EPTOn March 21 2013 14:30 Letmelose wrote:
KeSPA created in order to guide the success of e-Sports? That's complete bullshit. They did NOTHING until 2005. I want you to take a close look at what they did to "guide" e-Sports until 2005, no speculations, actual research so you don't talk out of your ass like that. The KeSPA you know of now was created when it was eventually taken over by corporations that made the "birth of KeSPA version 2" possible in 2005, and the power struggles, actual active participation by the corportations/goverments (same shit, guys with money and power) only took place after the meteoric rise of the e-Sports scene. This is a fact. They will gladly pull the plug on it the moment it doesn't have the "magical pull" e-Sports has on the youth of Korea.
KeSPA created in order to guide the success of e-Sports? That's complete bullshit. They did NOTHING until 2005. I want you to take a close look at what they did to "guide" e-Sports until 2005, no speculations, actual research so you don't talk out of your ass like that. The KeSPA you know of now was created when it was eventually taken over by corporations that made the "birth of KeSPA version 2" possible in 2005, and the power struggles, actual active participation by the corportations/goverments (same shit, guys with money and power) only took place after the meteoric rise of the e-Sports scene. This is a fact. They will gladly pull the plug on it the moment it doesn't have the "magical pull" e-Sports has on the youth of Korea.
When I talk about Kespa, I'm not just talking about the decision making body of the latter day board, but the system of Kespa sponsors and organizations that drove Korean eSports from the very beginning. Ongamenet began broadcasting StarCraft on TV all the way back in 2000. Starcraft was released in 1998 in America. It climbed in popularity in Korea around 1999. The time between StarCraft's meteoric rise and cable TV broadcasting was a mere year, and all of this went hand in hand with a government initiative to promote digital gaming, as T. L. Taylor covers in Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming.
The cultural phenomonon hat was Starcraft, and the circumstances you have described are more or less correct. However, this notion in your head that everything was made possible by money is just you twisting facts to suit your argument. The casters you see today on OGN would be the first to tell you they did not start riding on the money of the big corporations. The gamers before the advent of major corporate take-over formed houses, gathered together in order to play the best Starcraft possible did so despite having no money. The following that made the corporations take interest in the scene was made possible due to the circumstances, that's true, but they were NOT there from the start.
Never argued that there weren't passionate players at the start. There have always been passionate players. In NA it is no different. When players such as NonY and IdrA, for example, came into their own, the NA scene of pro StarCraft was effectively dead. There were no tournaments and no money except for the fan ran TSL. Yet these players maintained their passion and traveled all the way to Korea to train and compete. I don't think there's a lack of passion among NA pro gamers.
How mainstream do you think gaming is in Korea? How do you explain the laws that prevents kids below the age of 18 from playing games after 10 o'clock. Exactly how embracing of this culture are the people in power? There's never stopping constant media coverage over the threats of gaming on younger kids. Can you imagine CNN (or whatever's the prime time news coverage show over there) news stating how gaming makes kids violent, and in order to prove that SHUTS DOWN THE ELECTRICITY of an entire building (That houses a PC cafe) just to see the natural rage from the customers? You're paying money to play LoL or Starcraft on the ladder and the entire goddamned building shuts down. Of course you are going to curse, but news anchors then states something to the effect of "the teenagers playing these online games show tendencies of extreme violence when they are forced to stop playing".
Digital and competitive gaming is very mainstream in Korea. Just because a few old men in the government decided that they wanted to implement laws to restrict it does not make it niche. Rather, it is precisely such regulations that show the extent to which Korean society has embraced digital gaming - governments only regulate what they see as being excessive. Further, you are ignoring the fine print of the laws. They mandate companies to shut down online gaming services to kids after curfew; they do not, however, mandate that pro gamers cease training 10-12 hours a day, which continues to occur unimpeded.
What you are trying to say, I believe, is that the same generation of gamers in North America has failed to overcome to negative light gaming has been perceived by the more established, elder generations in control of the media, corporations and government. That's true in Korea too, but to a lesser degree due to the different circumstances you've mentioned. Gaming is NEVER going to be accepted by the established society until it reaches a certain breaking point where it becomes simply too huge to ignore. That's what's happening in North America. The gamers are being ignored.
I can tell you this much. I believe the gamers of Korea are on average much more passionate and dedicated than their North American counterparts. This is due to the various circumstances. This WILL create better gamers, better content, better casters and better analysts, if we take out the outliers that will obviously come along. The support that comes will only take place if you grow too big, and even then people will not respect you at all. It takes time. It takes luck. But NOTHING WILL HAPPEN unless you pour your heart out over it. That means every single one of you, especially more so if the average teen in North America is not going to take gaming seriously, nevermind the parents, teachers and people in mainstream media who obviously won't. If we're not making a difference, the established society will NEVER help you.
I do not disagree that the only people who are in a position to change societal views are eSports fans and workers. I concur that nothing's going to change without NA players and fans working their arses off for that change, and that the success of Korean eSports has to credit the passion and effort of its fans and workers. But that's never been my thesis.
My thesis is that the circumstances do not currently exist for NA pros to compete with Koreans. As TheYango said, talent in NA is lacking, and so is infrastructure and incentive. In short, it's not just a matter of failing to want it. You were talking earlier about how NA teams have all the infrastructure and resources they need. I'm telling you that's not the case. Yes, NA is rich and developed, but NA eSports is not. Even provided we have the conditions for a 'meteoric rise,' Korea has got 10+ years of a head start in that direction. It's not going to happen over night.
