular this long
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You cant be serious.
Anyway, nice blog.
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I agree with Daniel in terms of legitimacy of game-watching as a recreation. But I find it really hard to succeed as something more than a niche sport. Especially since the field of gaming and computing progresses so ridiculously fast. I doubt there can be a set audience for a single game that last more than a year or two.
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It's so sad that there might be a day where starcraft may be replaced by another game.
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The only reason Starcraft can be compared to basketball is due to this game potential being exploited to the maximum by the Koreans. Not many games can reach this level of science. E-sport itself sounds like a bad investment with this respect, you can't just have many games like Starcraft where new players/builds are generated through time. Also, only the Koreans are the ones to give this game such a chance through time to survive. Also, there is only one basketball game; the same is with how there is only one starcraft legacy. E-sport with mass of different games sound like a bad investment. There really needs to be only a few solid games develop with high potential. Unfortunately, I just don't see e-sport going anywhere.
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Just as MMA, boxing, baseball, and football will rise and fall in popularity so will competitive games like WoW, SC, SC2(maybe), CS, Street Fighter, etc. I think Games like WoW especially will break the mold for the rest of the world to view gaming like Korea does just by exposing it to sheer masses of people. Just need time for fan bases to build and personalities to root for/against in the games.
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@ LOcDowN
very true... not many games are of the caliber of Starcraft, and I dare say no RTS since has come close (cept War 3, but still not that clean as an E-sport imho)
However there is StarCraft II 
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No one owns basketball or soccer, especially not a giant corporation. Giant corporations may have a hand in it with have their own leagues. In physical sports, you can do whatever you want with the sport without the fear of giant corporations going after you for using their 'products' without their permission.
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EPT
