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Commentator UJG "Danger? Or a Chance to Look Back"

Forum Index > BW General
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Kalent
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada253 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-31 22:04:04
August 31 2011 21:51 GMT
#1
Translated this article interviewing the commentator Um Jae Gyung who has been commentating ever since the BroodWar scene started. He now commentates for Ongamenet, but he started in Tooniverse. He is one of the most influential figures in the BW scene and one of the people who care the most about eSports.

I'm not really good at translating so forgive me for some of the errors in grammar and in translating. I also posted this in the "SCBW in Korea: Headlines" thread but was advised to make a new thread about it (Thanks).

[image loading]
Commentator Um Jae Gyung has given some advice regarding the apparent danger esports (BW) is in.

Commentator Um, in a telephone interview with DES on the 29th said "Instead of looking at the scene negatively because of the apparent danger it is in and blaming others for it, we should try harder to make a more fun league, and a more fun esports for the future."

4 days ago, Commentator Um posed this on Twitter "The eSports scene started with nothing." He tweeted "Depressing news is all over the eSports scene but I don't worry too much. That choice is in the buyers, aka tha fans so there's no reason to blame anyone" He said as he started to talk about the early days of eSports

Um started commentating even before Ongamenet was created in a kid's cartoon channel named tooniverse that was brodcasting starcraft leagues. "There were no game channels at first. We just took a ping-pong table that was rolling around somewhere inside the tooniverse company building and put a black cloth over it to use for stage setup and had a very small prize pool. It was just for fun, a small, weird event" He reminisced.

So he explained that the current situation is not a danger through comparing. "In the eyes of a person who started with 0 won, I don't want to even say cheer up to the people who are depressed and saying it's dead from the scene falling from 10,000,000 won (T/N: $10,000 aprox.) to 9,000,000 won ($T/N $9,000 aprox.)" He tweeted.

In the telephone interview with DailyESports, Um explained "A team may disband because of many reasons from the sponsors. The important things are the coaching staff and the players that make up a game team. These guys are able to be players thanks to the system that allows them to be absorbed into other teams easily like the Estro situation."

If there is a disappointing point, it is the fact that one of the sponsors that is pulling away from their teams is the gaming cable channel MBCGame. "It is important culturally and industrially to have cable channels broadcast gaming content. The broadcast is a power mechanism as we are able to showcase our player's games to more places and people, therefore hardcore fans, people interested in the content and the people around them are able to take interest in it."

He also analysed the reason danger has appeared to us. One of the reasons that game teams lost their attractiveness to sponsors is because of the match-fixing with the illegal betting sites, and the other is the dispute between Kespa and Blizzard Ent about the broadcasting rights. The clean image that sponsors wanted was destroyed by the match-fixing in the world of competition and the disputes were taken all the way to court so the chances for synergy (T/N Not sure about my translations here) was reduced.

Commentator Um confessed his wishes to see leagues and eSports programs that people want to see. When Starcraft leagues were first being made, "Nobody predicted that the industry would grow, but it achieved a dream bigger than a dream (T/N: That's how he said it). He said, "When you talk of success in most industries, especially content-based industries, success is not just capturing the niche, hardcore fans but it has to have the ability to attract people that are just passing by."

It was possible for sponsors to create teams because there were not only fans that watched, but because that scene had the ability to attract people who watched occasionally. Creating more leagues and more content is important, but it's crucial to care about the quality of the games, history between players, and to create contents that give viewers a sense of enjoyment while watching.

Commentator Um says "I would be lying if I said I'm not disappointed about the sponsors pulling away from their game teams, but isn't it better than the times when we would have tournaments on top of a ping pong table with a black cloth on it? When danger is upon us, we need to analyse why carefullly and then we need to use this as a chance to capture that eyes of mainstream viewers."

[DailyeSports Reporter Nam Yoon Sung thenam@dailyesports.com]

From: http://esports.dailygame.co.kr/news/read.php?id=49364
Korean-Canadian who spends way too much time on Afreeca
legaton
Profile Joined December 2010
France1763 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-31 22:00:10
August 31 2011 21:55 GMT
#2
Inspiring words from Commentator Um. As long as we keep loving it and playing it, Broodwar will live. Maybe this will push Kespa to try even more to reach the chinese community, and maybe even us.
No GG, No Skill - Jaedong <3
Kalent
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada253 Posts
August 31 2011 21:57 GMT
#3
Yeah, what he is saying is right. We should care more about what to do next and how to make it better instead of of blaming others or being depressed.
Korean-Canadian who spends way too much time on Afreeca
Xiphos
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Canada7507 Posts
August 31 2011 22:08 GMT
#4
Think of this as a way to give us closer games. Like no 4-0 sweeps anymore, no more one sided SPL matches. Every game would be interesting and high caliber players duking it out. Most of my friends are turned away when I told em to watch this over the stream with me but some of them got disappointed because of the lack of high quality games. This could be another generation. Then, more people would attend at SPL games for better games = increase in ratings and sponsors will eventually pick it up again.
Although I think SPL's format need to be changed so that the managers can change the players to be played on the map on the fly to adjust strategies. Not predetermined.
2014 - ᕙ( •̀ل͜•́) ϡ Raise your bows brood warriors! ᕙ( •̀ل͜•́) ϡ
bearbuddy
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
3442 Posts
August 31 2011 22:09 GMT
#5
Putting things in perspective from the guy who's been in the scene the entire time.

Still kinda strange that there were quite a number of poor teams pre-2007, yet the decently salaried teams are disbanding now. Gone are the farm teams that raised great players... now they just play on B-teams until they're ready to be inserted to a regular line-up. Is there some barrier of entry preventing very small teams from putting up a lineup and joining the league as a team? Or is it a shifting perspective where professional gaming is a job and it's better to join an established team or not at all?

Anyway, thanks for the translation.
Manifesto7
Profile Blog Joined November 2002
Osaka27140 Posts
August 31 2011 22:10 GMT
#6
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.
ModeratorGodfather
amazingoopah
Profile Joined January 2010
United States1925 Posts
August 31 2011 22:15 GMT
#7
totally agree with Manifesto's idea. For a relatively small amount of money, they could really give themselves a huge amount of buzz and goodwill (talking about Blizzard here ofc)

commentator Um fighting!
Ryo
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
8787 Posts
August 31 2011 22:16 GMT
#8
On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.

Blizzard HERO. What better PR.
영원히 엠비씨게임 히어로 팬.
cristo1122
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Australia505 Posts
August 31 2011 22:25 GMT
#9


[image loading]


Commentator Um says "I would be lying if I said I'm not disappointed about the sponsors pulling away from their game teams, but isn't it better than the times when we would have tournaments on top of a ping pong table with a black cloth on it? When danger is upon us, we need to analyse why carefullly and then we need to use this as a chance to capture that eyes of mainstream viewers."

[DailyeSports Reporter Nam Yoon Sung thenam@dailyesports.com]

From: http://esports.dailygame.co.kr/news/read.php?id=49364


really puts in it perspective and gives me hope for the future
ZvP imbalanced blizzards solution nerf terran
Ikonn
Profile Joined October 2009
Netherlands1958 Posts
August 31 2011 22:40 GMT
#10
Thanks for the translation, I like his optimism
nodnod
Profile Joined April 2011
New Zealand172 Posts
August 31 2011 22:43 GMT
#11
What a fantastic interview and thanks for the translation. The one word that stood out for me was 'culture' - something that's so intangible yet important for the governing body and fans to cultivate.

Perhaps KESPA could look into possible sponsors to BW outside Korea and expand their markets to more internationally orientated merchandise etc? I know they're already doing this by moving the OSL and SPL finals to China, but perhaps some kind of 'shareholder meeting' and 'strategic planning' need to be in place and made public so the fans can have more input.

In the wise words of Sir Churchill: Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
Grettin
Profile Joined April 2010
42381 Posts
August 31 2011 22:52 GMT
#12
Manifesto's idea is really great imo, but sadly i don't think it will never happen.

Anyway, fantastic interview and thanks for translating it. What he is saying is totally right.
"If I had force-fields in Brood War, I'd never lose." -Bisu
Zona
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
40426 Posts
August 31 2011 23:03 GMT
#13
Hmm, there seems to be another danger that's not being mentioned...the decline in the number of fans and viewers.

I really wish I knew enough Korean to dig around for the viewership ratings, but one thing I noticed is that in the "most popular games played in PC bangs" surveys, Brood War has dropped off the top-10 list entirely. Back when SC2 was introduced, BW was still more popular than SC2 among players at netcafes, but now it's not there anymore. (Mind you, SC2 hasn't really displaced it - it's just even more free MMO's on top now, with SC2 seemingly around the same place it was before.)
"If you try responding to those absurd posts every day, you become more damaged. So I pay no attention to them at all." Jung Myung Hoon (aka Fantasy), as translated by Kimoleon
Xiphos
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Canada7507 Posts
August 31 2011 23:05 GMT
#14
On September 01 2011 08:03 Zona wrote:
Hmm, there seems to be another danger that's not being mentioned...the decline in the number of fans and viewers.

I really wish I knew enough Korean to dig around for the viewership ratings, but one thing I noticed is that in the "most popular games played in PC bangs" surveys, Brood War has dropped off the top-10 list entirely. Back when SC2 was introduced, BW was still more popular than SC2 among players at netcafes, but now it's not there anymore. (Mind you, SC2 hasn't really displaced it - it's just even more free MMO's on top now, with SC2 seemingly around the same place it was before.)


What do you suggest? Destroy Nexon???!?!?! Because I am in!
2014 - ᕙ( •̀ل͜•́) ϡ Raise your bows brood warriors! ᕙ( •̀ل͜•́) ϡ
Rodiel3
Profile Joined March 2011
France1158 Posts
August 31 2011 23:07 GMT
#15
This guy know what he talk about, long live SCBW !
http://www.youtube.com/user/rodiel3 SCBW FPVOD
Chef
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
10810 Posts
August 31 2011 23:15 GMT
#16
Thank you for this, it means a lot
LEGEND!! LEGEND!!
chaosTheory_14cc
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Canada1270 Posts
August 31 2011 23:18 GMT
#17
Thanks for translating. What an amazing perspective coming from someone who has been around since the beginning. That man speaks the truth.
ZeroChrome
Profile Joined September 2010
Canada1001 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-31 23:22:28
August 31 2011 23:21 GMT
#18
On September 01 2011 08:03 Zona wrote:
Hmm, there seems to be another danger that's not being mentioned...the decline in the number of fans and viewers.

I really wish I knew enough Korean to dig around for the viewership ratings, but one thing I noticed is that in the "most popular games played in PC bangs" surveys, Brood War has dropped off the top-10 list entirely. Back when SC2 was introduced, BW was still more popular than SC2 among players at netcafes, but now it's not there anymore. (Mind you, SC2 hasn't really displaced it - it's just even more free MMO's on top now, with SC2 seemingly around the same place it was before.)


The rankings on gametrics puts BW at 4th. Which is actually slightly higher than earlier this year.
Forward
agarangu
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Chile274 Posts
August 31 2011 23:41 GMT
#19
Thanks a lot! I didn't know that, and it certainly gave me hope. May BW live forever!
What's a quote anyway?
Elroi
Profile Joined August 2009
Sweden5595 Posts
August 31 2011 23:42 GMT
#20
This is very inspiring and well worth a thread. It shows the difference between how BW became an e-sport and how the SCII was created too. I cannot help but think that there are big risks for the survival of e-sports when you promote a new game like that. It steals attention from the old game in favor of a new game that might not be ready or sufficiently developed for the attention it gets.
"To all eSports fans, I want to be remembered as a progamer who can make something out of nothing, and someone who always does his best. I think that is the right way of living, and I'm always doing my best to follow that." - Jaedong. /watch?v=jfghAzJqAp0
eviltomahawk
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States11135 Posts
August 31 2011 23:56 GMT
#21
Um started commentating even before Ongamenet was created in a kid's cartoon channel named tooniverse that was brodcasting starcraft leagues. "There were no game channels at first. We just took a ping-pong table that was rolling around somewhere inside the tooniverse company building and put a black cloth over it to use for stage setup and had a very small prize pool. It was just for fun, a small, weird event" He reminisced.

Really puts into perspective how far we've come, especially from the point of view of man who has been here from the very beginning and is still active. Very few men in BW can boast an ongoing legacy like that, and it's great to hear his opinion on these very dark times.

I hope BW lives long enough so that the ping pong table that birthed professional BW becomes a sacred artifact.
ㅇㅅㅌㅅ
Existential
Profile Joined December 2010
Australia2107 Posts
September 01 2011 00:11 GMT
#22
Good to know there is some optimism around :D
Jaedong <3 | BW - The first game I ever loved
Xiphos
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Canada7507 Posts
September 01 2011 00:11 GMT
#23
On September 01 2011 08:56 eviltomahawk wrote:
Show nested quote +
Um started commentating even before Ongamenet was created in a kid's cartoon channel named tooniverse that was brodcasting starcraft leagues. "There were no game channels at first. We just took a ping-pong table that was rolling around somewhere inside the tooniverse company building and put a black cloth over it to use for stage setup and had a very small prize pool. It was just for fun, a small, weird event" He reminisced.

Really puts into perspective how far we've come, especially from the point of view of man who has been here from the very beginning and is still active. Very few men in BW can boast an ongoing legacy like that, and it's great to hear his opinion on these very dark times.

I hope BW lives long enough so that the ping pong table that birthed professional BW becomes a sacred artifact.


Wondering if they have kept the table....
One day we might see it on a museum with Egyptian artifact and Greek sculpture. Beside it lies, the table that gave birth to ESPORT!
2014 - ᕙ( •̀ل͜•́) ϡ Raise your bows brood warriors! ᕙ( •̀ل͜•́) ϡ
ImbaTosS
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United Kingdom1685 Posts
September 01 2011 00:32 GMT
#24
The guy is a living legend. You can tell he loves the game of BW.
EleGant[AoV]
slappy
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States1271 Posts
September 01 2011 00:34 GMT
#25
holy shit this guy is a boss! Definitely gave me some new perspective on the happenings of BW
jaedong imba
NeVeR
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
1352 Posts
September 01 2011 01:24 GMT
#26
On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.


It's surely an excellent idea, but I think we all know deep down that Blizzard is too stubborn and short-sighted for this to happen.
soujiro_
Profile Joined June 2010
Uruguay5195 Posts
September 01 2011 01:50 GMT
#27
thanks for this translation, its very important to keep things in perspective
ace hwaiting!!
rift
Profile Blog Joined September 2007
1819 Posts
September 01 2011 01:54 GMT
#28
On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.


I recall some Blizzard exec saying "as a business, we naturally want consumers to buy our newest product", or something to that extent. With that mindset I can't ever see them sponsoring a BW team, despite its potential.
Sprouter
Profile Joined December 2009
United States1724 Posts
September 01 2011 02:20 GMT
#29
On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.


That is an interesting idea. An even better idea is EG Fox.

I really would like to see GOM do another MSL, that would be so baller.
wassbix
Profile Joined October 2009
Canada499 Posts
September 01 2011 02:25 GMT
#30
On September 01 2011 08:21 ZeroChrome wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 01 2011 08:03 Zona wrote:
Hmm, there seems to be another danger that's not being mentioned...the decline in the number of fans and viewers.

I really wish I knew enough Korean to dig around for the viewership ratings, but one thing I noticed is that in the "most popular games played in PC bangs" surveys, Brood War has dropped off the top-10 list entirely. Back when SC2 was introduced, BW was still more popular than SC2 among players at netcafes, but now it's not there anymore. (Mind you, SC2 hasn't really displaced it - it's just even more free MMO's on top now, with SC2 seemingly around the same place it was before.)


The rankings on gametrics puts BW at 4th. Which is actually slightly higher than earlier this year.


BW played has decreased but yeah, its rather stable and stays on the top 10 (I like to keep track on Korean PC Bang games for what to play next ^^)

But I still agree with the other guy that wanted to destroy Nexon DNF and Maple getting far too much play in PC Bangs (Also Aion and recently Tera)
ninini
Profile Joined June 2010
Sweden1204 Posts
September 01 2011 02:27 GMT
#31
Ultralisk commentator ftw. I hope him and Kim Carrier can continue commentating until their hair turns grey.
Navi
Profile Joined November 2009
5286 Posts
September 01 2011 02:30 GMT
#32
<3
UJG!

manifesto's proposition also so awesome~
maybe someone could shoot a blizzard contact they know an email?
Hey! Listen!
GoTuNk!
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
Chile4591 Posts
September 01 2011 02:46 GMT
#33
I think the way SPL is run must be changed. Having teams play each other 7 times a year to determine play off order seems retarded to me. There is basically nothing at stake at each game.
macmann
Profile Joined May 2011
87 Posts
September 01 2011 03:38 GMT
#34
This guy is probably only reason why I love OSL so much
I'm a big fan of him
Gann1
Profile Joined July 2009
United States1575 Posts
September 01 2011 03:46 GMT
#35
On September 01 2011 11:46 GoTuNk! wrote:
I think the way SPL is run must be changed. Having teams play each other 7 times a year to determine play off order seems retarded to me. There is basically nothing at stake at each game.


it'll have to be changed, because without MBCGame there can't be two games run concurrently. If it were up to me, I'd change back to 5 rounds from 6 (R3 Winners League) and have the top 4 teams make the playoffs. One match a day instead of two, since it's only OGN now. PL could run 6 days a week instead of 5, since there's no MSL.
I drop suckas like Plinko
LuckyMacro
Profile Joined July 2010
United States1482 Posts
September 01 2011 04:00 GMT
#36
Damn you Nexon!!!

Inspiring words from Commentator Um though.
gesgi
Profile Joined December 2010
United States36 Posts
September 01 2011 04:01 GMT
#37
On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.


While I would be happy to see a new team formed or some of the now disbanding ones saved, I don't see Blizzard sponsoring a team playing out like this. I don't know what the korean stand point on this is, but if I was a korean I'd find Blizzard first going after kespa and BW while heavily pushing SC2 and then suddenly sponsoring a team in BW highly suspicious, no matter if they left the existing management in place or not.

Also, although BW is no longer being patched or in active development (right?), isn't it a bit fishy to have a development company sponsor a team in their own game? Kind of like NFL running their own american football team.

It's a beautiful idea, but I don't see how it working out like that.
Dear 허영무, thank you for everything. Oh, and congrats!
krndandaman
Profile Joined August 2009
Mozambique16569 Posts
September 01 2011 04:07 GMT
#38
--- Nuked ---
Zona
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
40426 Posts
September 01 2011 04:13 GMT
#39
^
Anything that reduces the frequency of games that the players have to prepare for is a good thing in my book. It's pretty ridiculous now, with 2 games almost every week.
"If you try responding to those absurd posts every day, you become more damaged. So I pay no attention to them at all." Jung Myung Hoon (aka Fantasy), as translated by Kimoleon
erin[go]bragh
Profile Joined December 2008
United States815 Posts
September 01 2011 04:21 GMT
#40
Definitely puts things in perspective. BW clawed it's way up to the top from the very bottom. It's been through tougher trials, and I for one believe it will persist. Like he said, its all in the hands of the fans, and I think anyone who's been around TL long enough knows theres no shortage of passion for this game. We'll make due, one way or another!
JulyZerg! by.hero, effOrt, KTY.
zeehar
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Korea (South)3804 Posts
September 01 2011 04:30 GMT
#41
On September 01 2011 11:46 GoTuNk! wrote:
I think the way SPL is run must be changed. Having teams play each other 7 times a year to determine play off order seems retarded to me. There is basically nothing at stake at each game.


this.

there are way too many games for the number of teams.

the nba has a similar problem with number of games, and even then they play 82 games a season for 30 teams.

reduce the number of matches so that you play each team maybe four times, space out the games so that the season runs for a similar duration as it does now, and then maybe each game will have more significance.
I AM THE UNIVERSAL CONSTANT
zeehar
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Korea (South)3804 Posts
September 01 2011 04:35 GMT
#42
On September 01 2011 13:01 gesgi wrote:
Also, although BW is no longer being patched or in active development (right?), isn't it a bit fishy to have a development company sponsor a team in their own game? Kind of like NFL running their own american football team.


although i agree that blizzard won't be saving a bw team anytime soon, the nba are currently taking care of the new orleans hornets after their previous owner couldn't find a buyer and had to sell to the nba for a lower price because he was no longer able to meet the financial obligations of running the team. just sayin.
I AM THE UNIVERSAL CONSTANT
endy
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Switzerland8970 Posts
September 01 2011 04:43 GMT
#43
Thanks for translating, it was very inspirational.

On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.


Wow I never thought of that. I would even buy SC2 if they sponsor a BW team ! Paradoxical eh ?
I hope a Blizzard representative reads Mani's post.

The main thing is that in Korea, BW players/fans outnumber SC2 players/fans, so giving Blizzard a very positive image in BW players/fans' mind is crucial for SC2's development in Korea, and as Mani said, this is a golden opportunity.

ॐ
Dakkas
Profile Joined October 2010
2550 Posts
September 01 2011 04:46 GMT
#44
On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.


That would be so good but I highly doubt Blizzard would do this. God it would be so great if they did
Ribbon
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States5278 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-09-01 04:56:32
September 01 2011 04:52 GMT
#45
On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.



And, more cynically, they'd have a large bargaining chip in future negotiations with KeSPA when the BW rights contract expires in two years (or when the SC2 contract with GOM expires next year, if they want to talk to OGN). I'd be surprised to see them actually do it, but it'd be a smart play, and I'm sure KeSPA will mention it unless they're already good on sponsors. On a flip side, of course, KeSPA wouldn't want Blizz to have that bargaining chip if they could avoid it. It's a complex relationship, there.

FXOpen could also be the out-of-nowhere dark horse, as they're trying to expand to Korea. They already bought a third SC2 team, but I don't know if that's an argument in favor (synergy!) or against (we just bought a team!) them doing it. I don't see any other western sources coming in, though. Maybe Intel, they sponsor every eSports thing they can see, but they have a $150,000 sponsorship of Boxer.

Korean Air, of course, is the name getting thrown around a lot for FOX. Anibox just became a gaming channel, so sponsoring a team in exchange for being able to broadcast a replace for the MSL (ASL?) would be a fantastic idea. Blizzard would also be pretty happy with that arraignment (because the same channel would broadcast a major BW tournament and the GSL. Let's stay far away from a quality debate, but a lot lot people in Korean watch BW and don't follow/care about SC2 than the reverse)

I'm sure they'll get a new sponsor. A BW team in Korea is still a lot of exposure, the only question is if they'll get as much as WeMADE/Hwasung/MBC were paying, or maybe a little less.
red4ce
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States7313 Posts
September 01 2011 05:00 GMT
#46
Good perspective from a wise man. Even if BW downsizes and loses teams/players/mbc, it's still a helluva lot better than not having brood war at all. I'll be sure to enjoy whatever games we have left, whether BW lasts 1 more year or 10 years.
wakawaka
Profile Joined September 2011
Zimbabwe5 Posts
September 01 2011 05:07 GMT
#47
On September 01 2011 07:10 Manifesto7 wrote:
Thanks a lot for the article. He is a really amazing guy, and his comments help give perspective to what is happening.

If I were Blizzard, I would see this as a golden opportunity. Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.
- Repair relationships with kespa
- Become a savior in the eyes of the Korean fan base (no pun intended)
- Provide a great marketing and advertising platform for reasonable cost

Just leave the existing management in place to increase trust, and boom, ultimate goodwill presence in an important market.


Well intended but very naive.

Sponsoring one of the teams in trouble (or merging two of them) would be incredibly beneficial.

NBA is sooner to acquire an NBA team than this to happen.
- Repair relationships with kespa

What can I say, LOL??? Why would kespa want to have anything to do with someone who tries to run them out of business? Unless Blizzard gives the proprietary and operational rights of SC2 in Korea to Kespa, this aint gonna happen.

Blizzard HERO sounds too awesome though!

User was banned for this post.
gesgi
Profile Joined December 2010
United States36 Posts
September 01 2011 05:07 GMT
#48
On September 01 2011 13:30 zeehar wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 01 2011 11:46 GoTuNk! wrote:
I think the way SPL is run must be changed. Having teams play each other 7 times a year to determine play off order seems retarded to me. There is basically nothing at stake at each game.


this.

there are way too many games for the number of teams.


I seem to recall they tried to cut down the number of games per week before the 10-11 season, but that proposition got smashed along with a whole bunch of other healthy suggestions. More games, more visibility for the sponsors. Guess they're out of options now though.
Dear 허영무, thank you for everything. Oh, and congrats!
konadora *
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Singapore66156 Posts
September 01 2011 07:20 GMT
#49
every damn thing he says is so spot-on. personally i regard him with extremely huge respect, and this is one of the reasons why.
POGGERS
Caos2
Profile Joined November 2008
United States1728 Posts
September 01 2011 11:36 GMT
#50
If anything, this article raised my hopes for another decade of Broodwar.

Thanks for the translation!
bokchoi
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
Korea (South)9498 Posts
September 01 2011 13:05 GMT
#51
I wonder if theres any possibility for GOMtv to get back into BW. They initially pulled-out/were shunned out when KeSPA decided to pull all their teams/players. With the current situation GOMtv could try to get in, possibly replacing MBCgame as the other "channel" or even maybe sponsoring a team.. it could make an eventual GOMtv + KeSPA transition in a few years a lot more plausible too.
evilfatsh1t
Profile Joined October 2010
Australia8637 Posts
September 01 2011 13:41 GMT
#52
theres a cafe on naver which does weekly updates on game rankings in korea
according to that starcraft is ranked 22nd
starcraft 2 is 11th
most of the top 10 are mmos, some are sports (fifa2 online etc)
or sudden attack (korean cs...even though there is cs online in korea)
floor exercise
Profile Blog Joined August 2008
Canada5847 Posts
September 01 2011 14:05 GMT
#53
On September 01 2011 22:41 evilfatsh1t wrote:
theres a cafe on naver which does weekly updates on game rankings in korea
according to that starcraft is ranked 22nd
starcraft 2 is 11th
most of the top 10 are mmos, some are sports (fifa2 online etc)
or sudden attack (korean cs...even though there is cs online in korea)

Where is this? Gametrics has SC ranked #4 for this week and SC2 is not in the top 10. I don't think you can see more unless you pay or something
http://www.gametrics.com/Rank/Rank02.aspx

I think I'd trust Gametrics on this
Taekwon
Profile Joined May 2010
United States8155 Posts
September 01 2011 14:24 GMT
#54
A very heartfelt man with encouraging, sincere words. I will forever believe.
▲ ▲ ▲
baubo
Profile Joined September 2008
China3370 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-09-01 14:43:10
September 01 2011 14:33 GMT
#55
Edit:

If the reason for sponsors withdrawing is due a lot to match-fixing and bickering, then it's actually GOOD news. People forget these things as time goes on, especially in today's world of instant new stuff all the time.

Personally, I think the problem with BW right now is marketing. They must "reinvent" themselves. It's no longer okay to just ride the old popularity on in today's environment. The scene really has gotten stale over the years as I haven't seen any major innovations over the years. This isn't basketball or football where it doesn't matter what you do as people will always watch. The sport isn't that entrenched so you must keep finding new ways to get people to watch games instead of playing MMORPGs, watch KPOP MTVs, and other stuffs.

Meh
Laxx
Profile Joined July 2011
Australia61 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-09-06 03:38:03
September 06 2011 03:31 GMT
#56
On September 01 2011 22:05 bokchoi wrote:
I wonder if theres any possibility for GOMtv to get back into BW. They initially pulled-out/were shunned out when KeSPA decided to pull all their teams/players. With the current situation GOMtv could try to get in, possibly replacing MBCgame as the other "channel" or even maybe sponsoring a team.. it could make an eventual GOMtv + KeSPA transition in a few years a lot more plausible too.


That's actually a really interesting thought. This does present a nice window for them, doesn't it?

My only concern would be that they're either using nearly 100% of their resources for the GSL, or that their contract with Blizzard could prohibit them from broadcasting BW. I hope that's not the case.

But I digress. The interview itself was really insightful, and this guys optimism is truly inspiring. He's totally correct; those who are fearful for the future of Brood War need only to look at its past progress to be reassured.
Head of Marketing // Quantic Gaming // @LaxxSC
NationInArms
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States1553 Posts
September 06 2011 03:37 GMT
#57
Guys like him that have made BW the greatest game of all time.
MSL forever!
BW for life | Fantasy, MMA, SlayerS_Boxer | Taengoo! n_n | "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you! Obey me, subjects! OBEY ME, WORLD!" | <3 Emi
palexhur
Profile Joined May 2010
Colombia730 Posts
September 06 2011 03:53 GMT
#58
The real "enemies" of BW in Korea are the MMO, according to gametrics it is always between the 3rd and 6th position, and SC2 has going down from 12-13th to 16th, the longevity of BW in Korea is just amazing (a miracle).
wassbix
Profile Joined October 2009
Canada499 Posts
September 06 2011 04:15 GMT
#59
On September 01 2011 22:41 evilfatsh1t wrote:
theres a cafe on naver which does weekly updates on game rankings in korea
according to that starcraft is ranked 22nd
starcraft 2 is 11th
most of the top 10 are mmos, some are sports (fifa2 online etc)
or sudden attack (korean cs...even though there is cs online in korea)


are you talking about the search hit one? cause that would make sense since BW is on a break. though as someone previously posted pcbang charts SC2 is not even close to BW in time played.
ShadeR
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Australia7535 Posts
September 06 2011 06:53 GMT
#60
Strong inspiring words. I feel a little more optimistic already.
EvilTeletubby
Profile Blog Joined January 2004
Baltimore, USA22253 Posts
September 06 2011 07:01 GMT
#61
God damn I love the Overlord!
Moderatorhttp://carbonleaf.yuku.com/topic/408/t/So-I-proposed-at-a-Carbon-Leaf-concert.html ***** RIP Geoff
Ribbon
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States5278 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-09-06 07:23:47
September 06 2011 07:14 GMT
#62
On September 06 2011 12:31 Laxx wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 01 2011 22:05 bokchoi wrote:
I wonder if theres any possibility for GOMtv to get back into BW. They initially pulled-out/were shunned out when KeSPA decided to pull all their teams/players. With the current situation GOMtv could try to get in, possibly replacing MBCgame as the other "channel" or even maybe sponsoring a team.. it could make an eventual GOMtv + KeSPA transition in a few years a lot more plausible too.


That's actually a really interesting thought. This does present a nice window for them, doesn't it?

My only concern would be that they're either using nearly 100% of their resources for the GSL, or that their contract with Blizzard could prohibit them from broadcasting BW. I hope that's not the case.


It's not. Blizz wanted GOM to run the whole BW scene in Korea, which is what led to the legal issues and that whole kerfluffle I still think KeSPA will avoid giving GOM/Blizzard any power over anything BW except as an absolute last resort, though.

On September 06 2011 12:53 palexhur wrote:
The real "enemies" of BW in Korea are the MMO, according to gametrics it is always between the 3rd and 6th position, and SC2 has going down from 12-13th to 16th, the longevity of BW in Korea is just amazing (a miracle).


I'm not sure how relevant PC Baang stats are for a game as old as Brood War. Even a super-ghetto computer can run BW with no issues, so there's really no need to go to a PC Baang just to ladder like there might've been in 1999. If your home computer can run BW, you might as well play BW at home and more graphically intensive games at the Baangs. I imagine the people playing BW at a PC Baang nowadays are

1. People who happened to be in one and felt like playing BW.
2. People who wanted to play BW with their friends (i.e., a LAN).

When you look at it that way, the stats of BW are actually amazing, since it's a relatively small slice of the BW market compared to 1998.

But I'm hardly an expert in Korea. Maybe I'm miles off base.
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