The Winter SC2 Arena in NYC is just weeks away! From February 24-26, we'll be bringing you over 20 hours of top-level gameplay from the world's top talent. Who'll be casting all this action? Nobody but the best, of course.
Check out the Premium Arena Viewing Experience demo and buy a PPV pass
Casting the Arena will be none other than Nick Plott (Tasteless), Dan Stemkoski (Artosis), Marcus Graham (DJWheat) and Blizzard's Rob Simpson! These four headliners will be taking turns on the MLG Central stream all weekend long. We'd like to give them all a huge welcome back to the Pro Circuit.
Joining Nick, Dan, Marcus and Rob will be our own JP McDaniel and three of our best remote casters: Tumba, Robin and Adebisi. These three got their Pro Circuit start as Community Casters last season, and since then they've seen great–and well deserved–success in the scene. All four will be casting matches on the three Gameplay streams all weekend long.
The streams will be a new and completely improved experience this year: better quality, more interviews, more context, more analysis, and much less downtime. We'll have all 32 players live in the studio, as well as a variety of top names from the StarCraft 2 scene. You never know who we'll be bringing on camera: for analysis, for background, or just for fun. And you can watch it all at the same time, with this amazing thing. It's last year's Quad View, on steroids, with easier to find brackets and schedules, as well as live updates, scores, polls, and alerts.
On February 15 2012 08:19 Annqrx wrote: Really hope MLG fail with this arena event. Sad to say, but MLG is hurting esports
Nice first post - massively untrue. Someone has to monetise esports eventually else its going nowhere. Just because they MAY be charging a little too much in alot of peoples eyes, does not mean what they are doing is "hurting esports".
Not really news since I'm not interested in paying $20 for a PPV pass. There is too much free SC2 content to make $20 worth it. And who wants to ruin a weekend anyway?
Is there any live spectator viewing at the actual venue itself? I haven't heard anything about it from anyone, and I'd rather pay $30 for a subway ride into NYC then $20 for a stream...
I'd be interested to hear why Day[9] isn't going to be there, since I'd imagine his absence will significantly reduce the amount of people willing to pay for this.
On February 15 2012 08:24 Jonas wrote: Is there any live spectator viewing at the actual venue itself? I haven't heard anything about it from anyone, and I'd rather pay $30 for a subway ride into NYC then $20 for a stream...
On February 15 2012 08:24 Jonas wrote: Is there any live spectator viewing at the actual venue itself? I haven't heard anything about it from anyone, and I'd rather pay $30 for a subway ride into NYC then $20 for a stream...
think its studio only - asin no spectators. Press will probably be allowed.
No day9 and robin..... what in the fuck were MLG thinking? The day 9 I can understand, but for the love of god why robin?! Isn't there some other community caster they can fly out and not have to pay an arm and a leg for like the would for day9? I was already on the fence of paying, but now that some great games might be ruined by robins casting (don't get me wrong, seems like a great person, I just can't stand his casting what so ever) I probably won't be shelling out the $20
Does anyone else rather dislike the beta stream casters (robin tumba adebisi etc)? They seem like very nice people but they don't really bring much in the way of either excitement or depth of knowledge, from my listening experience. They seem like starcraft fans that cast games, not starcraft casters.
Anyway, wonder what day9's conflict was? He was surely invited. Rob simpson is ok but his casting focuses on basic aspects of the game and spell casting etc that is better suited to a novice audience, rather than the audience that is going to PPV for this event. We'll see.
On February 15 2012 08:28 Kyles92 wrote: What's this sudden trend with rob simpson? I thought he was pretty bad at IEM sorry to say, just being truthful.
Maybe part of an agreement for the rights to broadcast?
On February 15 2012 08:31 Spooony wrote: Wonder if Day9 refused to cast because of the decision to go PPV.
My respect for him would go through the roof if that was the case.
yes clearly mlg waited till today to book casters
looks like korean dominance at this thing. about 12/16 of the westerns who qualified have 0 chance against the koreans, and even the other 4 are risky bets at that. so this 150k in costs event is basically just turning into a hoop to jump through for what used to be korean gsl exchange invites.
sigh. this is disappointing we get players like minigun and artist and miss out on more great koreans.
i really wish they would give less spots to NA and more to Korea. literally would have been much better to have the top 4 americans and top 12 koreans qualify no ones going to miss Axslav Artist Minigun DDE
Hopefully for the opening game they will provide us with an epic Nani v Idra show match. Lovely list of Koreans, figure just like the majority they will easily roll through this.
Looks good, still not watching though...$20 is too much for one event on an untested product that includes no guarantees (free of lag, vid/audio probs, etc)
Rob Pimpson (I refuse to believe that was a mistake made by MrBitter) did great at Sao Paulo, not surprised to see him here. Am definatly surprised at not seeing Day9 though.
Not that it really matters for me though as I will be watching Assembly anyway.
Tastosis is a good pick Wheat is good at what he does Rob doesn't actually say anything about the game other than is what on screen Everyone else is bad.
I think I'm gonna give it a shot and buy the ppv. At the very least I'll be guaranteed a lagfree "hd" stream as I don't see many people tuning in and hogging the MLG bandwidth.
On February 15 2012 08:47 Shinespark wrote: No K[9], no RotterBitter? And what do we call the Bitter-Rotterdam pair?
Anyway, what's up with the casting?
I am going to guess that BitterDam weren't asked by MLG.
Even if they were I didn't think they would pick this Arena as their first MLG appearance; they just did a gig in Sao Paulo for ESL (their main employer) and they have IEM Hannover the week after. It would not only make them jetlagged as hell for their main event but also possibly overexpose them at this moment.
On February 15 2012 08:31 Spooony wrote: Wonder if Day9 refused to cast because of the decision to go PPV.
My respect for him would go through the roof if that was the case.
Ha! That would be ironic for someone who demands 20k an event. A more likely scenario would be that they couldn't afford him.
I highly doubt day9 demands 20k an event. You are just repeating the number that NonY said on SOTG. I have no doubt he gets paid that, but he is a huge face, its a competing market, he will go with the higher offer, this figure has probably come from events competing with each other. Don't slander people (I'm not a Day9 fanboy, this is just a dick to say) with out having proper information. I'm sure if he was offered 10k with travel and room and board included, and he had nothing else planned than he would, think before you speak.
On February 15 2012 08:49 Plexa wrote: Tastosis is a good pick Wheat is good at what he does Rob doesn't actually say anything about the game other than is what on screen Everyone else is bad.
I'll distance myself from the last line as I don't want to risk a ban for caster bashing. :p
I fully agree with you on Rob Pimpson, he is a very good play by play caster who knows to refrain himself from deep analysis.
On February 15 2012 08:49 Plexa wrote: Tastosis is a good pick Wheat is good at what he does Rob doesn't actually say anything about the game other than is what on screen Everyone else is bad.
whats with all the TL doods coming out of the woodwork to bitch about the casters all of a sudden? i dont care ive just never seen you guys be negative about casters ever before ;o
On February 15 2012 08:21 Rabbet wrote: Not really news since I'm not interested in paying $20 for a PPV pass. There is too much free SC2 content to make $20 worth it. And who wants to ruin a weekend anyway?
What a valuable post. It contributed something meaningful rather than merely attempting to pour cold water on this announcement and rehash arguments from another thread. TL needs more posters like you, champ.
On February 15 2012 08:49 Plexa wrote: Tastosis is a good pick Wheat is good at what he does Rob doesn't actually say anything about the game other than is what on screen Everyone else is bad.
whats with all the TL doods coming out of the woodwork to bitch about the casters all of a sudden? i dont care ive just never seen you guys be negative about casters ever before ;o
1| The event is Assembly and the have not yet revealed that Day9 will be casting. This sounds fairly unlikely to me as they already have 4 casters locked down.
2| The event is IEM Hannover which is the week after and Day9 doesn't want to do two events in a row due to jetlag/overexposure/fatigue. This to me is the most likely explanation considering Day9 has casted for ESL in the past.
3| It is another event that we don't yet know. This just screams amateur hour to me. Besides IEM and Assembly all other tournaments announced their dates after MLG did. If MLG isn't professional enough to lock down their casters soon, then why exactly are they charging us 20 bucks?
On February 15 2012 08:49 Plexa wrote: Tastosis is a good pick Wheat is good at what he does Rob doesn't actually say anything about the game other than is what on screen Everyone else is bad.
whats with all the TL doods coming out of the woodwork to bitch about the casters all of a sudden? i dont care ive just never seen you guys be negative about casters ever before ;o
Wax is always bitter about casters <3 We don't bitch in LR threads, for obvious reasons. And, if MLG is charging $20 they better well have top quality content. If you want to continue this discussion (incl. why these casters are bad) feel free to hit me up via pm.
Looks like a fun event but $20 is just too much for one event. $10 would've been a more fitting price. Gonna have to consider if I wanna spend the money or not.
On February 15 2012 08:49 Plexa wrote: Tastosis is a good pick Wheat is good at what he does Rob doesn't actually say anything about the game other than is what on screen Everyone else is bad.
Even if Rob is pretty bad overall at least he doesn't have an annoying voice like most casters. I'm not sure what it is with starcraft casting and attracting the most nasally of nasally voices.
1| The event is Assembly and the have not yet revealed that Day9 will be casting. This sounds fairly unlikely to me as they already have 4 casters locked down.
2| The event is IEM Hannover which is the week after and Day9 doesn't want to do two events in a row due to jetlag/overexposure/fatigue. This to me is the most likely explanation considering Day9 has casted for ESL in the past.
3| It is another event that we don't yet know. This just screams amateur hour to me. Besides IEM and Assembly all other tournaments announced their dates after MLG did. If MLG isn't professional enough to lock down their casters soon, then why exactly are they charging us 20 bucks?
Seems like #1, Day9 seemed pretty open last year to accepting as many non-conflicting jobs as possible, he was figuratively everywhere in the world, D:
1| The event is Assembly and the have not yet revealed that Day9 will be casting. This sounds fairly unlikely to me as they already have 4 casters locked down.
2| The event is IEM Hannover which is the week after and Day9 doesn't want to do two events in a row due to jetlag/overexposure/fatigue. This to me is the most likely explanation considering Day9 has casted for ESL in the past.
3| It is another event that we don't yet know. This just screams amateur hour to me. Besides IEM and Assembly all other tournaments announced their dates after MLG did. If MLG isn't professional enough to lock down their casters soon, then why exactly are they charging us 20 bucks?
It could be that he is busy with stuff that is not related to SC2.
1| The event is Assembly and the have not yet revealed that Day9 will be casting. This sounds fairly unlikely to me as they already have 4 casters locked down.
2| The event is IEM Hannover which is the week after and Day9 doesn't want to do two events in a row due to jetlag/overexposure/fatigue. This to me is the most likely explanation considering Day9 has casted for ESL in the past.
3| It is another event that we don't yet know. This just screams amateur hour to me. Besides IEM and Assembly all other tournaments announced their dates after MLG did. If MLG isn't professional enough to lock down their casters soon, then why exactly are they charging us 20 bucks?
It could be that he is busy with stuff that is not related to SC2.
If that is the case then why does Sundance state publicly that he was already booked? If it wouldn't have been SC2 related he very likely would have stated something as unavailable, from what I've seen Sundance tends to be quite careful with his wording.
On February 15 2012 09:11 xajukx wrote: No Day9 or LiquidHero? NoOOoooOoOooOooooo....
You can get your Hero fix at Assembly. Best of it all: Assembly is free!
It'd be awesome if MLG PPV was $10 so people would stop whining in every thread about how they cannot or will not pay for it. (Paying the $20 now just for spite)
1| The event is Assembly and the have not yet revealed that Day9 will be casting. This sounds fairly unlikely to me as they already have 4 casters locked down.
2| The event is IEM Hannover which is the week after and Day9 doesn't want to do two events in a row due to jetlag/overexposure/fatigue. This to me is the most likely explanation considering Day9 has casted for ESL in the past.
3| It is another event that we don't yet know. This just screams amateur hour to me. Besides IEM and Assembly all other tournaments announced their dates after MLG did. If MLG isn't professional enough to lock down their casters soon, then why exactly are they charging us 20 bucks?
It could be that he is busy with stuff that is not related to SC2.
If that is the case then why does Sundance state publicly that he was already booked? If it wouldn't have been SC2 related he very likely would have stated something as unavailable, from what I've seen Sundance tends to be quite careful with his wording.
On February 15 2012 09:11 xajukx wrote: No Day9 or LiquidHero? NoOOoooOoOooOooooo....
You can get your Hero fix at Assembly. Best of it all: Assembly is free!
Dunno. But it's just my thinking (though my thinking could be invalid since MLG just announced) is that shouldn't most tournaments have already announced their casters? I'm just saying it is a possibility that it is not SC2 related.
On February 15 2012 08:49 Plexa wrote: Tastosis is a good pick Wheat is good at what he does Rob doesn't actually say anything about the game other than is what on screen Everyone else is bad.
whats with all the TL doods coming out of the woodwork to bitch about the casters all of a sudden? i dont care ive just never seen you guys be negative about casters ever before ;o
Wax is always bitter about casters <3 We don't bitch in LR threads, for obvious reasons. And, if MLG is charging $20 they better well have top quality content. If you want to continue this discussion (incl. why these casters are bad) feel free to hit me up via pm.
i never said i didnt agree :D not gonna waste your time picking your brain on caster qualities, like i said, its not a big deal. its just until now tl staff have never had an opinion. but your right for ppv you expect something better. skype calls and web cams arent gonna cut it, but i guess thats a topic for the other thread.
1| The event is Assembly and the have not yet revealed that Day9 will be casting. This sounds fairly unlikely to me as they already have 4 casters locked down.
2| The event is IEM Hannover which is the week after and Day9 doesn't want to do two events in a row due to jetlag/overexposure/fatigue. This to me is the most likely explanation considering Day9 has casted for ESL in the past.
3| It is another event that we don't yet know. This just screams amateur hour to me. Besides IEM and Assembly all other tournaments announced their dates after MLG did. If MLG isn't professional enough to lock down their casters soon, then why exactly are they charging us 20 bucks?
Seems like #1, Day9 seemed pretty open last year to accepting as many non-conflicting jobs as possible, he was figuratively everywhere in the world, D:
What is this Dr Pepper MLG Ultimate Access stream that is supposed to be free the entire weekend? I thought there were no free streams and I can't find out anything about it
On February 15 2012 09:16 PEEFSMASH wrote: The ONE THING in the back of my mind that mightve forced me to pay the money was some awesome Day9 gameday commentary. Without that? Psh no way.
PEEFSMASH I'm not trying to finger you out by quoting this so don't take it personally(this is directed to the masses),but the one thing I hate is when it comes to these kinds of comments it has to ALWAYS be 100% negative.
I don't think I've read any OMFG THIS IS GONNA BE AMAZING BUYING RIGHT NOW. It's always people complaining about this or that, finding something to latch onto as a pedestal for I'm not buying this. People gotta give a little, if they love eSports.
On February 15 2012 08:28 Kyles92 wrote: What's this sudden trend with rob simpson? I thought he was pretty bad at IEM sorry to say, just being truthful.
Maybe he is blizzard's way of involving more into E-sports...
On February 15 2012 09:20 teamsolid wrote: Maybe Day[9] will be at Assembly?
If this is true then it will mess up MLG viewer count considerably. It is a top notch Lineup don´t get me wrong, but Assembly really is not that much worse to be honest.
lOOOOOOOLLLLLLL too bad I won't be watching this. There is SO much free SC2 that it simply doesn't make sense to do this. Someone wrote earlier that someone has to monetise e-sports. I agree TO AN EXTENT but $20 for 20 hours? My television bill is like $80/month and comes with 900 channels so the sense meter:
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
I like how they announce the player list when the NA qualifier wasn't even broadcast yet. Yeah, I know the results were leaked but it's still kinda funny.
On February 15 2012 10:18 creamer wrote: lOOOOOOOLLLLLLL too bad I won't be watching this. There is SO much free SC2 that it simply doesn't make sense to do this. Someone wrote earlier that someone has to monetise e-sports. I agree TO AN EXTENT but $20 for 20 hours? My television bill is like $80/month and comes with 900 channels so the sense meter:
I actually would like to go and watch it live in NYC. Am I the only one who cant find ANY info on mlg site on where the venue will be and where to buy tickets?
If someone knows - please point me to the right page.
FIX: read on liquipedia that event will have no spectators. Kinda stupid move , seems to me. What's the point of flying a bunch of top notch players from around the world to NYC and not having spectators.
At first I was going to type something along the lines of "omg so much bitching" "look at this lineup and tastosis ect" "imagine the hype and the crowd......."oh wait...
I still support this if they give me stupidly good hype and production quality, because the lineup of players is insane. The stakes really need to be high for the players too, I want to see GSL builds being used, no one holding back ect.
However, without a crowd, stupidly good hype/production will literally have to be stupidly good... I think the crowd and the fact that MLG's are live were pretty much the only thing MLG had going for them in that department. Forgive me if Hank Hill and Random Casters don't do it for me; so please MLG, step up the excitement - I can't rationalize paying for content as a sports purist when plenty of purist content with equally high stakes / production is out there =/
On February 15 2012 11:15 onedayclose wrote: WOW I'm really sure MLG needed to spoil its own qualifier since it was getting TERRIBLE VIEWS! Might as well just boycott the ENTIRE ORGANIZATION!
YES great idea, and who will that help? Nobody.. brilliant!
On February 15 2012 11:12 theBizness wrote: Aren't Day[9] and Husky very expensive to hire as casters (especially for live events)? I'd rather the money go elsewhere.
Don't know how expensive they are even though I would guess it's not cheap to get day9 but I assume husky can be really valuable if he promotes the events on his youtube channel. Having that said I have no idea if he wants to use his channel for promoting big tournaments or ppv events.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
You would be a minority in that case. I'm pretty sure Tastosis is like a 5~10k viewer swing on a free stream, though I don't know what it means in a pay environment :o
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
What other casters would you recommend ?
As far as drawing crowds go, I think Husky or Day[9] would be just as great as Tastosis. I personally love Day[9] with DJWheat, possibly my favorite duo at MLG events.
In terms of my personal favorite casters, I really like Wolf/Khaldor as a pair, I think they complement eachother well. Lone Wolf is great as well. I'm also a huge fan of Orb from the ESV Korean Weekly, as well as (biased here) Katu from the KSL and the EWM.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
You would be a minority in that case. I'm pretty sure Tastosis is like a 5~10k viewer swing on a free stream, though I don't know what it means in a pay environment :o
I agree that I'm in the minority as far as Tastosis goes.
Don't get me wrong, I find their casts very enjoyable, and they work amazingly together, I just don't see the allure that merits bringing them over from Korea for every event.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
What other casters would you recommend ?
Personally I like new combinations because I can honestly say I'm pretty tired of tastosis even though I like both of them as casters. I would rather see artosis/husky, tastless/apollo or whatever interesting combos. Standard caster + a player always seem to work great as well. I'm not picky at all personally but I seem to get tired of the standard caster combos a lot more easily than most people. I do feel kind of burned out on day9 "in any caster combo" though.
On February 15 2012 10:44 Fionn wrote: Nice they got Tastosis, but I hope this doesn't mean that they won't be able to cast the GSL semifinals two days later.
I did not think of this, omg. If I have to listen to moletrap in the goddamn SEMIFINALS I'm not gonna be impressed
Really dissapointed that Rob Simpson will be casting. He doesn't seem to know much in terms of a pro level of analysis and his casting is really vanilla. Wasn't planning on paying 20 bucks before, and with no Day9, there's no chance.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
Way to respond by saying something that was completely irrelevant to his point lol. Your personal preference is irrelevant to the question of whether it was financially wise to fly Tastosis in.
Why oh WHY do they choose to use sub-optimal casters in an event people pay $20 for!!?!?! Its always such a buzz kill when a really important match is casted by anyone but the best ;_;
I just feel like if they are trying to make the argument that this is a really deluxe tournament, totally worth the $20, they really don't show it by telling us we won't even get the best casters for all the games.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
Way to respond by saying something that was completely irrelevant to his point lol. Your personal preference is irrelevant to the question of whether it was financially wise to fly Tastosis in.
His point was that the viewers drawn by bringing Tastosis in justifies the cost. I responded with the fact that not EVERYONE considers them the best casters around. I then listed why I personally don't
There are also plenty of casters in the States that could draw just as many, if not more, viewers.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
Way to respond by saying something that was completely irrelevant to his point lol. Your personal preference is irrelevant to the question of whether it was financially wise to fly Tastosis in.
His point was that the viewers drawn by bringing Tastosis in justifies the cost. I responded with the fact that not EVERYONE considers them the best casters around. I then listed why I personally don't There are also plenty of casters in the States that could draw just as many, if not more, viewers.
Say what you want about who is better or worse, but acting like they aren't the most famous is being silly. They are hands down the most widely accepted and most widely praised.
Khaldor and Wolf are quickly catching up, but I'd say Tastosis is still the clearly dominant casting duo.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
Way to respond by saying something that was completely irrelevant to his point lol. Your personal preference is irrelevant to the question of whether it was financially wise to fly Tastosis in.
His point was that the viewers drawn by bringing Tastosis in justifies the cost. I responded with the fact that not EVERYONE considers them the best casters around. I then listed why I personally don't
There are also plenty of casters in the States that could draw just as many, if not more, viewers.
Other than Day9 (who is 'booked' and is unavailable) or Husky (do not know the reasoning there, not my personal favorite but he has a large following + I have to thank him for getting me into pro sc2) and the other casters already attending, I can't think of anyone that fits the bill. Unless you were referring to one of them, in which case forget what I said.
I don't like Tastosis, If I wanted to watch them, I'd pay for GSL. Their inclusion has made me reconsider the $20 (I know I'm the tiny minority). Sad that day9/Husky are unavailable.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
Way to respond by saying something that was completely irrelevant to his point lol. Your personal preference is irrelevant to the question of whether it was financially wise to fly Tastosis in.
His point was that the viewers drawn by bringing Tastosis in justifies the cost. I responded with the fact that not EVERYONE considers them the best casters around. I then listed why I personally don't
There are also plenty of casters in the States that could draw just as many, if not more, viewers.
i really have to disagree with you on this point.. from what i can tell they are by far the most well known and loved casters on the scene.. the only argument otherwise could mayby be day9 but that would be the only possible argument i could think of as to who would bring in the most viewers.
On February 15 2012 12:39 Phemtos wrote: Day9 was probably asking to be paid a ridiculous amount of money just like at the last Dreamhack. I think it was around like 20k+ rofl.
For all those questioning the choice to bring on Rob Simpson, stop. He's awesome. Sad to be without Day9. Curious to know what the reason behind this was since he has done pretty much every MLG event that he could attend.
On February 15 2012 12:39 Phemtos wrote: Day9 was probably asking to be paid a ridiculous amount of money just like at the last Dreamhack. I think it was around like 20k+ rofl.
I am curious to see more of Pomi, as he did do pretty well at IEM Kiev, losing to eventual finalist Dimaga but not before making a close 2-3 series.
Glad to see Ddoro qualify, as he is a very underrated player who gets very little attention despite making it to pool play at MLG Orlando.
I am a bit surprised that Drewbie was first in the NA Qualifiers. I will admit that I did not think that Drewbie was that strong of a player compared to the rest of the NA pack, but hopefully he can change my mind and really give a showing.
On February 15 2012 12:39 Phemtos wrote: Day9 was probably asking to be paid a ridiculous amount of money just like at the last Dreamhack. I think it was around like 20k+ rofl.
On February 15 2012 12:39 Phemtos wrote: Day9 was probably asking to be paid a ridiculous amount of money just like at the last Dreamhack. I think it was around like 20k+ rofl.
20k is quite a bit of money. However, I'm inclined to believe that not all of that is up front cash (flight, accomodations, etc.) Regardless, that's beside the point.
Day9, I think, deserves the privilege of choosing his terms. The amount of time he has invested into SC2, helping players across the spectrum, and simply LOVING the game (quite contagious) is amazing. I'm fairly certain this is his only passion and profession. If Nigahiga, one of the most prominent members of the Youtube community, can generate over a million dollars in revennue from videos ALONE, then why shouldn't Day9 be rewarded for his contributions.
Certainly, I hope Day9 won't have to put money before the game. But that shouldn't stop him from trying to maximize his opportunities.
On a side note, I still don't think these numbers should just be floated around. Sure, it doesn't "hurt" anyone. But if I were organizing these tournaments, I'd still want these numbers fairly ambiguous so negotiations can be better.
Top 16 in this event will be Providence top 8 (minus Haypro and Huk) + Korean qualifiees (minus San) + Thorzain, Grubby and Violet. If the bracket permits.
I'll still watch Stephano take Assembly for free rather than pay $20 to watch the sub-GSL.
On February 15 2012 12:39 Phemtos wrote: Day9 was probably asking to be paid a ridiculous amount of money just like at the last Dreamhack. I think it was around like 20k+ rofl.
20k is quite a bit of money. However, I'm inclined to believe that not all of that is up front cash (flight, accomodations, etc.) Regardless, that's beside the point.
Day9, I think, deserves the privilege of choosing his terms. The amount of time he has invested into SC2, helping players across the spectrum, and simply LOVING the game (quite contagious) is amazing. I'm fairly certain this is his only passion and profession. If Nigahiga, one of the most prominent members of the Youtube community, can generate over a million dollars in revennue from videos ALONE, then why shouldn't Day9 be rewarded for his contributions.
Certainly, I hope Day9 won't have to put money before the game. But that shouldn't stop him from trying to maximize his opportunities.
On a side note, I still don't think these numbers should just be floated around. Sure, it doesn't "hurt" anyone. But if I were organizing these tournaments, I'd still want these numbers fairly ambiguous so negotiations can be better.
Nobody denies that Day9 etc have done a great job for SC2 and deserve it financially. The big thing is that theres just a HUGE income difference between the casters and the players. Day9 or Tastosis get every tourney they cast more money than 98% of the players. Normally in sports the players are the superstars, not the casters. Im just not ok with the ralation between "income casters" vs "income players". So far it was the tournaments organizers thing to balance their finances. And for them its much more easy/cheap to hype a few casters and pay them well, than putting the focus on the players.
I always noticed that in Starcraft there is like 0 focus on the players. Exept for Homestory cup, thats why it so succesful. EVERY break they interviewed some players etc, and NOT always the same boring 3 questions.
Now, when we have to PAY to watch tournaments, WE can decide whos getting the money. Do i pay for Tastosis etc. or the players? 20 dollars per viewer and a prizepool of 26k for ALL the players. rofl Sorry not going to support this lame thing. If i knew out of this 20 dollars, 10 dollars go straight into the pockets of the players, i'd gladly pay this amount. Unfortunately the business likes the casters/environment (NY, rofl) more than the players.
It's so funny when you read through the names and then finally you read the North American names. You immediatly know who will be the first eight players to be eliminated.
Wait why all the hate on NA players O.O... I mean SaSe , Idra and some would even qualify HuK as NA ... HuK could win the entire event and Idra and SaSe are both amazing players as well... :p. I mean... MMA and MVP arent coming from KR , so why all the hate ??
Hmmm, MLG without anything vs. Assembly with 2 crates of beer. That's a tough decision. Maybe I will take the easy way out and just watch the Tekken 6 tournament at Assembly. Oh man, so much good stuff, that weekend.
On February 15 2012 16:31 Rossen wrote: Wait why all the hate on NA players O.O... I mean SaSe , Idra and some would even qualify HuK as NA ... HuK could win the entire event and Idra and SaSe are both amazing players as well... :p. I mean... MMA and MVP arent coming from KR , so why all the hate ??
Not only is SaSe a great player, he's also from Sweden...
On February 15 2012 16:31 Rossen wrote: Wait why all the hate on NA players O.O... I mean SaSe , Idra and some would even qualify HuK as NA ... HuK could win the entire event and Idra and SaSe are both amazing players as well... :p. I mean... MMA and MVP arent coming from KR , so why all the hate ??
SaSe is 100% Swedish, and MVP is coming, he qualified from Providence. And realistically Huk has little to no shot at winning the event given the Koreans coming. Idra likewise has shown in the past few weeks that he's nowhere near the level of top Koreans.
I mean... MMA and MVP arent coming from KR , so why all the hate ??
MVP is coming (at least there isn't any news that he isn't) and MMA actually didn't make it through the qualifiers which just shows how tough getting through the qualifiers were... I don't think it is really hate on NA but rather the ridiculous level of the Korean Qualifers...
Here are 8 Koreans that did not make it. MMA, aLive, Polt, Genius, Puzzle, Jjajki, Curious, GuMiho. 5 of them are in Ro8 in GSL. Only Parting from Ro8 actually made it (DRG and MC had already qualified from Providence). And if you put these 8 vs the NA 8, you really see a big difference.
It is going to be interesting to see how the draw plays out. Eventhough it is Double Elim, I am sure most of the Koreans will want to avoid each other in the first round (they will likely have to meet in the second round since so many Koreans there)
On February 15 2012 17:14 CHaseza wrote: I think Day[9] is a over rated caster. Much prefer the new lot of casters. Mr Bitter and Rotti are the best to me.
On February 15 2012 17:14 CHaseza wrote: I think Day[9] is a over rated caster. Much prefer the new lot of casters. Mr Bitter and Rotti are the best to me.
The casters are nice, the players are nice, the payment structure is certainly not. But recently i have come across some very nice casters from the ESV weekly (esp. Orb and Adebisi doing great in a team). They don't exaggerate too much, don't use the same jokes over and over (getting very annoying on the GSL sometimes.. Sometimes silence for a minute is not too bad of a thing while the observer pans over the important stuff).
What i cannot understand is, that all the tournament organizers don't make one cooperation tournament (like with 32 or 64 players and every organizer can send in players according to their ranking and with additional qualifiers) once a year, where the pricepool is really really big and not such a shitworthy 25k (which is nothing compared to the organization / event costs at all [and i don't really get it, fly players in for 100k and ONLY pay out 25k I DONT GET IT, WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY RIGHT THERE]) and they put up like 250k$ pricepool and a whooping 150k for the first place. I'm pretty sure, people would pay (and I would as well) 20$ to watch such a epic one time a year event.
But for now, the esports is becoming more "sceny" than ever with the viewership involved getting more thinner to only SC2 players. Such a community can only grow if new "players" get "sucked" into it in the first place, which will never happen with such spread events, which cannot grab the attention of the "whole gaming scene".
One more thing about all the PPV things. I think it's the first step to professionalize the scene, but what should be done, is really, WORK TOGETHER (this is fucking fucking fucking uberhard in our modern society, because everyone wants to MAXIMIZE their own profit and so on.), and for example make a payment system or plan which encorporates different major leagues like ESL, MLG, IPL and maybe GSL. So at least for major events, one could use a unified payment scheme. Of course this would need a major change in planning of big events and cooperation in the first place, which will likely in my opinion in this "community" state, never happen.
(I for one, only pay for GSL and GSTL light on a season base, because the yearly scheme is not worth anything to me and should not to everyone. You get like 5$ rebate, but what if you don't want to watch after the mid of the year, because you suddenly lose interest? Bam you lost the half of the yearly scheme, which is certainly higher than 5$...)
At the end, everyone has to decide for themselves how much the service is worth for them. But don't forget, of your 20$, likely 19$ go to some cooperation, while like 1$ is paid out to the actual players, who are the REAL REASON, why such a community can exist sustainingly.
As a final statement, i see myself as a regular player, playing his 2-3 hours a day and watching like a 1.5-2.0 hours of average stream per day. This statement is just added, so you can judge after (maybe) reading this, what type of viewer/player I am.
On February 15 2012 10:11 VirgilSC2 wrote: MLG: We're losing money on this deal, and trying to make some of it back.
>Flies casters in from Korea instead of using casters based in America
Don't be an idiot. We both know the gained viewers from featuring tastosis more than makes up for the expenses to bring them over. Not having them literally guarantees no one will watch.
Not everybody is crazy about Tastosis.
I personally don't think they're the best of the best out there. I tend to prefer casters who keep a closer eye on the player scene they represent (i.e. Korea) and while I understand they're both busy individuals with lives outside of casting, I find it very unappealing that half the time they aren't even up to date/correct on happenings within the GSL.
True, i feel the same. IMO tasteless didnt play any SC2 since min. 1 year, and knows less progamers than a regular GSL watcher
But this western SC2 universe is ruled by the great 3 dictators, Tastosis and day9. When theres no dictator present at a major event, the crowd revolts!
God Sweden and korea dominating. Both got members in each poll. ofc kora got morebut i mean it´s korea, but players like Sase haypro Sjow Naniwa merz thorzain... but i miss jinro and Seiplo. And i must add that i think the caster crew is a fail.... no husky no day9.... Maybe if u gave some cool guy a chance like McDuffs and Antarah from Imbatv crew that would have been something but these casters are trash exept tasteossis.
20$ fon only one signle event...Its not a lot of money,but its too much for what they are gonna show u.Players are ok,but i dont get it,why do they need our money?What about sponsors?They got a lot.And if not,just dont organize anything man!I am sure they got lot of benefits,but want MORE.As always.Is same as GSL.When nobody watch,no organizer want money.The time they realised,there are lot of people watching,begin to ask for money.Just want more and more.Not fair.U got ur adds on stream and everyone is watching sponsosrs logos all around the world.How much this cost to sponsors??Isnt it enough?I dont pay for GSL,neither i will for MLG or any tournament.To watch other people playing..At least,i hope u can download the replays instantly..but i preffer to wait some days and download them from some web...
Exactly why I'm not gonna buy ticket. There's so much sponsor money in esports that there is no need to rip off fans.
You know the reality of sponsor money in e-sports how?
Remember, sponsors having their name on a list can be a MULTITUDE of things, ranging from providing video cards to providing posters and print advertising.
It doesn't necessarily mean they're just writing checks to MLG.
I think one of the main things they are missing here is that a large part of the audience is underaged. Yes these kids can force their parents to buy them razer gear but they can't extract a credit card just so they can sit on their computer for a weekend. I don't really see this PPV working for them. And I'm happy about it.
On February 15 2012 17:14 CHaseza wrote: I think Day[9] is a over rated caster. Much prefer the new lot of casters. Mr Bitter and Rotti are the best to me.
rob simpson used to be a world of warcraft caster and he used to cast blizzcon because he was the only caster that would sign up for it. then he got a job at blizzard because of that. i don't know i just find that funny.
It's weird, I feel like this player lineup is so sickly good that it definitely justifies the price tag. However I'm still probably not going to pay 20$ for it because even though I'd definitely turn in and watch a lot, I'm just not necessarily completely stoked for it. And even though justified, 20$ are still 20$ if you know what I'm trying to convey :/ But I'm also a student that can't easily spend money on everything he likes.
However in my case it's also just the fact, that I don't actually enjoy most casters over a longer time period. I rather listen to some progamer commenting like in Homestory cup. For some reason even the supposedly best casters just end up annoying me to some degree. Thus, when I'm watching MLG, GSL etc. I almost always have the stream muted unless there's an interesting game going on.
People actually like Rob Simpson? He's the most awkward person I've witnessed casting in about 10 years of competitive games. IEM Sao Paolo proved he had very little knowledge of the game, mistaking basic things as building names, without him knowing.
On top of that, whenever he was casting, him and whichever co-caster were chit chatting off-topic for a good 80% of gametime. Not to forget how he constantly was eyeing Rotterdam/Mr. Bitter.. Yeah.
The only casters who I believe have true casting/communication skills are Tasteless & Artosis. Engaging, charismatic and professional.
I will never pay 20$ for a weekend of starcraft no matter who is casting. You guys must be rich or somethin if you pay that. It's way too expensive. You should not support this, otherwise other tournaments may do the same.
Ok time to change the monotomus tone of these posts.
Congratulations to MLG for actually trying to do something. eSports has hit a point where if we want it to become a serious way to earn a living then more money needs to be involved and generated. Once upon a time football wasn't the multi million pound world it is today. Look at Sky Sports for example. When they came about people rose up and complained that they would never pay to watch football (and other sports) but they are still here and are a major reason why clubs have so much money.
$20 in the grand scheme of things is not a lot of money. Yes I understand that a lot of people don't work or are too young but really it's not a lot.
Yet again the internet over reacts and demands free stuff.
Flame away if you must, I've said my piece and expressed my opinion.
If there wasn't Assembly I'd probably have to convince some mates to buy the PPV together.... Thank you Assembly! ♥
I can't wait for the VODs though, sick line-up, Tastosis... I'm sure it'll be a great event and I'm looking forward to watching it later. Thank you MLG!
On February 15 2012 22:59 Cheydahi wrote:$20 in the grand scheme of things is not a lot of money. Yes I understand that a lot of people don't work or are too young but really it's not a lot.
Yet again the internet over reacts and demands free stuff.
It's not a lot of money.... in comparison to what?
What if you could buy a chocolate bar for 30 cents at the grocery store. Would you pay 20 dollars for it in another store, even if it wasn't a lot of money? You don't just look at the cost in a vacuum. You need to compare it to existing products. Truth is that there's a ton of starcraft available for free, and that a weekend of material should never cost 20 dollars. As I've said, for 20 dollars over here you get multiple channels of content for a year. It's just incredibly overpriced if you actually compare it to the competition. Even GSL, until now by far the most overpriced SC2 product available, is far cheaper and offers far more Starcraft for your money.
I am firmly of the opinion that they should begin charging entry fees instead of charging the viewers. Sure, the sponsorship deals aren't quite as big right now as with many other sports.
However, will the sponsorship deals ever get big if you reduce the amount of viewers to like 2% of what it was? Would a sponsor rather sponsor an event with 25k viewers or one with 500 viewers? Some say that this kind of monetarizing is thinking about the future, I strongly disagree - Sponsors won't be interested as the viewer counts will be so small. This is just to gain immediate profit, indeed without any consideration for the future.
Quick question -- did MLG not broadcast the NA qualifier? Or did I totally miss it? Or did they announce the players who made it before broadcasting the qualifier?
On February 15 2012 22:59 Cheydahi wrote: Ok time to change the monotomus tone of these posts.
Congratulations to MLG for actually trying to do something. eSports has hit a point where if we want it to become a serious way to earn a living then more money needs to be involved and generated. Once upon a time football wasn't the multi million pound world it is today. Look at Sky Sports for example. When they came about people rose up and complained that they would never pay to watch football (and other sports) but they are still here and are a major reason why clubs have so much money.
$20 in the grand scheme of things is not a lot of money. Yes I understand that a lot of people don't work or are too young but really it's not a lot.
Yet again the internet over reacts and demands free stuff.
Flame away if you must, I've said my piece and expressed my opinion.
And I think a lot of people, particularly the hardcore support, would consider that football is now a cesspool of spoilt brats on the pitch and greedy businessmen off it treating the supporters with contempt time and time again and spraying obscene amounts of money around.
On February 15 2012 23:57 Xeris wrote: Quick question -- did MLG not broadcast the NA qualifier? Or did I totally miss it? Or did they announce the players who made it before broadcasting the qualifier?
On February 15 2012 22:59 Cheydahi wrote: Ok time to change the monotomus tone of these posts.
Congratulations to MLG for actually trying to do something. eSports has hit a point where if we want it to become a serious way to earn a living then more money needs to be involved and generated. Once upon a time football wasn't the multi million pound world it is today. Look at Sky Sports for example. When they came about people rose up and complained that they would never pay to watch football (and other sports) but they are still here and are a major reason why clubs have so much money.
$20 in the grand scheme of things is not a lot of money. Yes I understand that a lot of people don't work or are too young but really it's not a lot.
Yet again the internet over reacts and demands free stuff.
Flame away if you must, I've said my piece and expressed my opinion.
And I think a lot of people, particularly the hardcore support, would consider that football is now a cesspool of spoilt brats on the pitch and greedy businessmen off it treating the supporters with contempt time and time again and spraying obscene amounts of money around.
and then came platini;o please have platini as head of uefa for a few more terms and youll see what change hell bring.isnt the new economic law starting in 2013 or 2014?
/wrong thread i had the pissed off at mlg phase yesterday,but watching the players/casters today i thought well ill catch a restream,then remembered this was played without a live audience.not staying up all night to watch 3 guys in an empty studio.
On February 15 2012 23:57 Xeris wrote: Quick question -- did MLG not broadcast the NA qualifier? Or did I totally miss it? Or did they announce the players who made it before broadcasting the qualifier?
Its pathetic and sad that so many are focusing on whos casting. SC2 is an esport and esport wants reflect a normal sport. You dont see sport fans whine about whos commentating matches now do you?
On February 16 2012 00:49 cellblock wrote: Its pathetic and sad that so many are focusing on whos casting. SC2 is an esport and esport wants reflect a normal sport. You dont see sport fans whine about whos commentating matches now do you?
The problem is that there is such a huge difference between the top casters and the ones below. Also I know a lot of people complain and have problems watching some of the commentators on swedish TV for football matches.
Sure 20$ to watch their tournament, I think I'll pass. Also I don't know about you guys but I after moletrap I hate day9 the most, he screams like a no-lifer and he talks too much nonsense, he just pisses me off all the time.
On February 16 2012 00:49 cellblock wrote: Its pathetic and sad that so many are focusing on whos casting. SC2 is an esport and esport wants reflect a normal sport. You dont see sport fans whine about whos commentating matches now do you?
This isn't entirely true. I watch a lot of baseball and I will always turn off a game that is broadcasted by Joe Buck or Tim McCarver. It is just as bad to generalize people as pathetic because they enjoy a personality that they are exposed to for a significant time over the course of an event.
On February 16 2012 00:49 cellblock wrote: Its pathetic and sad that so many are focusing on whos casting. SC2 is an esport and esport wants reflect a normal sport. You dont see sport fans whine about whos commentating matches now do you?
Sure you do. At least in France and Switzerland, I've heard a lot of people complain about soccer/tennis casters and some caster duos are much more popular than others.
But yeah, maybe it's more common in eSport. I think it's due to the massive difference between the top casters and the other ones.
On February 16 2012 00:49 cellblock wrote: Its pathetic and sad that so many are focusing on whos casting. SC2 is an esport and esport wants reflect a normal sport. You dont see sport fans whine about whos commentating matches now do you?
Sure you do. At least in France and Switzerland, I've heard a lot of people complain about soccer/tennis casters and some caster duos are much more popular than others.
But yeah, maybe it's more common in eSport. I think it's due to the massive difference between the top casters and the other ones.
I agree, it's the same in Germany wehen there's football (it's football, not soccer ) on. Some comentators are generally hated by everyone. Sure, you still watch it but that's because you have no choice if you want to see your favourite team or the national team or whatever play. I've watched quite a few games on mute myself though If on the other hand the situation was comperable to eSports and there were two matches of teams you equally like and the match is equally important (i.e. it's not like team a plays in the finals and team b plays a practice game) and one of them is free/the other one you have to pay for I'm pretty sure the person casting the event would influence your decision on what to watch.
The main difference is that such a situation practically never occurs in more established sports. In football most people support one team and don't have much love for any other team so they will watch their team, regardless of who's casting (and ofc they will still hate on the commentator). In SC2 though people generally cheer for several players so if you can either watch your favourite player who is casted by your least facourite casting duo or your second favourite player casted by your favourite duo, most people prefer watching their second favourite player. Also I agree that the difference between top casters and the other ones is way bigger than in traditional sports.
I always thought MLG's an excellent tournament I always loved to watch whenever I had the time/chance to do so.. But now with PPV I can safely say my respect for them went down the drain like.. Hell, I haven't even looked at the players' list because it doesn't even matter to me anymore.
A lot of the viewers include 16 year olds who can't support themselves (yet) & they're basicly telling them well if you can't bring up the money you can't watch the game & the players you love... Unlucky for you.
Thing is, a lot of kids actually wish to become pro gamers & they look up to various top players who attend MLG.. Taking those things away from them can affect their motivation & their love for the game. Hell, even students who are having a rough time (money wise) won't be able to tune in... MLG doesn't care about this though as at the end of the day it's still business & for that they just lost the respect I always had for them.
Sure, you can watch the VODs after a week but the feeling behind watching live & watching VODs are way different.
I would pay if i had the entire weekend off but i gotta work all weekend so shelling out 20$ to miss most of it is not an option. now if it were 5-10$ for limited viewin of 1 or 2 streams id buy that in a heartbeat because 10$ for an entire weekend even if im missing most of it is a deal. 20$ not so much. i Mean hell i payed 30$ to go the event why would i pay 20$ to watch it when im gonna miss it.
People are taking things way to serious and crying to hard to fast.
Its 1 event with PPV its 20 bucks, ( i think its to much) if your 16 ask your parents for 20bucks if they say no tell them your gonna hang with your new friends down on the corner and smoke crack this weekend or i could stay inside and watch MLG for 20$
I like day9 but he doesnt knock anyone down from the current caster lineup. hes to dramatic and has quite a weak vocabulary i want more play by play and analytical casts and from day9 i get OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH MYYYY GOOOOOOOD! OHHH YES SOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD!!!.... bias.
On February 16 2012 02:01 Senko_ wrote: I always thought MLG's an excellent tournament I always loved to watch whenever I had the time/chance to do so.. But now with PPV I can safely say my respect for them went down the drain like.. Hell, I haven't even looked at the players' list because it doesn't even matter to me anymore.
A lot of the viewers include 16 year olds who can't support themselves (yet) & they're basicly telling them well if you can't bring up the money you can't watch the game & the players you love... Unlucky for you.
Thing is, a lot of kids actually wish to become pro gamers & they look up to various top players who attend MLG.. Taking those things away from them can affect their motivation & their love for the game. Hell, even students who are having a rough time (money wise) won't be able to tune in... MLG doesn't care about this though as at the end of the day it's still business & for that they just lost the respect I always had for them.
Sure, you can watch the VODs after a week but the feeling behind watching live & watching VODs are way different.
Things are turning into a joke.
time to switch to league of legends
but u are right, i would prefer having a huge fanbase watching (and i know mlg has alot of viewer and fans) than having a few who could afford the money
I don't understand why people are going nuts. eSports, like anything, is a business that is supposed to make a profit. MLG is flying in casters, has a SUPER sick player list and is planning to offer additional content aside from the games. If you're a fan, 20$ in the scheme of things really isn't a prohibitive price. People who are complaining and saying they have lost respect for MLG are showing themselves to be clueless about how things actually work. I mean, the GSL costs money. With the regular ticket, you are paying AND watching ads =/
That being said, if you personally think the price is too expensive and there is enough free content already out there to warrant purchase then thats a legitimate opinion, but it's ridiculous to bash MLG over what they are doing.
On February 16 2012 02:50 shark. wrote: whys real not in the European part? hes been a baller recently and owned alot at homestory. thought they would get him over someone TT
The fairy-tale landedness of people in this thread is astounding.
There's the obvious "I'm in middle/high school and can't get my parents to pay for this" crowd which is expected to come out in droves anytime anyone mentions money, but what I'm really shocked about are the genuinely grown adults who aren't willing to pay for something they -want- to see.
If you don't want to pay, that's perfectly fine, it doesn't really matter why--you're not going to anyways. What's silly is coming here and saying things like "MLG is hurting eSports." What fairy tale land do you live in where things are just always free forever? Am I just way too realistic for my own good or something? Why does this not even remotely bother me and yet the gross majority of this thread feels incredibly threatened by it.
You can't compare the money you spend on entertainment to the money you spend on living, they're mutually exclusive. Money spent on living is a necessity, it is money you are required to spend. Money spent on entertainment is entirely your choice.
You could spend $20 a week on food to just survive, that's absolutely true. But on the entertainment side, going out to eat and getting a nice dinner can in and of itself be $20. $20 is realistically about how much any one person would spend on a single night out enjoying themselves by themselves or with friends, it's about how much I spend per week on doing something fun.
Relative to other things, $20 for 3 entire days of sick Starcraft 2 to watch is entirely worth it. I'll pay for it. I'll pay for the GSL too. I'll pay for the next MLG thing that lets me watch shit in HD. I'll honestly give money to organizations that are making e-sports happen at pretty much any turn, why not? MLG has given me countless hours of enjoyment in the past, they've been good to me. I look at giving them $20 for a weekend like giving a nice waiter/waitress a tip, if they're awesome, why not tip them more? They deserve it.
I can't wrap my head around how fickle you people are, I feel like I could spend hours just browsing your posting history finding hypocrisy and contradiction to this--your decision to like or not like something seems almost arbitrary and held by a string. There's so many posts saying things like "I used to have a ton of respect for MLG, now I don't." Then you didn't really have much respect for them to begin with, you didn't really care about them, you took them for granted that they offered you free content and you didn't actually give a shit about them.
I'm willing to give them some money, why not? They put in a lot of work to make these things happen. They're not sitting on thrones of gold laughing maniacally about the mountains of money they're making. If they're asking for a small amount of money in exchange for content, that's fine. They don't ask me to pay for anything else, but I do anyways because I care about MLG, I'm excited about MLG when it happens, I tell my friends about it, I watch it with my friends.
And the casters are fine, Tastosis by themselves are worth $20--if you're looking for high level analytical commentary then tournament streams aren't really the thing for you, it's not what they're there for. I like them for who they are, they're fun to listen to, they remind me of my best friend and I when we're talking about things. DJ Wheat is a great caster and the other dude was fine too.
There's another tournament going on for free? That's cool too. I'll probably watch and support them as well during games I don't really care about or whatever.
Is it that hard to just be mad reasonable about shit?
Really good post. I think the main cause of gripe is that previous MLG tournaments were free, so this change is bound to bring stirs. The relative price with respect to other tournaments is also high. But I do mainly agree with your sentiments.
Charging $20 for a tournament seems perfectly fine.
I simply won't be paying it because when I tune in to some starcraft matches, I expect them to be entertaining and free. I do not sit by the computer for hours on end, expecting to get my money's worth. I tune in, tune out, and tune in again at my leasure.
NASL tried charging for things. Enterance to that venue. For high quality.
That went well.
At any rate, it's not surprising that people would try to make large amounts of money over and over again, by pushing for people to change their view of what is standard, and acceptable.
It's up to the consumers to decide what something is worth.
By not buying this, I'm simply saying I want my tournaments free of charge and free of hassle. It's obviously a sustainable model.
I hope this trend continues. But if it does not, oh well. There'll be something else to do.
I agree Kich, and others who have made similar comments. Since when did $20 become a lot of money anyway? It's a meal or a pack of cigarettes at best, if everyone is that poor they shouldn't be wasting money on an internet contract Go go MLG for making great content and maybe one day you could bring something to Australia (:
On February 16 2012 04:11 CuteZergling wrote: For the record, Minigun will not only win the entire tournament, but not drop a single map.
Chad mother fucking Jones!
I do hope he does well. I'm always excited to see him play, most people from the days of ROOT really. Destiny has gotten a lot better, I haven't seen Minigun around much lately, hopefully he's improved a lot.
On February 16 2012 04:09 BBQSAC wrote: I agree Kich, and others who have made similar comments. Since when did $20 become a lot of money anyway? It's a meal or a pack of cigarettes at best, if everyone is that poor they shouldn't be wasting money on an internet contract Go go MLG for making great content and maybe one day you could bring something to Australia (:
20$ for a pack of cigarettes or a meal? Really?! And I though those where expensive in France..
On February 16 2012 04:11 CuteZergling wrote: For the record, Minigun will not only win the entire tournament, but not drop a single map.
Chad mother fucking Jones!
I do hope he does well. I'm always excited to see him play, most people from the days of ROOT really. Destiny has gotten a lot better, I haven't seen Minigun around much lately, hopefully he's improved a lot.
He does extremely well on the ladder (which may or may not mean much), but as far as real results go, he took out Haypro in the Winners bracket of Col.MVP vs Liquid of IPL TAC2 and then Violet and Beastyqt in Col.MVP vs Empire in Losers Bracket. Not to mention he qualified for the IPL Euro qualifiers (though he didn't attend).
But he probably had a cold or something when he lost. When he's perfectly healthy, Minigun is unstoppable.
On February 15 2012 12:39 Phemtos wrote: Day9 was probably asking to be paid a ridiculous amount of money just like at the last Dreamhack. I think it was around like 20k+ rofl.
Where did you get that number from?
Pretty sure Huk was whining Tastosis + Day9 got more money then the 1st prizewinner (When it was the argument that casters earned more money than players)
On February 15 2012 12:39 Phemtos wrote: Day9 was probably asking to be paid a ridiculous amount of money just like at the last Dreamhack. I think it was around like 20k+ rofl.
Where did you get that number from?
Pretty sure Huk was whining Tastosis + Day9 got more money then the 1st prizewinner
MLG Lee or Adam said for Providence they paid all the casters for every title $20k. SC2 had 10 casters alone.
As for Day9 and DH, if the 20k number is true, keep in mind, the tournament was streamed on his channel, he got all that ad revenue.
Without trying to troll I must saythat the qualified players from North American OQ Top 8 look kind of week compared to the europeans, not to mention the rest.
Yeah..please don't say they are hurting esports...especially with that lineup! Pricey? sure...but hopefully that will come down with more viewers in the future, or commercials or something. It does seem like they would sell double the passes if they lowered the price by $5-10. Either way I might have to check it out. Assembly doesn't boast quite that solid of a lineup, IMO.
On February 16 2012 04:09 Fix637 wrote: You have to admit, they definitely have Assembly beat in the player line up.
But the assembly one looks WAY more interesting (not stronger!).
Here is the chance that there will be a ton of "rapes" until the later stages where it picks up and will most probably just look like code B/A/S... Which i allready can watch nearly every day.
I don't mean to be another complaint... but no Day 9/Husky combo when MLG is asking for $20.00? A dollar an hour to see it and you don't put the second best casting duo in?
I love that Tastosis is going, but this bothers me quite a bit. Especially when I'm still on the fence about paying the $20.00.
On February 15 2012 10:18 creamer wrote: lOOOOOOOLLLLLLL too bad I won't be watching this. There is SO much free SC2 that it simply doesn't make sense to do this. Someone wrote earlier that someone has to monetise e-sports. I agree TO AN EXTENT but $20 for 20 hours? My television bill is like $80/month and comes with 900 channels so the sense meter:
that's how much sense I think $20/20 hours is. Also MKP isn't playing and I don't watch things he isn't in
I just have to quote this. I think your last reason really rings true. No MKP? No $20.00.
I was going to fork over the $20.00 but then I remembered that I would end up paying close to $200.00 a year to watch MLG content (if I continued to pay for each arena etc.)
Edit: Just realized MKP is playing... therefore... my original quip has been rendered soberingly foolish.
On February 15 2012 10:18 creamer wrote: lOOOOOOOLLLLLLL too bad I won't be watching this. There is SO much free SC2 that it simply doesn't make sense to do this. Someone wrote earlier that someone has to monetise e-sports. I agree TO AN EXTENT but $20 for 20 hours? My television bill is like $80/month and comes with 900 channels so the sense meter:
that's how much sense I think $20/20 hours is. Also MKP isn't playing and I don't watch things he isn't in
I just have to quote this. I think your last reason really rings true. No MKP? No $20.00.
I was going to fork over the $20.00 but then I remembered that I would end up paying close to $200.00 a year to watch MLG content (if I continued to pay for each arena etc.)
$20 is the pricing for this first event. We're still collecting feedback, and working on season long, and annual pass offerings. Please don't multiply out all of the potential events and assume that will be the price. We're working on it.
We're also working to announce more features for the upcoming arena (already confirmed to be 100% ad free). Stay tuned.
On February 15 2012 10:18 creamer wrote: lOOOOOOOLLLLLLL too bad I won't be watching this. There is SO much free SC2 that it simply doesn't make sense to do this. Someone wrote earlier that someone has to monetise e-sports. I agree TO AN EXTENT but $20 for 20 hours? My television bill is like $80/month and comes with 900 channels so the sense meter:
that's how much sense I think $20/20 hours is. Also MKP isn't playing and I don't watch things he isn't in
I just have to quote this. I think your last reason really rings true. No MKP? No $20.00.
I was going to fork over the $20.00 but then I remembered that I would end up paying close to $200.00 a year to watch MLG content (if I continued to pay for each arena etc.)
$20 is the pricing for this first event. We're still collecting feedback, and working on season long, and annual pass offerings. Please don't multiply out all of the potential events and assume that will be the price. We're working on it.
We're also working to announce more features for the upcoming arena (already confirmed to be 100% ad free). Stay tuned.
good to know that this is a beta test of sorts. i will not be participating. sort out the "bugs", see you at the next arena... maybe.
No Day[9] and add three completely random casters into mix, on top of overcharging people for 3 days worth of content...What the hell is happening over at MLG headquarters?
On February 16 2012 08:24 Pugsly wrote: No Day[9] and add three completely random casters into mix, on top of overcharging people for 3 days worth of content...What the hell is happening over at MLG headquarters?
because its not like Day9 might be busy or something. Do you really think they didn't ask Day9? Come on now.
And those 3 guys aren't random. They have been casting for MLG for a few months now.
On February 16 2012 08:24 Pugsly wrote: No Day[9] and add three completely random casters into mix, on top of overcharging people for 3 days worth of content...What the hell is happening over at MLG headquarters?
because its not like Day9 might be busy or something. Do you really think they didn't ask Day9? Come on now.
And those 3 guys aren't random. They have been casting for MLG for a few months now.
No way man. We are random! :p
Looking forward to the event. I can promise you all we all have been working very hard and hope to bring you one of the best events you have seen.
I don't understand what the issue is with the amount casters are getting paid. MLG makes its money based on the amount of viewers that it gets. Day9/Tastosis will attract far more viewers than most players at this event. Players such as Huk and Idra who do attract large amounts of viewers are also extremely well paid. Not by the tournament unless they win, but by their teams. Day 9 can cast a game between any two random players and draw thousands of viewers. Huk can play a game uncasted and draw thousands of viewers. Some of the lesser known players at this event would not draw many viewers without popular casters overseeing their games. Thus because casters such as Day9 will draw more viewers to an event than most of the players will, Day9 also gets more money. Furthermore, the casters are on camera far more than the players are. Day9 will spend far more time casting games than any individual will spend playing them at a tournament. While time on camera shouldn't be the deciding factor, it probably does play a role. While it may not seem fair, as some of the players probably put far more effort into preparing for the tournament than the caster and without the players, the casters would be nothing, for the tournament it still comes down to views. A tournament will spend money on what brings them the views and cut corners in areas where it doesn't.
20$ is dirt cheap for people who live in northern europe and have an income. I reckon it's the same for people in the US. I guess that the majority of fans don't have an income, students, youngsters etc and therefor do not have that amount to "throw away" at will. Thats why you can't compare MMA sport pay per view, their target audience have a stronger economic status then the avrage sc2 fan. "PPV only" might be the future for "some" sc2 events in the future, I think it's a healthy idea, but for that to work you need to grow the fan base of people who have a steady income.
An awesome event for both the fans and the players (i.e. all expenses paid). So happy to see so many great players in the same tourney - December feels like it was ages ago.
All this for 20$ .... Hmm that's about one lunch where I live... I guess I won't eat once that week no srsly, I'll gladly pay 20$ in good faith that they'll do even better job than last year. I really hope they step up the content between games a lot! (Seems like they are).
Damn this tournament is STACKED! I can't even chose a favourite =/ I really wanna see Ret, Grubby, Socke or Axlav to win (or get really far)!
I'm paying the $20 but I can't watch the event due to the hours. $20 to support 32 of my favorite players come together, play and get a chance at glory. Fuckin' cheap imo.
On February 17 2012 04:51 LogiiK wrote: I hate the events which ask money from viewers... the esport, your MLG is alive thanks to viewers so why to hit the viewers with your stupid price ?
MLG = 20$ Lan assembly = free
okay quick choice.
I hope the viewers refuse to pay ! maybe the next time the mlg will find the money more intelligently because it's an amazing event and show !
Your name is a pretty big misnomer in my opinion.
I just paid because I am CERTAIN that this event will be with it. Hell, I've kinda felt like we've all owed something to MLG after Columbus set the bar super high for every tournament out there. That's how I know this will be good, last time MLG screwed up (Dallas), they fixed a hundred times over with their next tournament. They've gotta PROVE to us that this is worth it, and I'm positive they will.
Now as for your post Logiik. You're essentially saying "oh sure MLG you're surviving in a hospital bed just fine. Sure we have a way to bring you out of this coma, but we won't because that costs a nominal fee. But we still love you, --not enough for 20 bucks, but we love you-- so if you stay in the coma we'll keep you alive through viewership, everybody wins!"
Wow you speak about my pseudo great introduction ... xD
I am registered on mlg website since the first MLG with HALO but please .... just my opinion the price is just expensive 20$ just for a tournament ! if u want to pay okay it's you choice !
On February 17 2012 04:51 LogiiK wrote: I hate the events which ask money from viewers... the esport, your MLG is alive thanks to viewers so why to hit the viewers with your stupid price ?
MLG = 20$ Lan assembly = free
okay quick choice.
I hope the viewers refuse to pay ! maybe the next time the mlg will find the money more intelligently because it's an amazing event and show !
Your name is a pretty big misnomer in my opinion.
I just paid because I am CERTAIN that this event will be with it. Hell, I've kinda felt like we've all owed something to MLG after Columbus set the bar super high for every tournament out there. That's how I know this will be good, last time MLG screwed up (Dallas), they fixed a hundred times over with their next tournament. They've gotta PROVE to us that this is worth it, and I'm positive they will.
Now as for your post Logiik. You're essentially saying "oh sure MLG you're surviving in a hospital bed just fine. Sure we have a way to bring you out of this coma, but we won't because that costs a nominal fee. But we still love you, --not enough for 20 bucks, but we love you-- so if you stay in the coma we'll keep you alive through viewership, everybody wins!"
Your opinion that we all owed something to MLG is rather flawed aswell, if people do not wish to pay it should be there choice. Just because something was good before should not mean we should pay in mass for something in the future. And reading it like we should feel guilty if we do not pay 20 bugs ... please.
I have my budget and MLG does not fit in it, bad luck nothing personal.
On February 17 2012 04:51 LogiiK wrote: I hate the events which ask money from viewers... the esport, your MLG is alive thanks to viewers so why to hit the viewers with your stupid price ?
MLG = 20$ Lan assembly = free
okay quick choice.
I hope the viewers refuse to pay ! maybe the next time the mlg will find the money more intelligently because it's an amazing event and show !
Your name is a pretty big misnomer in my opinion.
I just paid because I am CERTAIN that this event will be with it. Hell, I've kinda felt like we've all owed something to MLG after Columbus set the bar super high for every tournament out there. That's how I know this will be good, last time MLG screwed up (Dallas), they fixed a hundred times over with their next tournament. They've gotta PROVE to us that this is worth it, and I'm positive they will.
Now as for your post Logiik. You're essentially saying "oh sure MLG you're surviving in a hospital bed just fine. Sure we have a way to bring you out of this coma, but we won't because that costs a nominal fee. But we still love you, --not enough for 20 bucks, but we love you-- so if you stay in the coma we'll keep you alive through viewership, everybody wins!"
Your opinion that we all owed something to MLG is rather flawed aswell, if people do not wish to pay it should be there choice. Just because something was good before should not mean we should pay in mass for something in the future. And reading it like we should feel guilty if we do not pay 20 bugs ... please.
I have my budget and MLG does not fit in it, bad luck nothing personal.
you do have a choice, pay $20 to watch it or don't watch it. They still have free events for you to watch, just not this one.
On February 17 2012 08:56 K3Nyy wrote: Anybody know where this is located in NYC? I've searched around but can't find it. My friend says Madison Square Garden but I just want to make sure.
my problem with the price of this is that you get a FULL MONTH of coverage of all european football league including Euro-League and Championsleague + all football news + extra footage like interviews, teasers, recaps and a lot more stuff
you get 1 month with games every day and with MLG you have to pay MORE for watching at horrible hours with awful amounts of downtime and a far worse production value than SKY ... AND all for one weekend not for a whole month the prize they want us to pay is just ridiculous and totally unreasonable for my taste just compare SKY with MLG and you will never ever ever buy this ticket
(i'm talking about soccer for everyone who didn't notice)
also @DeMusliM will now be joining us as one of the 32 - we had a cancellation...
The full player list for the Winter Arena has been posted. (Warning: there be spoilers). We have one change to announce, however. We were recently informed that Artist will not be able to attend the Arena. To fill his spot, we ran a consolation bracket on the North American ladder, so that the players who were eliminated in the last round before Arena Qualification could vie for the position. The players were: Killer, Ostojiy, Illusion, and DeMuslim.
In Round 1, Ostojiy beat Killer 2-1 and DeMuslim beat Illusion 2-1. In Round 2, DeMuslim soundly defeated Ostojiy 2-0, so our new Arena player will be none other than DeMuslim!
We’re of course very disappointed that Artist cannot make it, but we couldn’t be happier to see DeMuslim in the Arena. Get yourself a pass and watch him play for $26k and a shot at the Championship Bracket at the Winter Championships in Columbus!
On February 17 2012 04:19 CycoDude wrote: i wasn't planning on paying the $20 fee, but after seeing the line-up, i may have to reconsider. player list is about as sick as it gets, damn.
if there is any starcraft PPV worth getting ... this is it !
I dont care if Im the only person watching I will easily pay 20$ ... cant wait for this !
On February 17 2012 04:19 CycoDude wrote: i wasn't planning on paying the $20 fee, but after seeing the line-up, i may have to reconsider. player list is about as sick as it gets, damn.
if there is any starcraft PPV worth getting ... this is it !
I dont care if Im the only person watching I will easily pay 20$ ... cant wait for this !
Gotta love people who throw out there that Day[9] probably isn't casting this because he charges $20k per event. I mean, you hear a figure once that may or may not be true and you just repeat it without knowing or caring if its true. Even if it is, Dreamhack was a huge event and I'm sure his fellow casters were offered the same amount. And he's a guy who still lives in a house with 5 roommates and does a daily 5 days a week that he started and continues out of pure passion and love of SC alone. Obviously he's just in it for the money...
On February 17 2012 04:19 CycoDude wrote: i wasn't planning on paying the $20 fee, but after seeing the line-up, i may have to reconsider. player list is about as sick as it gets, damn.
if there is any starcraft PPV worth getting ... this is it !
I dont care if Im the only person watching I will easily pay 20$ ... cant wait for this !
If i may ask.. Why is Rob simpson starting to do more commentary ? It feel weird to me, because you know, it's like if David Kim was doing it. He is one of the three head of the balance team.
And I have no clue if they pay him or not too. Since he's from Blizzard and stuff... Dunno why but all feel pretty weird.
Sick players line up btw. Too bad i don't want to support PPV event. Will definitly watch the free vods tho.
On February 17 2012 04:19 CycoDude wrote: i wasn't planning on paying the $20 fee, but after seeing the line-up, i may have to reconsider. player list is about as sick as it gets, damn.
if there is any starcraft PPV worth getting ... this is it !
I dont care if Im the only person watching I will easily pay 20$ ... cant wait for this !
We have tastosis casting but all we get is "no day9" constantly. This event has the players and casters to be top notch for sure, so stop being so damn negative!
On February 19 2012 22:44 Noocta wrote: If i may ask.. Why is Rob simpson starting to do more commentary ? It feel weird to me, because you know, it's like if David Kim was doing it. He is one of the three head of the balance team. .
I think the reason is because Blizzard sees Riot sending one of their own, Phreak, to commentate League of Legends and be more apart of that community that Blizzard wants to do likewise.
On February 19 2012 22:44 Noocta wrote: If i may ask.. Why is Rob simpson starting to do more commentary ? It feel weird to me, because you know, it's like if David Kim was doing it. He is one of the three head of the balance team. .
I think the reason is because Blizzard sees Riot sending one of their own, Phreak, to commentate League of Legends and be more apart of that community that Blizzard wants to do likewise.
I think he's one of the leads of their esports division, while people might not enjoy his casting, people should be excited that Blizz are getting more involved.
On February 20 2012 02:25 RevRich wrote: We have tastosis casting but all we get is "no day9" constantly. This event has the players and casters to be top notch for sure, so stop being so damn negative!
Even if this event isn't PPV, someone will still find something to complain about.
after listening to enough day9 his voice can get a little irritating.
yea, i said it.
he can have some good jokes sometimes and his analysis IS really good, but he really doesn't have "the sauce" as he would put in his own words. his excited voice seems somewhat forced and a bit overexcited as you can tell he's trying to fill the role as a hype caster at times though not very well. and he can slip into this voice thats slightly high pitched, usually at the very end of a sentence, and its ever so slightly grating, and after awhile i just dont like his voice anymore.
i much prefer the deeper set voices of tasteless and doa. and when they raise their voices in excitement you know its sincere because theyre usually quite laid back in their casting. perhaps its all just personal preference really, i'm not saying day9 isnt a very likeable or cool guy because he is.
however, i would never choose to watch or not watch an event based on who's casting. how silly would it be to ask someone if they'll be watching an upcoming football game of their favorite team and they say "oh, no, i heard cris collinsworth is casting, so i'm just going to watch something else". isn't that a bit strange that we as SC2 fans are forming relationships so strongly with casters that we wont watch certain events without them? even events with such amazing player talent as the MLG winter arena? it just doesnt seem healthy for the sport, or healthy for the community. i watch starcraft for the action, not someones voice. why is it that the SC2 community is so easily embroiled in starting drama? there's no reason to get in an uproar over day9 not attending an MLG, or claiming MLG didn't have the money for him, or that the event is not worth watching without him, or any other kind of ridiculous claim. which are you a bigger fan of, SC2 or someone who casts SC2?
On February 19 2012 22:44 Noocta wrote: If i may ask.. Why is Rob simpson starting to do more commentary ? It feel weird to me, because you know, it's like if David Kim was doing it. He is one of the three head of the balance team.
And I have no clue if they pay him or not too. Since he's from Blizzard and stuff... Dunno why but all feel pretty weird.
Sick players line up btw. Too bad i don't want to support PPV event. Will definitly watch the free vods tho.
And what would be so wrong about David Kim casting actually? He's a SC2 player like everyone else (and a decent one at that). Do you expect him to go "Wow man, this shit looks retardedly OP indeed, I'll look into it next patch bros, don't worry" in the middle of the cast?
EPT
Leenock
NaNiwa
MVP
