Afreeca CEO calls on fans to pressure 'relevant gaming com…
Forum Index > BW General |
Blizzard's Response: https://us.battle.net/forums/en/starcraft/topic/20760966718?page=9#post-166 | ||
PorkSoda
170 Posts
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Cryoc
Germany909 Posts
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SCC-Faust
United States3736 Posts
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Dangermousecatdog
United Kingdom7084 Posts
Seriously though, would afreeca be making ushc a public plea, if Blizzard wasn't so morally degenerate AND private negotiations had failed? | ||
Quesadilla
United States1814 Posts
They killed their own game. | ||
duke91
Germany1458 Posts
On January 21 2018 04:43 Quesadilla wrote: I'd say this was bad by the Afreeca CEO, except, how many times have Blizzard completely botched competitive efforts in the last 20 years? A dozen? A hundreds? They killed their own game. It's not their game. Blizzard own the rights to Broodwar, but they did not develop it. Blizzard is basically Martin Shkreli | ||
sabas123
Netherlands3122 Posts
What is the current legal situation with regards to the Brood War broadcasting rights, does KeSPA still own them, did Blizzard regained all of the rights with release of SC:R. And if KeSPA has the rights for 1.16 but not SC:R, is Blizzard afraid of getting sued by KeSPA? | ||
brickrd
United States4894 Posts
On January 21 2018 04:45 duke91 wrote: It's not their game. Blizzard own the rights to Broodwar, but they did not develop it. Blizzard is basically Martin Shkreli i don't know if it's fair or appropriate to compare the right to host computer game tournaments to cancer drugs needed by sick human beings | ||
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Nakajin
Canada8988 Posts
On January 21 2018 04:45 duke91 wrote: It's not their game. Blizzard own the rights to Broodwar, but they did not develop it. Blizzard is basically Martin Shkreli Lets not get carried away Blizzard is not killing anyone. | ||
gngfn
United States1726 Posts
On January 21 2018 05:41 sabas123 wrote: Why would do Blizzard want to do any of this? It makes no sense to shoot themselves in the foot with this, there surely must be another reason. Blizzard is notoriously dysfunctional internally. There's probably a power struggle going on between people who think BW fans need to "move on" to a new game and the people who advocated for BW:R. The resultant deadlock means that no tournaments are being approved, which of course suits the former faction just fine. | ||
RealityIsKing
613 Posts
On January 21 2018 05:41 sabas123 wrote: Why would do Blizzard want to do any of this? It makes no sense to shoot themselves in the foot with this, there surely must be another reason. What is the current legal situation with regards to the Brood War broadcasting rights, does KeSPA still own them, did Blizzard regained all of the rights with release of SC:R. And if KeSPA has the rights for 1.16 but not SC:R, is Blizzard afraid of getting sued by KeSPA? The activeness of BW directly hurt SC2's presence. Let's face it, its a zero sum game for the games, despite what people will brainwash you to think otherwise. | ||
Jealous
10108 Posts
On January 21 2018 05:41 sabas123 wrote: Why would do Blizzard want to do any of this? It makes no sense to shoot themselves in the foot with this, there surely must be another reason. Without Afreeca's ASL, a major event simply won't happen in Korea unless Blizzard invests heavily into it (who would run it other than Blizzard??). However, without Blizzard's approval, there can be no ASL at all. Blizzard knows this, so I imagine you can think of it as a way to make money for free. They don't have to put in a dime to run ASL, but instead can demand money. So, here's a timeline based on my vague understanding of the events that have transpired thus far, from what I've read on here from people who seem to be in the know (please correct me if I'm mistaken @Letmelose @Waxangel @etc.): KeSPA/OGN/MBC 2003ish: We're gonna continue broadcasting Brood War on TV. Blizzard 2003: Sure whatever, idgaf. KeSPA/OGN/MBC 2009ish: Hey we're gonna continue broadcasting Brood War on TV, we still cool right? Blizzard 2009: NAaaAAAAaaawww son, SC2 coming out. You best pay us licensing fees. How about $5000 for Proleague? KeSPA/OGN/MBC 2009: What? Fuck that, that's bullshit. Blizzard 2009: Aiite, fuck you too then, we're gonna give the rights to GOMTV, y'all can pay or get bent. KeSPA/OGN/MBC 2009: Ugh, fuck, fine. Blizzard 2011/2012: Hey bitches, it's time to transition to SC2. Fuck this Brood War shit, ya heard? KeSPA/OGN [RIP MBC]: Fuck it, whatever. Afreeca 2016: We on the come up boyz Blizzard 2016: Oh shit. This Brood War shit still around. Let's release a remaster and regain control of this fledgling third party scene. Can't let these bitches have too much autonomy. Blizzard 2016: Remastered coming out soon! Free matchmaking! HD graphics! 16 : 9! Custom hotkeys! We're gonna support fish! Vetted by progamers! Better than your grandma's apple pie! Blizzard 2017: Actually nevermind, fuck your free matchmaking, most of you dedicated hardcore nerds would never buy RM if we don't make it a purchase-only feature anyway, fuck y'all. Blizzard 2017: Alright, here's PTR boyos. Btw, OpenBW, ShieldBattery, suck a fat one! #first Afreeca 2017: C-can we run ATB still, b-boss? Blizzard 2017: Fuck that, wait for RM to come out. Afreeca 2017: O-okay. ... Progamers 2017: Yo this shit don't work right. Blizzard 2017: Here have some patches, months after we forced this product down ya throat. Progamers 2017: ...T-thank you... ... Afreeca 2017: Boss, can we please run ASL5? Blizzard 2017: *** Afreeca 2018: Fans, pls, someone talk some sense into big boss Blizzard... Some TL fans: Fuck Blizzard. Some other TL fans: Naw, we can't be sure! We need to get to the bottom of this first! **Apparently conjecturing on what actually transpired here is taboo! No precedents here, let's not jump to conclusions! However, here's how the situation might be going down. Blizzard demands an exorbitant sum for licensing. Afreeca can't negotiate: either they pay, or Blizzard doesn't let them run the tournament. Even if Afreeca can produce the money, Blizzard can still say no while it decides what it wants to do. It doesn't actually hurt them anymore, because it's not like Afreeca can go get their Brood War from someone else. What if Blizzard is deciding whether it wants more money or not? What if Blizzard wants to renegotiate some of the terms of the contract - for example, making some SC2 advertisements in between each match? Or having Overwatch promotions somewhere? Force Afreeca to promote Overwatch outside of ASL - such as on their site, and to give those streamers preferential treatment somehow? There are a ton of possible reasons for why Blizzard would be stalling on their end, and not all of them involve them "shooting themselves in the foot" because they are the ones that hold the cards here. | ||
OrangeGarage
Korea (South)319 Posts
On January 20 2018 06:50 SCC-Faust wrote: I don't completely understand how this is one of the more levelheaded responses when it is far more leaps than most people in this thread are making on top of just being on the other side of the coin in the blame game. People are just wondering exactly how Blizzard can say they want to see more tournaments come up and flourish with the release of Remastered, and then charge such an incredible licensing fee that the most suitable company to do so isn't even able to. I think that is a legitimate concern and question that people have a right to ask, and is not inflammatory in any way or taking anything out of context. It also seems a lot less gratuitous than claiming the Afreeca CEO is on a burning ship and solely wants cheaper rights to keep his platform afloat. Oh, how malicious. How evil. Please charge them up the ass, cause how dare Afreeca want to survive as a company. OK good posts dudes. I think if you tried to analyze the situation with a calmer head you will realize that the post isn't saying afreeca is evil, just that they never had the community's best interest in mind unlike what many posters are wont to believe here. ngl I've seen this crap over and over again in TL since about 2010, where one good gesture towards the game overshadows every other crap they do. Happened with Sonic, happened with the federation, happening with Soo-gil. It truly isn't that hard of a concept to grasp. Nobody is an angel, that doesn't make them the devil either. Its just business. | ||
Starlightsun
United States1405 Posts
On January 21 2018 08:28 RCCar wrote: I think if you tried to analyze the situation with a calmer head you will realize that the post isn't saying afreeca is evil, just that they never had the community's best interest in mind unlike what many posters are wont to believe here. ngl I've seen this crap over and over again in TL since about 2010, where one good gesture towards the game overshadows every other crap they do. Happened with Sonic, happened with the federation, happening with Soo-gil. It truly isn't that hard of a concept to grasp. Nobody is an angel, that doesn't make them the devil either. Its just business. Four top quality tournaments and a streaming platform for top pros is more than just "one good gesture". I don't presume to speak for the entire community's best interest, but I think a lot of us just want to see BW as an e-sport like it was in the Kespa days. Afreeca has given us a lot in that direction. Activision-Blizzard has not contributed anything to that, and has even actively got in the way. This isn't a symmetrical deal. | ||
JacktheTerr
United States97 Posts
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Devolved
United States2753 Posts
On January 21 2018 08:44 JacktheTerr wrote: ***CALL TO ARMS*** https://us.battle.net/forums/en/starcraft/topic/20760966718 post i made to OPPRESS blizzard we need an army to make a difference. EVERY VOICE MATTERS. Please go post just tell them how you feel and like comments spread the word. the time is now we are the resistance. Never back down! Never Surrender! ***CALL TO ARMS*** I posted in that thread requesting Blizz to help or step aside. I dunno what else I can do. I just really wanna see some pro Korean BW tourneys. Flash for life. | ||
Neverendar
8 Posts
Blizz could throw a lot of money at it, but I can't see a lot of incentive for them to do from a purely business side. I wouldn't be surprised if SC2 isn't in the same boat in 2-5 years. The e-sports market has become way more competitive, and blizz really screwed up by trying to advance SC2 back in 2012 at the expense of the organic BW community in Korea. But at this point it just all feels like damage done by now ![]() | ||
StarscreamG1
Portugal1652 Posts
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Devolved
United States2753 Posts
On January 21 2018 09:13 Neverendar wrote: I love BW and miss ASL as much as the next fanboy, but a lot of the 'fuck blizzz fufufufu' posts really miss the point. Unless, I misunderstood the original post (not sure how Korean/ENG translations work) he's not blaming Blizzard for the decline of ASL, but saying that there is very little support for BW from sponsors and begging Blizz for help. Blizz could throw a lot of money at it, but I can't see a lot of incentive for them to do from a purely business side. I wouldn't be surprised if SC2 isn't in the same boat in 2-5 years. The e-sports market has become way more competitive, and blizz really screwed up by trying to advance SC2 back in 2012 at the expense of the organic BW community in Korea. But at this point it just all feels like damage done by now ![]() To me it reads like Blizzard is impeding the opening of the next ASL by requesting fees. Afreeca is then saying that the ASL makes no profit to begin with so paying a fee to run an unlucrative tourney is impossible and they want Blizzard to waive the fees and allow them to continue on their own. I know, that's a lot of reading into, and I don't know if I'm right or not. | ||
Devolved
United States2753 Posts
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