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Automated Tournaments and the Monetization of Bnet - Page 12

Forum Index > SC2 General
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crms
Profile Joined February 2010
United States11933 Posts
June 18 2010 17:04 GMT
#221
I'm all for it but remove the division requirements.

shouldn't be able to sandbag even once. buy in tournies open to everyone, if you suck, well you'll lose your money (just like in poker.)

I just hope this wouldn't take away fun freeroll tournies if you will, similar to the war3 ones. Those were really fun.
http://i.imgur.com/fAUOr2c.png | Fighting games are great
MorroW
Profile Joined August 2008
Sweden3522 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-06-18 17:05:31
June 18 2010 17:05 GMT
#222
i dont see how buying tournaments wouldnt work in theory, i think its an awesome idea but need age requirements to play
Progamerpls no copy pasterino
50bani
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Romania480 Posts
June 18 2010 17:05 GMT
#223
I apologize for not reading the whole thread, it is too long now I just came in too late

Sounds like poolsharks. So, in other words been there done that.

This is not gambling. May be related to sports betting though I am not sure if the law would assimilate it to that.

Is it worth it? The money games would only be available to 18+ year old players while most players will be under that, so the "traffic" will be low anyway. If Blizzard wants to get more money they can make the game subscription based like WOW, getting minute amounts of rake from a few bet games would not generate much income and implementing this might be a bit of an effort.
I'm posting on twoplustwo because I have always been amazed at the level of talent that populates this site --- it's almost unparalleled on the Internet.
Full
Profile Joined April 2010
United Kingdom253 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-06-18 17:06:51
June 18 2010 17:06 GMT
#224
On June 18 2010 23:53 Imperfex wrote:
Full, you have to be kidding.

Have you even Google'd "poker bot"? Go ahead, I'll wait.

Done? Good.

I'm not entertaining the thought that Blizzard will implement this for even ONE SECOND (legal headaches = huge nightmare), but it would be awesome, all the same.


Heh, i've googled them and seen them in action.

Have you actually played poker though? You don't find profitable bots above 10nl, 25nl if you're lucky.

Any poker bot you find on google simply doesn't work against anyone with a clue about how to play poker. And the ones which work on the super micro stakes (micro isnt a good thing in poker) cost way more than they are actually worth. You can probably run them on 10 tables for 24 hours a day making 0BB or 1BB/100 and profiting only from rakeback and by the time you make your money back you'll have spent a fortune in electricity or have been banned. Most probably the latter.


Find me a poker bot that costs less than 2k$ that actually works above 10nl and ill post you a packet of cookies
Escape
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada306 Posts
June 18 2010 17:22 GMT
#225
I like the idea of automated tournaments or small ones, however, monetizing it would be a challenge.

Maybe using game currency instead of real money would work. Tournaments in different league would award different coins. ie. Gold leagues tourney for gold coins, silver league for silver coins, etc. And there's a exchange rate set between the coins. 1 gold = 5 silver maybe.
Blizzard can make money from selling coins, like they do in WOW now. and joining tourneys require entry fees in coins. and coins can be used for blizzards gifts and stuff.

just my $0.02.

jtgizmo
Profile Joined April 2010
Congo161 Posts
June 18 2010 17:22 GMT
#226
On June 18 2010 09:02 FrozenArbiter wrote:
Show nested quote +
On June 18 2010 09:00 Teddyman wrote:
Biggest obstacle to this: having to take into account the gambling laws of every country and regulate entrance. They would also need a system to pay out winnings. I think MTG Online only gives products and new tournament tickets out as prizes so it works out easier for them.

I'm curious how the poker world handles this - is there seen to be a difference between contests where chance is involved and ones where it isn't?

I know Canada (I think it's Canada anyway) can't participate in certain WoW tournaments, but I also know Canadians play poker just fine (tonnes of succesful canadian online poker pros).



Furthermore you would have to be 18 years old at least maybe 21 at some places, so that would cut out a lot of potential players.
jtgizmo
Profile Joined April 2010
Congo161 Posts
June 18 2010 17:29 GMT
#227
and in general i would be against such idea introduction into sc2
ChimpyNuts
Profile Joined April 2010
United Kingdom50 Posts
June 18 2010 17:39 GMT
#228
I mean what $1 is like 50 p here in Britain, which would buy me NOTHING, perhaps a mars bar if I am lucky, and thats a huge incentive, I couldnt really care about such a little sum of money, and it would make me want to get better at SC2, I find endless laddering dull and unappealing, whilst something like a pay to play tournament would be exciting, sure I wouldnt have much chance, but would give me something to practise for and really up my game.

I seriously hope Blizzard considers your idea, because I feel it is top notch and can make the game even more 'competitive' , and would really cement its place as the leading e-sports title.
BillyMole
Profile Joined March 2010
United States118 Posts
June 18 2010 17:40 GMT
#229
Why does everyone keep saying this shouldn't take the place of free tournaments? Seriously, there are not going to be any free automated tournaments in SC2, period. Yes, they were there in WC3 eight years ago. They will absolutely not be there with the new blizzard. They are unwilling to put in the effort to give us private, self-moderated chat rooms, what makes you think they're going to waste programmer time on something that brings them no return whatsoever?

The only way they are going to happen would be something like FA just suggested. Frankly, I think that it's a brilliant idea, and would love to see it implemented. However, I think the much more likely route they will take is that they will have regular automated tournaments, but you have to "activate" your account as a tournament account for $X. This will allow you to play in the free automated tournaments. Blizz wins because this makes the programmer effort justified, and people feel like they're competing. The tournaments would probably have no prizes though, because they won't want to deal with the task of constructing a payout system, or any potential legal hassle.

The end point is that free tournaments are gone with WC3, they're not going to be coming back. Not with the new Blizzard.
Executioner.zealot
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States60 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-06-18 17:47:23
June 18 2010 17:45 GMT
#230
On June 18 2010 23:02 Puosu wrote:
Show nested quote +
On June 18 2010 23:00 Executioner.zealot wrote:
I prefer pay-to-play. I have always found that the software company listens to the masses more when they are getting a reoccurring monthly check from you. And considering Blizzard has grossly missed many reoccurring complaints or suggestions during beta, it might help motivate them to keep people paying.

WoW?

Yeah obviously a company is going to work more if they get paid more, however monthly pay in an RTS game is a big no-no. They wouldn't be able to compete in a market where they would be the only ones requesting such huge amounts of money.

This kind of feature however would make paying optional and even if you're good it would allow you to profit from the game more easily. It wouldn't interfere with the casual players enjoyment at all.

Yearly or monthly, I dont really care. If I'm going to shell out cash for a game I would rather it be in incriments and get stuf we want in there then in one lump sum and blizzard say "great, got your cash, look for the feedback you gave us being included in 2-5 years when expansion packs come out".

..."oh and thats IF we arent distracted by just the content in the expansion pack"
crms
Profile Joined February 2010
United States11933 Posts
June 18 2010 17:52 GMT
#231
On June 19 2010 02:40 BillyMole wrote:

The end point is that free tournaments are gone with WC3, they're not going to be coming back. Not with the new Blizzard.



correct me if im wrong i haven't played war3 in some time but don't they still run daily/weekly bnet tournies? No prizes iirc but you qualify, you get placed in a bracket etc. etc.
http://i.imgur.com/fAUOr2c.png | Fighting games are great
Backpack
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States1776 Posts
June 18 2010 18:02 GMT
#232
On June 19 2010 02:40 BillyMole wrote:
Why does everyone keep saying this shouldn't take the place of free tournaments? Seriously, there are not going to be any free automated tournaments in SC2, period. Yes, they were there in WC3 eight years ago. They will absolutely not be there with the new blizzard. They are unwilling to put in the effort to give us private, self-moderated chat rooms, what makes you think they're going to waste programmer time on something that brings them no return whatsoever?


You havn't been following the news much lately have you?

We are going to have chat rooms, we are going to have cross-region play and we are going to have identifiers back. Blizzard listens to their fans so quit the whole "new blizzard/activision" conspiracy BS.
"You people need to just generally care a lot less about everything." -Zatic
Barnabas
Profile Joined April 2010
United States74 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-06-18 18:06:14
June 18 2010 18:04 GMT
#233
I think the direction of the topic has covered all the major points. Legality, minors, cheating, PR, and the fact that activision-blizzard isn't going to monetize in this way because of those issues.

I think this has the potential to be a fantastic side application, like a tool used with your starcraft II client kind of like XFIRE where the game launches from the third party app.

For instance lets say you meet up in the apps lobby and find the game/tourny you're playing in hit a "PLAY" button and it launches bnet puts you into a group with your opponent and then you start the game, the application then saves the replay and records victory/loss.

Or perhaps the implementation of separate server similar to an iCCup solution.

The only problem i see with this idea again goes back to the blizzard TOS which prevents you from making anything without blizzard approval and they wouldn't be able too approve for similar reasons why they couldn't do it themselves.

Honestly the gambler/scII player in me wants this idea to become a reality but I don't see a way of doing it legally and above board. And frankly with such big companies involved I don't see it surviving illegally either.

And yes online poker is illegal in my state as well. (Illinois) And it is federally illegal to transfer bank funds for the purpose as previously stated.
I'm Barnabas. You haven't heard of me. Gosu Camp Attendee.
Hsanrb
Profile Joined May 2010
United States46 Posts
June 18 2010 18:07 GMT
#234
I'm all for automated tournaments, but my personal opinion is this...

1) If there is cash at stake, you must play over lan, or at an internet cafe where there is more certainty over what is going on. HOWEVER, if there is no buy-in then over the internet is fine aka CraftCup. I don't want to trust a third party with my billing information when I could go do a local tournament, pay cash up front, and guarantee my money is actually going to be correctly deducted. Lots of MMO's have destroyed reputation over one bad billing cycle with thousands of errors.

2) Tournaments don't have to be for cash, why don't you just pull a "lets do a gold only tournament over the weekend, make qualifiers on Saturday where you play matches against those who enter. Top256/512 or so make the playoffs on Sunday, winner/top2/4/8/16 pending on # of entrants get thrown to the front of the promotion bandwagon for Platinum. I could see tournaments for people moving up divisions, and if Blizzard is going ahead with the "pro league" I could see automated tournaments being not only achievement worthy but also a way to make top player prove they deserve to be in this league as opposed to just being a 80% win rate Diamond player. No more having to wait for the stupid system to say "you deserve to move up and stop asking you impatient nub!"

3) Automated tournaments also can have the advantage of testing things outside of normal play, like a Diamond only tournament to check for balance, testing maps prior to implementation on the ladder, and maybe race/map only events. Never hurts to have a Random 1v1 tournament on Lost Temple for bragging rights. Could help give a sample size for new maps that AREN'T found via the randomness of custom games and in-house.


I'm not a fan of playing for money over the internet, but automated tournaments is a + for the competitive player looking for a challenge where unlike a ladder you lose a few rating points where you lose twice (double elimination) you are out of the tournament in which more than a # is on the line. Maybe you could even implement a dual ladder system in which tournament play is separated from traditional leagues and you have to be X league to be eligible.
e4e5nf3
Profile Blog Joined October 2007
Canada599 Posts
June 18 2010 18:10 GMT
#235
Even though I would lose the majority of the tourney's I'm all for this idea. Would suck if hackers ruined things though.
King takes Queen
Fumble
Profile Joined May 2010
156 Posts
June 18 2010 18:11 GMT
#236
This would never happen but I like the idea regardless. I dont think tournaments should be separated by skill level though. It should be just like poker where anyone can join any tournament. Naturally, better players would join games involving higher stakes for more money and lower leveled players would join games involving lower stakes.

You mentioned how someone would be forced up in divisions if a better player played on a friend's copper account. However what if someone played in high stakes copper games and when they moved up to diamond, simply played low stake games and purposely lose until they went back down to copper?
gerundium
Profile Joined June 2010
Netherlands786 Posts
June 18 2010 18:20 GMT
#237
This is impossible. Gambling act in the Netherlands for example would disallow this deeming it gambling (they deny skill elements in gambling despite overwhelming evidence, so the monopoly position the government has on gambling is maintained) this would cut into revenue severely negating any profits Blizzard makes off it long-term.
BillyMole
Profile Joined March 2010
United States118 Posts
June 18 2010 18:26 GMT
#238
On June 19 2010 03:02 Backpack wrote:
Show nested quote +
On June 19 2010 02:40 BillyMole wrote:
Why does everyone keep saying this shouldn't take the place of free tournaments? Seriously, there are not going to be any free automated tournaments in SC2, period. Yes, they were there in WC3 eight years ago. They will absolutely not be there with the new blizzard. They are unwilling to put in the effort to give us private, self-moderated chat rooms, what makes you think they're going to waste programmer time on something that brings them no return whatsoever?


You havn't been following the news much lately have you?

We are going to have chat rooms, we are going to have cross-region play and we are going to have identifiers back. Blizzard listens to their fans so quit the whole "new blizzard/activision" conspiracy BS.


No they don't, the most recent posts have only been reiterations of the same empty promises they've been feeding us for months.

Chat channels : Will be "a few months after release," for something that would take an intern a day to code. We all know from WC3 that "after release" can mean never. There is not one single good reason for delaying for months something that is trivially easy to do.

Cross region play is "in our plans." Read : years, if ever.

I will grant you that the identifiers coming back is a good thing, yes. For the others, this is not conspiracy theory, this is simple trending. How long exactly should we swallow the same promises before we accept that they are never going to follow through?

Regardless, all of these are off topic. My point was that the free automated WC3 tournament system will not be there in SC2. Everything Blizzard has done to date with SC2 makes perfect sense if you look at it from a solely profit-driven perspective. Implementing free tournaments would not make sense from that perspective, as it's basically wasted programmer effort. Therefore, it will not happen. The only way it will happen will be with either a variant of what FA is proposing here, or more likely, a paid-activation of account to allow tournament play. Either way, it's not free.

And in answer to your next question, no, chat rooms and cross-region play don't make sense either from a profit-driven perspective. Which is why they're trying to soothe the massive complaining with the same PR promises they've been giving us for months. They could just as easily take a day of intern time and give us private self-moderated chat rooms, you know. Empty promises are cheaper.

Kletus
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Canada580 Posts
June 18 2010 18:33 GMT
#239
I remember counter-strike:source used to have this "buy-in" thing for matches and if your team would win then you would make a profit; it worked out pretty well.
Your resistance only serves to make my carapace harder.
Lysis
Profile Joined October 2009
United States147 Posts
June 18 2010 18:39 GMT
#240
It's not so much "gambling" in the traditional sense of the word, but it's just a tournament that happens to have a monetary prize sponsored by a buy-in. In real-life MTG, there's a weekly tournament run by many card shops called Friday Night Magic. Where I used to play, it was a 7 USD buy-in and the prize was that week's special holofoil, alternate-art card. The card itself is worthless monetarily, but it has market value sometimes. Perhaps the tournaments could be run similarly to that, no real monetary prize, but like, say an exclusive Avatar that was deigned just for that week or something. Gives a little more prestige to winning one.
SC2: Tavyr#340 -- Razer Mamba user -- Don't trust anyone who says Terran is imba.
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