On April 02 2009 23:18 Jibba wrote:
I think the recession will definitely trickle down into competitive gaming. Consumers are still willing to buy games and I expect SC2 to sell extremely well, but tournament entry fees don't account for most of the prize winnings at tournaments - that comes from sponsors, and that's where salaries come from (not winnings.) Intel has gotten killed since August, Nvidia since June and AMD/ATI has done better, but they're still down like everyone else.
That's funny to read.
At almost every North American fighting game tournament worth mentioning, the prize money consists solely of the entry fees (usually $5 to $10 per person). The venue is also paid for by the players via an additional venue fee (usually $10), with any extra money going towards the prizes.
Obviously you can't make a living off of it, but that doesn't mean it's not competitive gaming. Players will travel across state lines and even across the continent to enter these tournaments. You can't tell me these people aren't hardcore competitive gamers.
Why do these fighting game players travel to tournaments that don't have any sponsorship? Well, for one thing, most of these players (excluding Smash Bros.) are adults: they either have jobs, or are in college studying towards one. They aren't trying to play games for a living. Another reason is that most of these players go to meet their friends: fellow players living in different states, whom they see only a couple of times per year.
From this perspective, the idea that tournaments need to be sponsored is ridiculous. It's actually quite sad that people think the sole reason to travel to a tournament is to win big money.
EPT
