On September 13 2013 21:03 digmouse wrote: This is not news... And it is by no means Comm "announcing retirement", he is just implying that if he can't get any results he might consider retiring. The title is a bit misleading.
Today, on Weibo, comm posted a 7,000 word document containing his career review, citing uinfair treatment and his plans to retire this year. It is a very long document and I'm looking at throwing the better half of a day away to translate this.
Some of you may more particularly remember Comm as the Chinese SC2 pro who was disqualified from the initial WCS 2013 NA Premier League Season 1 qualifier tournament hosted by MLG.
Interview with Comm regarding his disqualification from WCS NA 2013 Season 1: + Show Spoiler +
First, I'm very happy that in my pro gaming career to meet so many people, I have this to say to the oldest of my friends:
XiGua: Bro, you played a big factor in me being a pro gamer, you were a great brother to me, for the sake of people, and you were very funny, sometimes you were a little nitpicky, but you were always great. My sister in law [he is talking about XiGua's Wife] is really beautiful!
MacSed: It was an ideal run with you, hahaha, hard working, very good to your friends, very committed to your dreams, this is the model "economically appliable man".
gomax: I met you the earliest, you were always cautious with your thoughts, and you were a very good contact, an instructor to the young who took them from ignorance, funny to people, to friends there is simply nothing else to say. It's a pitty I'm not gay [here comm is joking].
xiaot: I think you were the most qualified pro team manager, in every way you did good, there is no way to make up for your physical flaws, for the people who you performed work with there is nothing to say. Even though at the time I was very arduous, nobody complained, to the people you were good, you put yourself int he shoes of others, just too self-loving, hahaha.
Edison: The old fashioned SC manager, well qualified. And as a friend there is just no way to saay it, besides in the way of being a little too fat, you've scored full marks from me.
F91: Back in Brood War, you were the most loved competitor, old master, people thought you were funny, and Baidu knowledge [Chinese equivalent of wikipedia], virtously and by nature we can all commonly refer to you as a natural comedian.
Sweet, and thanks! I might record and post me reading it aloud if it's good stuff. Sorry to hear this, though. I just saw him destroy maru in a pretty sweet game one or two nights ago.
This is not news... And it is by no means Comm "announcing retirement", he is just implying that if he can't get any results he might consider retiring. The title is a bit misleading.
For those who says SC2 is dying, basically he has a paragraph that mentions his though: no one plays SC2 in net cafe almost no big tournament since hots release in march he has been a pro for 3 years and all these things just make him feel depressed and loss of motivation to practise tonnes of hours everyday. He used the example of KR ladder needing a lot more time to search for opponent to make the point that the pro scene in KR is decreasing too (and loss of passion from KR pros)
the loss of audiance part echos Flash and JD interview from before as well, PL doesn't feel as exciting to play in because of a small crowd etc
and thanks for translation, this will take a longggggg time lol I will tell you if you made any mistakes anywhere
I really hope Comm moves to iG and gets to travel to Krefeld together with the rest of the team to win it all. That should give them all some motivation, eh? =)
On September 13 2013 22:07 ETisME wrote: For those who says SC2 is dying, basically he has a paragraph that mentions his though: no one plays SC2 in net cafe
The same can be said about SC2 in Korea.
You would have to make the game free to play for it to really succeed in China.
On September 13 2013 22:07 ETisME wrote: For those who says SC2 is dying, basically he has a paragraph that mentions his though: no one plays SC2 in net cafe
The same can be said about SC2 in Korea.
You would have to make the game free to play for it to really succeed in China.
Then there would be no game, sadly. You can't just flip a switch and turn a game free to play, since you need to sell other stuff(skins and so on). Sadly, when SC2 was released, Free to play had not hit the stride that it has in the last 3 years and wasn't even a viable business model for games during the time when SC2 was being developed.
I feel like I am no longer a champion quality player. I am not 21 any more, I am 24 now. Looking at all the friends around me each earning ¥ xx0,000 each year, I am becoming distracted and started to think a lot more. I can no longer concentrate on SC2, after all I have to make a living and I have to do something more serious. As a progamer, I am putting a lot of pressure on my family too, whenever people ask my mum what I do, she feel so helpless. After all in the eyes of the general public, progamer is not a real career. But I want to say that before I retire I will do my best to show some good games. These days I no longer want to compare the state of a SC2 progamer to the likes of LOL and Dota players, because there is nothing to compare. I might retire after the new year, but as long as I am still playing I will do my best for the people who are still supporting me. Win or lose, I am still that person that loves Starcraft.
On September 13 2013 22:55 forumtext wrote: The last paragraph is quite bleak.
I feel like I am no longer a champion quality player. I am not 21 any more, I am 24 now. Looking at all the friends around me each earning ¥ xx0,000 each year, I am becoming distracted and started to think a lot more. I can no longer concentrate on SC2, after all I have to make a living and I have to do something more serious. As a progamer, I am putting a lot of pressure on my family too, whenever people ask my mum what I do, she feel so helpless. After all in the eyes of the general public, progamer is not a real career. But I want to say that before I retire I will do my best to show some good games. These days I no longer want to compare the state of a SC2 progamer to the likes of LOL and Dota players, because there is nothing to compare. I might retire after the new year, but as long as I am still playing I will do my best for the people who are still supporting me. Win or lose, I am still that person that loves Starcraft.
I think it is one of the most honest parts and I am really glad that he took the time to vocalize it. Being a programmer can be a “young man’s game” and it becomes really hard when everyone your age is leaving college, getting jobs and starting to make a lot more money than out. The long term prospects for a progamer outside of Korea are pretty bleak and there is only so many years that people can devote to one game before they need to find another way to make a living. It is the harsh reality of being a pro-gamer, is that you can’t do it forever. Even the guys playing in LCS for riot or Dota 2 can’t just play for their entire lives. Its why we see people like DJ Wheat and others getting involved with different aspects of the process.
Sad to see Comm so down, but at least he is honest with himself. Hope that he finds something that makes him happy and pays the bills.
Comm is one of my favorite Chinese players. It sucks that he is considering retiring but I respect his decision. In this day and age Starcraft doesn't pay well for most players. I wish him luck in his adventures.
On September 13 2013 22:55 forumtext wrote: The last paragraph is quite bleak.
I feel like I am no longer a champion quality player. I am not 21 any more, I am 24 now. Looking at all the friends around me each earning ¥ xx0,000 each year, I am becoming distracted and started to think a lot more. I can no longer concentrate on SC2, after all I have to make a living and I have to do something more serious. As a progamer, I am putting a lot of pressure on my family too, whenever people ask my mum what I do, she feel so helpless. After all in the eyes of the general public, progamer is not a real career. But I want to say that before I retire I will do my best to show some good games. These days I no longer want to compare the state of a SC2 progamer to the likes of LOL and Dota players, because there is nothing to compare. I might retire after the new year, but as long as I am still playing I will do my best for the people who are still supporting me. Win or lose, I am still that person that loves Starcraft.
I think it is one of the most honest parts and I am really glad that he took the time to vocalize it. Being a programmer can be a “young man’s game” and it becomes really hard when everyone your age is leaving college, getting jobs and starting to make a lot more money than out. The long term prospects for a progamer outside of Korea are pretty bleak and there is only so many years that people can devote to one game before they need to find another way to make a living. It is the harsh reality of being a pro-gamer, is that you can’t do it forever. Even the guys playing in LCS for riot or Dota 2 can’t just play for their entire lives. Its why we see people like DJ Wheat and others getting involved with different aspects of the process.
Sad to see Comm so down, but at least he is honest with himself. Hope that he finds something that makes him happy and pays the bills.
It's the same everywhere in almost every aspect except this: Comm's mother is partly ashamed because she doesn't know how to tell her friends what her son does. She doesn't know how to explain it. There are top tier players in China like Jim, Macsed, XiGua and the rest of the iG team with their recent roflstomping on team empire in the ATC that can hold their heads high and say "I make ￥15,000 RMB (roughly 2,500 USD) each month to compete in computer games." but they wouldn't dare directly say this aloud to anyone they ran across in their hometowns. Maybe they could say this to some young chaps like me and you at an internet cafe in China and we would immediately worship him, but the mainstream populous thinks that PC games are a waste of time and counterproductive. Jim's parents initially against him going pro, but then after he started pulling in paychecks, they didn't question his decision anymore.
I'm telling you guys right now, there is no way I could tell someone directly in China, "I am an eSports caster. I make money from commentating on video games." and make them understand. Instead, I just tell them, "I make commercial revenue money on the side from running a website." That's in reference to my twitch channel.
In Korea, BarbiePrime's parents disapproved of her going pro in the beginning, but then she became a personality in Korea, not just a pro gamer, and her parents were showing her off to their neighbors and friends like she was a superstar.
On September 13 2013 21:03 digmouse wrote: This is not news... And it is by no means Comm "announcing retirement", he is just implying that if he can't get any results he might consider retiring. The title is a bit misleading.
Would this make more sense if I changed the title of the thread to Comm considering retirement then like you said? Just want to make sure
EPT
edit: sorry, nothing more to say. the smiley says it all...
