Well of course this is Blizzards game so they do have the right to ask for fees and that nature for broadcasting progames in korea. HOWEVER, KeSPA has done a good deal (I wouldn't say a ton because not everyone knows about korean esports and starcraft is still pretty damn popular) to give starcraft the recognition it deserves. So that being said I obviously expect Blizzard to keep these terms in effect but what kind of deal are we talking about between KeSPA and Blizzard? Who has the upper hand in this scenario? I guess we will find out when Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty hits shelves in the summertime wont we :p

Very interesting topic by the way.

Chairman Ray

United States11903 Posts

February 18 2010 06:21 GMT

#22

If Blizzard is imposing fees so that they can have their own tournaments become more successful, it's not going to work. The only prestige in entering a world tournament is that the winner can be crowned as the best Starcraft player in the world. Without the cooperation with the Korean scene, winning a world tournament only means that you can beat Idra, woop tee doo.

wishbones

Canada2600 Posts

February 18 2010 06:23 GMT

#23

fuck yeah make money, where in the world do you see anything that isnt paid for on tv?

daemos

United States8 Posts

February 18 2010 06:42 GMT

#24

- SC2 will be connecting through battle.net so they are using a blizzard service while casting (not LAN) Whether 3rd party servers pop up will remain to be seen.

- The interviews on G4TV talked a little bit about Blizzard's support for eSports and wanting to make that a big part of the SC2 experience. If Blizzard is supporting these broadcasts (in the form of prizes, achievements, etc) they should be entitled to a piece of the cake, don't you think?

zerglingsfolife

United States1694 Posts

February 18 2010 06:42 GMT

#25

Does anyone have any clue of the reception Beta is getting in Korea at the moment? Are people talking about it? Do any of them have keys? etc.

HeartOfTofu

United States308 Posts

February 21 2010 17:13 GMT

#26

It amuses me that Blizzard talks about supporting eSports and then goes on to try to squelch one of the only established eSports platforms with professional broadcasting capabilities in the world. It seems to me they only care about eSports so much as they can monopolize the profits as all of their decisions in regard to it seem to reflect.

Kennigit

Canada19447 Posts

February 21 2010 17:17 GMT

#27

This has nothing to do with greed lol. It's a company. Companies need to make money. Companies can invest in 5 year long development cycles by having a steady revenue stream (WoW?). Of course KESPA should be paying up - they make MILLIONS per year in profit.

They aren't trying to squelch shit - Valve charges people to broadcast Source. The NFL charges CBS to broadcast matches.

I wish people would stop jumping to these ridiculous conclusions when they have no idea whats even going on.

Senx

Sweden5901 Posts

February 21 2010 17:25 GMT

#28

So let me get this right, Kespa either pays up to Blizzard to broadcast SC2 or they simply don't pick up SC2, beacuse Blizzard would simply ban their IPs if they'd broadcast without paying, since everything is on battle.net now?

I really don't see kespa picking up SC2. Imean they can either stay with a videogame that is almost considered their national sport and is hugely popular - without paying -- or switch to a game that is most likely to be inferior to SC1 in every aspect but then having to pay Blizzard to broadcast it.

Viewing it from kespas perspective, this seems like a no-brainer? Why change a winning concept?

Kennigit

Canada19447 Posts

February 21 2010 17:30 GMT

#29

They negotiate a broadcasting license. Obviously i have no idea on the specifics - but it's probably like "Kespa pays X$ per year to broadcast SC2" or "Each league pays X$ per league to broadcast for this year". It's not a case of banning IPs as much as receiving litigation papers.

TeWy

France714 Posts

February 21 2010 17:31 GMT

#30

I think that it would be much more interisting to have a rational discussion about the South Korean's laws in terms of copyright, I read that that there were some differences with the Western model.
(nb it is obvious that both companies are trying to maximize their profit).

oob

Sweden630 Posts

February 21 2010 17:31 GMT

#31

I think Blizzard have been very nice in not charging for BW so this isn't greedy at all imo.

torm3ntin

Brazil2534 Posts

February 21 2010 17:34 GMT

#32

thank god the majority agrees with me. Blizzard will not make any money from monthly fees from players. their expenses is pretty big from servers daily maintained. making a profit from kespa is not a big deal since they are the ones responsible for the game. and it will be the only way they will be able to keep this game alive.

HeartOfTofu

United States308 Posts

February 21 2010 17:35 GMT

#33

On February 22 2010 02:17 Kennigit wrote:
This has nothing to do with greed lol. It's a company. Companies need to make money. Companies can invest in 5 year long development cycles by having a steady revenue stream (WoW?). Of course KESPA should be paying up - they make MILLIONS per year in profit.

They aren't trying to squelch shit - Valve charges people to broadcast Source. The NFL charges CBS to broadcast matches.

I wish people would stop jumping to these ridiculous conclusions when they have no idea whats even going on.

Blizzard does make money. They do it through their sales.

The NFL in this case would be KeSPA. Blizzard would be more like the person or entity that first invented American Football. That's really a horrible analogy...

I don't see the conclusion as "ridiculous" at all. You pretty much confirmed the conclusion by admitting that it's about money. What is "greed" about if not about money?

Windblade

United States161 Posts

February 21 2010 17:36 GMT

#34

in REAL sports, all those NFL, NHL, NBA, etc. games. NBC/CBS/FOX/ABC they all PAY the agency to broadcast the match.

Blizz wants the same thing, they spent years making this game and it's unfair that another organization just make complete profit off of THEIR work.

Its like you make an app for iphone/ipod but apple makes all the money. This isnt true, the developer gets a large portion of each transaction with Apple getting a smart percent because its their main product. SC2 is Blizzard's product, they dont want all the profit they expect a fee because another company is using their product to make a profit. People keep overestimating Korea too...they aren't the lifeforce of SC2, if you notice WoW - it brings in 1.2 billion in profits a year(which makes it possible to keep their work force and keep making products like SC2, D3, WoW, new mmo, and even the 2 SC2 expansions)...kespa has nothing to do with that. Blizzard has their own leagues and other people who make pvp leagues and whatnot off of it do give blizz a royalty fee. Does Kespa have a part in this? No, in the end - KESPA needs blizzard. Blizzard doesnt NEED Kespa they can do w/e the hell they want and still make it a success

This really isn't even an argument, either Kespa pays or they dont get SC2.

zee

201 Posts

February 21 2010 17:38 GMT

#35

Whats stopping blizzard from not demanding royalties for sc1? I know they were just being nice in the beginning and didnt require it, but does that mean they cant change their minds?

Spawkuring

United States755 Posts

February 21 2010 17:38 GMT

#36

On February 22 2010 02:35 HeartOfTofu wrote:

Show nested quote +

Greed isn't automatically about making money. Greed is when the desire to make money is taken to a ridiculous extent, often at a huge detriment of the product. Blizzard randomly putting a monthly fee of $40 into SC2 for no reason would be an example of greed. Charging money for a product you spent millions making is not greed, however. Game companies DO need to make money you know.

leonardus

59 Posts

February 21 2010 17:40 GMT

#37

SC2 is still in trial, and at this moment is not good for broadcasting so we have a long way till then. Stay cool and relax, SC2 it is a failure now and KESPA is smiling.

Kennigit

Canada19447 Posts

February 21 2010 17:40 GMT

#38

....Blizzard OWNS the Starcraft Brand. NFL OWNS the NFL Brand. Kespa has shit all to do with it, except that they want to broadcast Starcraft 2 and up till now have milked a monster cash cow that is Broodwar.

I'm not arguing business accruement with you lol.

Windblade

United States161 Posts

February 21 2010 17:41 GMT

#39

Blizzard tried getting royalties but the Korean law is jacked up and Blizzard didnt have the right protections over SC1.

See in the US, using someone else's work to make a profit without giving them a cut and/or permission is ILLEGAL.

searcher

277 Posts

February 21 2010 17:41 GMT

#40

You say that Kespa is giving free publicity to Blizzard, but one thing to consider is that Kespa could damage the brand (and e-sports as a whole) with uncompetitive practices like what they did to the GOM tournament last year. I think it would be in Blizzard's interest to ensure that the e-sports industry is not stifled by inertia of those with a monopoly.