and at the time of my post it wasnt even posted yet...
Aside from our new pick-up, we still have over 20 community members, 2 sponsored and 10 academy players. If you take a look at the original post you can see that we do not buy-out top talent, we're more focused on developing and providing a place for competitive gamers at all skill-levels. Our uniqueness may be hard to grasp, which is why we made that video to explain our culture.
But other than Glon (who has always been good) who have you developed? I'm not trying to be mean, just curious who you actually take credit for.
In Starcraft our main stories have been Glon, ToXSiK and our aspire division.
However, it's not just about in-game skill. I'll share some examples with you: + Show Spoiler +
"In the last two and a half years with vVv Gaming I went from being just a gamer, to a writer, to contributing over 70 articles to a major newspaper blog. I have found something to be passionate about, and have enjoyed doing it for the entire time." - vVv Blazek (Join Date: September 21, 2009, Writer and Blogger)
"Since graduating college and joining vVv Gaming, I’ve evolved into an entirely different person. The marketing and representation skills that I have learned from Jerry and vVv Gaming trump the knowledge I gained in school tenfold." - vVv Paradise (Join Date: May 5th, 2009, Content Producer)
"What schools have a hard time teaching is aptitude. The ability to figure out an answer that you weren't given and didn't already know is something that vVv has given me the opportunity to learn over and over again." - vVv Doomhammer (Join Date: December 11th, 2008, President of vVv)
"I can honestly say--without a doubt--that I would not be the person I am today without my experience with vVv Gaming. I started out with the organization as an overly shy 16 year old, and through the organization I improved my writing abilities and analytical skill. Those improvements definitely played a key role in my eventual acceptance into the University of Michigan and I'll continue to use those abilities when I apply to law schools next summer." - vVv Nero (Join Date: April 25, 2008, Former Staff)
Hope that gives you some perspective into what we've done and where we've come from. I, personally am moving from Connecticut to Los Angeles in 5 days for an amazing opportunity that wouldn't have been possible without vVv Gaming. - Rob
Not sure why you'd name those two to be honest... You've had much more successful players in the past and it always makes me sad when I see vVv being not as active in the top tier teams now and days.
If I was to mention 2 players that really made vVv what it is today it would have to be Titan and NGry. For a while they were very well established among higher rated players, especially Titan, who has in fact been streaming a little if I've seen correctly. (not sc2 tho >.>)
If I was to guess why vVv "doesn't buy out talent" it's probably just mainly because they don't have the funding(not a bad thing). It's also just not in their priorities. They're looking for sustainability versus the "now", which is in my opinion, the better way to market a team within Esports.
That all said, they do have their academy team which is looking to promote players to main squad if they're able to reach certain requirements. This is something that's incredibly beneficial to not just vVv as a team, but also upcoming players in the scene and shouldn't be pushed aside. It's something unique to vVv, fnatic and complexity as far as I know.
I'm glad you brought this up. We honestly don't focus on buying talent because we don't feel that it actually adds much value to esports at this point. Anyone can throw money at players, it's actually a very boring way to run an organization in my humble opinion. Throwing money at players, creating a sustainable business model and doing it right is the fun/challenging part. Most teams don't really do that either though. I don't mean to discredit anyone, but it's just not where we see us (vVv) adding the most value in the long-term.
Our biggest challenge is getting over the Team narrative that all teams that don't pursue and bid on top talent, don't have a place in competitive gaming. Whenever we post on TL or reddit we're constantly talked down and condescended, which is just straight up discouraging. We're trying just as hard to make esports work as other teams, but we take a slightly different approach, sorry? (Not directed at you, Kyo)
The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
Yep. And when I was looking for a team back in the day, I remember the way that they treated prospective players, and it really just turned me off completely. And then seeing posts by Jerith here on TL, well, they've never made themselves really respectable on that side of things, IMO.
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
We have changed management, I will be moving to LA next week so that I can run the organization full-time.
Do you have any advice or feedback of what I can do to regain trust back from the community if what you said in your first paragraph is truly how the community views us? Feel free to PM if you want to keep it private.
On December 10 2012 13:38 Zennith wrote: Yep. And when I was looking for a team back in the day, I remember the way that they treated prospective players, and it really just turned me off completely. And then seeing posts by Jerith here on TL, well, they've never made themselves really respectable on that side of things, IMO.
I'm sorry that you feel that way. But, we are trying to make changes. And seeing constantly negative comments can be really a big put off. It's easier to just critize rather than to try and do something yourself. Constructive comments and as to how to improve ourselves is always welcomed, as that actually will help, but condescending negative comments rarely help anything, least to create something nice.
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
I don't think there's a successful team that doesn't ask a lot from its players. Look at the horrible state that NA SC2 is in right now, with Checksix AND Quantic falling apart in the past few months
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
I don't think there's a successful team that doesn't ask a lot from its players. Look at the horrible state that NA SC2 is in right now, with Checksix AND Quantic falling apart in the past few months
I really don't see your point. vVv is hardly on the level either of those teams were.
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
I don't think there's a successful team that doesn't ask a lot from its players. Look at the horrible state that NA SC2 is in right now, with Checksix AND Quantic falling apart in the past few months
I really don't see your point. vVv is hardly on the level either of those teams were.
Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you weren't going to get my point.
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
I don't think there's a successful team that doesn't ask a lot from its players. Look at the horrible state that NA SC2 is in right now, with Checksix AND Quantic falling apart in the past few months
I really don't see your point. vVv is hardly on the level either of those teams were.
Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you weren't going to get my point.
Since I assume you're being sarcastic - you're suggesting that what vVv is doins is trying to fill a niche/hole that neither of those teams were able to by asking your players to contribute more (not knowing at all what Quantic asked of their players).
My point is that you can't fill that role because you just aren't the same cailber of team. Sorry?
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
I don't think there's a successful team that doesn't ask a lot from its players. Look at the horrible state that NA SC2 is in right now, with Checksix AND Quantic falling apart in the past few months
I really don't see your point. vVv is hardly on the level either of those teams were.
Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you weren't going to get my point.
Since I assume you're being sarcastic - you're suggesting that what vVv is doins is trying to fill a niche/hole that neither of those teams were able to by asking your players to contribute more (not knowing at all what Quantic asked of their players).
My point is that you can't fill that role because you just aren't the same cailber of team. Sorry?
I think you should actually watch and listen to this video:
vVv is in no way trying to be a Quantic Gaming, and our unique culture as a community first and pro-team to support our community makes it a necessity to demand more from our players than other organizations might.
I had the worst experience playing against/with various vVv guilds in MMOs, especially in Aion and Aika. Sometimes they are named vVv, other times they are not but claims to have an affiliation and constantly advertise how awesome vVv is. The elitist attitude these players/guilds showed totally go against the values you kept trying to shove into our faces via the video. Not surprisingly, the first vVv player i met on SC2 ladder, vVvRuFF, is one of the most BM player on the NA ladder. He cheese, he win, he mocks you. He cheese, he lose, your hacking or is an extremely lucky bastard. Even vVvTitan has gone full retard once in a awhile when a no-name beats him.
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
I don't think there's a successful team that doesn't ask a lot from its players. Look at the horrible state that NA SC2 is in right now, with Checksix AND Quantic falling apart in the past few months
Because they really invested in SC2, as much as I'm not a fan of either team (especially checksix) they at least gave SC2 their all. VVV wont fail because they don't give their players much of anything but ask for a lot in return. So no, while those teams had to shut down, vvv wont because vvv doesn't actually invest in SC2.
On December 11 2012 14:08 Shortizz wrote: I had the worst experience playing against/with various vVv guilds in MMOs, especially in Aion and Aika. Sometimes they are named vVv, other times they are not but claims to have an affiliation and constantly advertise how awesome vVv is. The elitist attitude these players/guilds showed totally go against the values you kept trying to shove into our faces via the video. Not surprisingly, the first vVv player i met on SC2 ladder, vVvRuFF, is one of the most BM player on the NA ladder. He cheese, he win, he mocks you. He cheese, he lose, your hacking or is an extremely lucky bastard. Even vVvTitan has gone full retard once in a awhile when a no-name beats him.
So much for your unique culture and values yeah?
I'm sorry you had bad experiences with vVv players in the past, but Aion and Aika are certainly not recent games and our culture has changed quite a bit this past year or so. Also, we take the values in the video very seriously. If you have a problem like this with any of our players, please provide us with evidence of the event and we will address it.
On December 10 2012 13:32 blade55555 wrote: The reason you guys get talked down is the way you guys treated your players in general.
It was kind of a joke what you wanted them to do and how little they got in return. Combine with the fact that you guys don't even keep your promises to your players (I am not going to name names of players). I know many who were top tier players on vVv but were treated like shit.
Again I won't name names to keep them confidential but man one of the best decisions I ever made was leaving that team especially from what I heard afterwords. I don't know if you guys changed management or anything, but I imagine it's still the same.
I don't think there's a successful team that doesn't ask a lot from its players. Look at the horrible state that NA SC2 is in right now, with Checksix AND Quantic falling apart in the past few months
Because they really invested in SC2, as much as I'm not a fan of either team (especially checksix) they at least gave SC2 their all. VVV wont fail because they don't give their players much of anything but ask for a lot in return. So no, while those teams had to shut down, vvv wont because vvv doesn't actually invest in SC2.
I think we already made it clear in the video that our focus is on the community, so if the only way to "invest in SC2" is by buying pro players, then I suppose we don't invest in SC2.
However, if providing a place with an active community of Aspiring SC2 players for others to come and join and make the eSports scene great is investing in SC2 then we do invest in SC2.
If providing a welcoming environment for people to share and develop skills necessary for eSports to thrive, such as streaming, casting, eSports journalism, video editing, etc. is investing in SC2 then we do invest in SC2.
If creating a sustainable model where we can sponsor players to events while helping them develop real-world marketable skills without bankrupting ourselves is investing in SC2 then we invest in SC2.
If providing a place for all the fans of all the pro teams in the world to get together to grow and learn is investing in SC2 then we invest in SC2.
So either my time is worthless to you and I'm only useful as a cash register and not a human being trying to help make this eSports thing work, or your perspective is deeply, deeply flawed.
I will add on to the others that have posted in this thread already. I can count at least 5 times I have ran into a vVv player on sc2 NA ladder and been BM'd to absolute hell. So much so that after the 2nd or 3rd time I Googled' your team just to see what other scum were on the team so I could avoid them in the future. Hope you guys turn over a new leaf, but for me....dead.
I have talked about this before, so I am going to try to keep it short. However, I do think that people need to celebrate vVv for their differences and unique qualities they bring to the table rather than blindly comparing them to other organization and teams.
"Pro teams', especially in NA are very limited right now. So, why look down upon an organization simply trying to live within their means and put sustainability and player growth above all else? It's obvious these 'build it and they will come" strategies do not work. It's highly possible teams like vVv will outlast us all. It's fine if you don't support them because they don't have any players you like. However, I am just trying to explain that these differences should be appreciated for what they are in a space with very few pioneers in their own right.
As far as the way they treat their players, I cannot attest to that as I am not associated with them at all. However, all the players on vVv know what they are signing up for. A big pay-day in the short-term is not it and that might be disappointing to some. Once again, not telling you who you should support..I understand if you do not support them. Just if you're open to it, do a little research behind the team and it might surprise you, it did me.
On December 12 2012 00:41 DeanMalinco wrote: I will add on to the others that have posted in this thread already. I can count at least 5 times I have ran into a vVv player on sc2 NA ladder and been BM'd to absolute hell. So much so that after the 2nd or 3rd time I Googled' your team just to see what other scum were on the team so I could avoid them in the future. Hope you guys turn over a new leaf, but for me....dead.
I think this might be a problem caused by Blizzard's lack of name change and clan support. Whenever we hear about our players BMing anyone we address it, up to removing them from the organization. However, it is impossible for players to change their name once they add vVv tags, so if they continue to BM on ladder after being removed it still reflects on us
So at the end of the day, I don't actually dislike vVv. Nor do I dislike what you're trying to do as a team - there is obviously value to academy teams and such (hell, my team is starting one up ourselves). I think the thing that gets me is the marketing. I think it's great that teams are getting better at marketing themselves, but I think sometimes with vVv that marketing becomes disingenuous. For instance, the most recent pickup for vVv made it seem like the guy was a pro player with many fans. I know I'd barely even heard his name before, and I follow the NA scene as much as anybody does.
The truth is that vVv is essentially a mid-tier NA team - probably most comparable with teams like OG and Optik, and lagging a little bit behind teams like LighT and FXO - NA/Legion in terms of sc2 skill. You guys do a good job of marketing yourselves, and I suppose you have a decent community base - but you aren't the only ones - and it isn't that unique to have academy teams and to be helping players start out with casting and such. Any smart mid-tier NA team does that, because they understand you have to find ways to get noticed every way possible, and it turns out that Casters and Community/Academy teams are good ways to do that.