As we prepare for the Spring Championship and the end of the Spring Season next week, we are already looking ahead to Summer. To ensure that all our players, spectators and fans have plenty of time to plan, we want to give you as many details about the Summer Season as possible. We are excited to announce the dates and locations of Summer's main events for StarCraft II and League of Legends.
Summer StarCraft II Arena: July 20-22, NYC Summer League of Legends Arena: August 3-5, NYC Summer Championship: August 24-26, Raleigh, NC
We're incredibly happy to announce the addition of a League of Legends Arena to the Summer schedule. Please note that there will be one StarCraft II Arena in Summer. Dates and times for other Summer events, such as Online Qualifiers, will be announced soon, as will the plans for additional games. We will also provide details on viewing options in the coming weeks. In the meantime, mark your calendars with the dates above, and stay tuned for more!
its always great when tournament organizers announce their eventdates long in advance.. so useful for proplayers who want to schedule their life&events
I'm curious to how this will be priced. I'm assuming it will be cheaper than this past season if I only want the sc2 content. Hopefully MLG doesn't make it an all or nothing price.
I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
On May 30 2012 06:24 Socke wrote: its always great when tournament organizers announce their eventdates long in advance.. so useful for proplayers who want to schedule their life&events
Agreed. I hate how tourneys keep dates such a big secret, leaving fans/pros little time for planning. IPL is especially bad for this, only announcing the IPL 4 date weeks before it happened and they're doing the same with IPL 5. They're running the qualifiers now, but won't disclose when IPL 5 is happening, for reasons I don't understand. I mean the venue will be at the cosmo again, so they have to know the date, yet are keeping it a secret. That only hurts everyone and I see no benefit to them for keeping it a secret.
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Very good post and this is the main problem that LoL has as an esports to me. I do see LoL players paying to get characters and stuff, but I have trouble seeing them to pay for an event or HD or w/e. This arena should be a pretty big tell on what is the future of LoL as an esports.
On the other hand, nothing groundbreaking, should still be kickass tho
On May 30 2012 06:34 opterown wrote: GSL finalists would probably skip arena....
Well, if there had to be overlap, the finals would be the best time. Only two top teir players are gauranteed not to be able to participate rather then 4 or 8 or 16 or more. And the broadcast times do not overlap.
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Very good post and this is the main problem that LoL has as an esports to me. I do see LoL players paying to get characters and stuff, but I have trouble seeing them to pay for an event or HD or w/e. This arena should be a pretty big tell on what is the future of LoL as an esports.
On the other hand, nothing groundbreaking, should still be kickass tho
League makes alot from selling heroes and skins. There if anything would be a bigger paying base
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Actually sundance said on his twitter a while back that the League of Legends arena will be free to watch. As always the starcraft 2 fans get shitted on with this PPV model , while the LOL guys get free to play ,free to watch 24/7
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Actually sundance said on his twitter a while back that the League of Legends arena will be free to watch. As always the starcraft 2 fans get shitted on with this PPV model , while the LOL guys get free to play free to watch.
Inb4 sc2 5000 paying customers vs 200,000 free viewers comments.
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Actually sundance said on his twitter a while back that the League of Legends arena will be free to watch. As always the starcraft 2 fans get shitted on with this PPV model , while the LOL guys get free to play free to watch.
Inb4 sc2 5000 paying customers vs 200,000 free viewers comments.
Settle Wait on details.
ill be waiting, is this hinting at maybe a free low quality viewing option? . Just wanna see my fav esport grow.
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Actually sundance said on his twitter a while back that the League of Legends arena will be free to watch. As always the starcraft 2 fans get shitted on with this PPV model , while the LOL guys get free to play free to watch.
Inb4 sc2 5000 paying customers vs 200,000 free viewers comments.
Settle Wait on details.
Thank you Adam. Sundance also said on Twitter that he was working on a sponsor who wanted to make SC2 free as well. People should try to be patient and wait for the full details.
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Actually sundance said on his twitter a while back that the League of Legends arena will be free to watch. As always the starcraft 2 fans get shitted on with this PPV model , while the LOL guys get free to play ,free to watch 24/7
If true, it would make some sense. I don't really feel MLG has remotely as much of name recognition/rapport with the LoL community as they do with SC2. There is to be expected some initial investments and losses to be had, a loss leader product if you will. That being said, if this first one is free and subsequent ones are not, the rage you saw from the SC2 community about paid Arenas will be nothing in comparison to the typhoon you would see from the LoL community.
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Very good post and this is the main problem that LoL has as an esports to me. I do see LoL players paying to get characters and stuff, but I have trouble seeing them to pay for an event or HD or w/e. This arena should be a pretty big tell on what is the future of LoL as an esports.
On the other hand, nothing groundbreaking, should still be kickass tho
Have there ever been concrete numbers about the Arenas?
On May 30 2012 06:23 Dontkillme wrote: Do they always have these events at the same places at every year :/ ?
They had more venues in like 04 but quickly figured out which ones had enough space for their expansions and enough turnout for a location there to make sense.
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Actually sundance said on his twitter a while back that the League of Legends arena will be free to watch. As always the starcraft 2 fans get shitted on with this PPV model , while the LOL guys get free to play ,free to watch 24/7
If true, it would make some sense. I don't really feel MLG has remotely as much of name recognition/rapport with the LoL community as they do with SC2. There is to be expected some initial investments and losses to be had, a loss leader product if you will. That being said, if this first one is free and subsequent ones are not, the rage you saw from the SC2 community about paid Arenas will be nothing in comparison to the typhoon you would see from the LoL community.
Yeah, there's alot of competition in the LoL space right now so MLG has to get its foot in the door, same way MLG HQ used to be free for SC2. I'd be surprised if they weren't charging LoL in like a year though.
THANK YOU MLG FOR COMING BACK TO RALEIGH. seriously. I live a few hours away, competed in open bracket last year, got crushed bc i was a terrible plat terran back then (terrible diamond zerg now lol), but still had an incredibly good time. The site is right in the heart of downtown raleigh which is a really nice place and I'm hoping I have a chance to compete again and I'm sure MLG is going to make it even better than last year. Thank you guys! Looking forward to it!!
Bleh. Why do they have to have two events in NYC? Can't they do some other city like KC or Dallas? You know, somewhere within driving distance for people in the midwest.
Raleigh is driveable but that's just as school starts up so I can't go. Le sigh. Oh well I guess.
I traveled down to Raleigh from NJ last year and had a blast - I really recommend going to an MLG event to anyone who is on the fence about going to one.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to both the LoL and SC2 Summer Arenas - I'll be watching for sure, PPV or not.
Is there any ETA on the announcement of the venue for the Fall Championship? I'm considering driving down to this event from RI, but it's really dependent on where the Fall Championship is. Otherwise I'm just gambling whether or not it will be closer than this.
MLG in Raleigh for the championship. Sounds like a nice vacation and late birthday present for myself if you ask me. I'm definitely going to try and make my way there. Can't wait to see who all shows up for the event.
On May 30 2012 06:51 Ezinurpain wrote: Thank you Adam. Sundance also said on Twitter that he was working on a sponsor who wanted to make SC2 free as well. People should try to be patient and wait for the full details.
No way......... How can you go back from a PPV model? Wouldn't make sense for at least a few years.
It's funny, I play quite a lot of LoL but it still feels wrong to see it as an eSport. Probably because it's dull as hell to watch and it makes no sense that it's so successful despite how fun it is to play.
On May 30 2012 06:51 Ezinurpain wrote: Thank you Adam. Sundance also said on Twitter that he was working on a sponsor who wanted to make SC2 free as well. People should try to be patient and wait for the full details.
No way......... How can you go back from a PPV model? Wouldn't make sense for at least a few years.
Well if they get a major sponsor then they no longer need to. It would sort of hurt any further attempts at PPV but as long as they get a major sponsor for each event than itll be fine.
On May 30 2012 06:19 friedchicken wrote: MLG somewhere in New England plz!!! Also, this will be a sick event.
Rhode Island is in New England.
Judging by the fact that they've had their events in the same places as last year thus far, it's not a stretch to assume they'll come back to Providence.
On May 30 2012 06:13 MLGrben wrote: If you can't make it to Anaheim, Raleigh will be another can't miss event.
i could have made it but couldnt buy a pass... will raleigh be the sameway? Whats the point to early dates, if i cant plan ahead since passes dont go on sale just as early, before travel gets expensive?
MLG seriously needs to get a major event in Chicago, or any tournament for that matter. It sucks that the midwest is largely neglected except for Columbus, which is still a 6 hour drive from me
On May 30 2012 07:22 genius_man16 wrote: Bleh. Why do they have to have two events in NYC? Can't they do some other city like KC or Dallas? You know, somewhere within driving distance for people in the midwest.
Raleigh is driveable but that's just as school starts up so I can't go. Le sigh. Oh well I guess.
It wouldn't matter if the Arenas were within driving distance, because they don't have live spectators.
On May 30 2012 09:47 pinball777 wrote: MLG seriously needs to get a major event in Chicago, or any tournament for that matter. It sucks that the midwest is largely neglected except for Columbus, which is still a 6 hour drive from me
i dont get all the hate for raleigh. Columbus for Midwest, Anaheim for west coast, raleigh for east coast, and possibly a location in canada for the final stop. I mean its not like they're trying to screw people over. MLG is trying to evenly spread out the events so people all across the nation can hopefully make a trip. And the raleigh convention place is really nice so I'd imagine thats why they keep running events there, that and the fact that they're probably making a good profit on events at tha place
I'm hoping to finally go to an event with the July 20-22 Arena in NYC. One of the few geographical advantages of spending the summer in NJ instead of VT.
[edit]
oh, wait, just saw someone said there are no live spectators for the Arena events. Well that's silly. Guess I won't be going after all.
Great to see MLG implement League of Legends more and more. I do also like they are reformatting the arenas so that the 8 player one has gone. Hopefully the league side of the tournament is going to be really good as well.
Raleigh is a great place for an event! So glad that they are coming back this year, and super excited that they are changing the second Arena to a League of Legends one. Nice variety, and I am glad that they are starting to spread their focus across different games.
On May 30 2012 09:47 pinball777 wrote: MLG seriously needs to get a major event in Chicago, or any tournament for that matter. It sucks that the midwest is largely neglected except for Columbus, which is still a 6 hour drive from me
Theres a reason for that, Unions.
Could you elaborate on this?
I go to university near Chicago, and I would love to spend some time at an MLG if it's ever in town.
If you don't understand why there isn't an MLG in your area, look at that map. The darker portions are higher populations. Having events where there are huge swaths of highly populated areas just makes sense. Anaheim is in California, which is the center of population on the West Coast. Columbus is in the center of the most populated area of the Midwest, there's "reasonable" access from PA, MI, VI, KT, IL, etc. Providence and NY and obvious, the Northeast is the most densely populated part of the country, period. Raleigh is fairly centrally located for the more populated areas of the South excluding Florida, which they catered to with Orlando last year.
Places like Texas (choose a city), Chicago, Seattle, etc. are hard because pretty much the only people who are going to get to that event are people who live in the city itself; otherwise, it's a hassle. You also have to consider the cost of renting venues, which I know nothing about.
On May 30 2012 06:51 Ezinurpain wrote: Thank you Adam. Sundance also said on Twitter that he was working on a sponsor who wanted to make SC2 free as well. People should try to be patient and wait for the full details.
No way......... How can you go back from a PPV model? Wouldn't make sense for at least a few years.
No worry, MLG will find a way to squeeze PPV in for us.
If you don't understand why there isn't an MLG in your area, look at that map. The darker portions are higher populations. Having events where there are huge swaths of highly populated areas just makes sense. Anaheim is in California, which is the center of population on the West Coast. Columbus is in the center of the most populated area of the Midwest, there's "reasonable" access from PA, MI, VI, KT, IL, etc. Providence and NY and obvious, the Northeast is the most densely populated part of the country, period. Raleigh is fairly centrally located for the more populated areas of the South excluding Florida, which they catered to with Orlando last year.
Places like Texas (choose a city), Chicago, Seattle, etc. are hard because pretty much the only people who are going to get to that event are people who live in the city itself; otherwise, it's a hassle. You also have to consider the cost of renting venues, which I know nothing about.
actually San Francisco would be in the center of population on the West coast, at least the closest to the center.
But you are correct in your post. Raleigh is a pretty good centralized location for the south east.
actually San Francisco would be in the center of population on the West coast, at least the closest to the center.
But you are correct in your post. Raleigh is a pretty good centralized location for the south east.
I meant that California is the center of population, not necessarily Anaheim itself, though you're technically wrong on that, too. SoCal has more people (~22m) than the Bay Area (~15m), and realistically, nobody's gonna drive from Washington or Oregon to SF for MLG anyway so the Northwest is sort of moot.
actually San Francisco would be in the center of population on the West coast, at least the closest to the center.
But you are correct in your post. Raleigh is a pretty good centralized location for the south east.
I meant that California is the center of population, not necessarily Anaheim itself, though you're technically wrong on that, too. SoCal has more people (~22m) than the Bay Area (~15m), and realistically, nobody's gonna drive from Washington or Oregon to SF for MLG anyway so the Northwest is sort of moot.
I think you underestimate people traveling. And if your gonna say West Coast, you would have to include Washington and Oregon. If not, just say California
On May 30 2012 09:47 pinball777 wrote: MLG seriously needs to get a major event in Chicago, or any tournament for that matter. It sucks that the midwest is largely neglected except for Columbus, which is still a 6 hour drive from me
Theres a reason for that, Unions.
Could you elaborate on this?
I go to university near Chicago, and I would love to spend some time at an MLG if it's ever in town.
They don't want unions running there show and giving them a hard time, plus the extra costs.
IEM New york iirc Carmac said they were giving him a hard time.
Hey, europe here. Was thinking about going to an mlg event xD. Now is there any way ro get it rather cheap? The only flights from munich ( nearest big airport for me ) are munich - london - nyc - raleigh. Which coats about 700 euros . How long is it from nyc to raleigh per bus? Or train or so. And is there anyone who already traveled from europe to amercia and knows a cheaper/the cheapest way. Or is it just stupid and i just invest my money in a hd pass?
Like many others, I'm very interested in how the LoL arena turns out commercially. This will be a good indication of whether LoL can transcend esports into the realm of actual "sports". There is a huge playerbase (relative to other video games) and now we will see if that huge playerbase has fans who would pay money to watch games. If there is a positive feedback, then I have no doubt that LoL will be the first game to break out of the nicheness of esports coinciding with a lot of potential investment.
From a business perspective, I'm quite excited for LoL arena.
Why not 2 SC2 Summer Arenas instead of 1 SC2 and 1 LoL?
2 SC2 Arenas will be so much better even if Arena 1 will be 8-players and Arena will be 16-players. Really good for the hardworking and deserving SC2 pros.
Or 1 SC2 Arena and 1 Dota 2 Arena, srsly I wonder until now why IPL and MLG haven't invested in Dota 2 yet.
On May 30 2012 19:25 kaelle_sc wrote: Why not 2 SC2 Summer Arenas instead of 1 SC2 and 1 LoL?
2 SC2 Arenas will be so much better even if Arena 1 will be 8-players and Arena will be 16-players. Really good for the hardworking and deserving SC2 pros.
Or 1 SC2 Arena and 1 Dota 2 Arena, srsly I wonder until now why IPL and MLG haven't invested in Dota 2 yet.
Because Dota 2 is in Beta, Also Valve are still in talks with MLG. Be patient and wait for CS:GO and Dota 2 to come out of Beta.
On May 30 2012 16:29 Blackfish wrote: Hey, europe here. Was thinking about going to an mlg event xD. Now is there any way ro get it rather cheap? The only flights from munich ( nearest big airport for me ) are munich - london - nyc - raleigh. Which coats about 700 euros . How long is it from nyc to raleigh per bus? Or train or so. And is there anyone who already traveled from europe to amercia and knows a cheaper/the cheapest way. Or is it just stupid and i just invest my money in a hd pass?
It's about 10 hours from New York to Raleigh by train, maybe closer to 11 hours by bus. Slightly cheaper and shorter would be flying from Munich to Philadelphia and taking a bus from there. Ideally (from a cost standpoint), you'd want to take the Megabus service (rather than Greyhound) from NYC or Philly to Durham (which is in the same metropolitan area as Raleigh), but the routes (you are forced to change buses in Washington or Richmond) and general lack of availability in the Washington-Richmond-Durham corridor (only three buses per day) make it really tough to do.
Another option is flying into Atlanta and taking a bus north, but that doesn't seem to give much savings compared to just flying to RDU, unless (again) you're willing to fit yourself into the sparse Megabus schedule in that region (and you'd have to change buses in Charlotte).
It's really too bad that non-stops to from Munich to CLT are so expensive, because otherwise I'd suggest that you fly to Charlotte and take a bus (~3 hours) from there.
Edit: You might have noticed that I didn't mention much about the trains. That's because while Amtrak service is fairly regular and consistent within the "Northeast Corridor" (Richmond - Washington - Baltimore - Philly - NYC - Boston), in areas south of that (including Raleigh), there might be only 1-2 trains per day. For example, if you were to take my suggestion to fly the one non-stop flight from MUC to PHL, you'd get into Philly at 15:30, which would be way too late to catch either of the daily trains that go to Raleigh (which leave Philadelphia at 08:35 and 12:35).
Edit 2: However, because of the good Amtrak service in the Northeast, you'd be able to get to Providence rather easily (in the somewhat likely event that MLG returns there). There are about 20 Amtrak trains a day to Providence from NYC/Philly/DC (northbound) or Boston (southbound).
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
I still think it has more to do with number of viewers for most sponsors looking to get into the scene. LoL has that huge pull of 100k+ viewers on big streams. It's kind of enticing.
On May 30 2012 16:58 1ntrigue wrote: Like many others, I'm very interested in how the LoL arena turns out commercially. This will be a good indication of whether LoL can transcend esports into the realm of actual "sports". There is a huge playerbase (relative to other video games) and now we will see if that huge playerbase has fans who would pay money to watch games. If there is a positive feedback, then I have no doubt that LoL will be the first game to break out of the nicheness of esports coinciding with a lot of potential investment.
From a business perspective, I'm quite excited for LoL arena.
Unless im reading it wrong LoL arena got a sponsor so it isnt PPV.
On May 30 2012 16:29 Blackfish wrote: Hey, europe here. Was thinking about going to an mlg event xD. Now is there any way ro get it rather cheap? The only flights from munich ( nearest big airport for me ) are munich - london - nyc - raleigh. Which coats about 700 euros . How long is it from nyc to raleigh per bus? Or train or so. And is there anyone who already traveled from europe to amercia and knows a cheaper/the cheapest way. Or is it just stupid and i just invest my money in a hd pass?
It's about 10 hours from New York to Raleigh by train, maybe closer to 11 hours by bus. Slightly cheaper and shorter would be flying from Munich to Philadelphia and taking a bus from there. Ideally (from a cost standpoint), you'd want to take the Megabus service (rather than Greyhound) from NYC or Philly to Durham (which is in the same metropolitan area as Raleigh), but the routes (you are forced to change buses in Washington or Richmond) and general lack of availability in the Washington-Richmond-Durham corridor (only three buses per day) make it really tough to do.
Another option is flying into Atlanta and taking a bus north, but that doesn't seem to give much savings compared to just flying to RDU, unless (again) you're willing to fit yourself into the sparse Megabus schedule in that region (and you'd have to change buses in Charlotte).
It's really too bad that non-stops to from Munich to CLT are so expensive, because otherwise I'd suggest that you fly to Charlotte and take a bus (~3 hours) from there.
Edit: You might have noticed that I didn't mention much about the trains. That's because while Amtrak service is fairly regular and consistent within the "Northeast Corridor" (Richmond - Washington - Baltimore - Philly - NYC - Boston), in areas south of that (including Raleigh), there might be only 1-2 trains per day. For example, if you were to take my suggestion to fly the one non-stop flight from MUC to PHL, you'd get into Philly at 15:30, which would be way too late to catch either of the daily trains that go to Raleigh (which leave Philadelphia at 08:35 and 12:35).
Edit 2: However, because of the good Amtrak service in the Northeast, you'd be able to get to Providence rather easily (in the somewhat likely event that MLG returns there). There are about 20 Amtrak trains a day to Providence from NYC/Philly/DC (northbound) or Boston (southbound).
Wow thanks a lot for all your time Just talked with my mother and maybe she, my dad and younger siblings want to visit New York this year so I could fly with them and go to MLG, which would be, well great for a student without much money xD
On May 30 2012 16:29 Blackfish wrote: Hey, europe here. Was thinking about going to an mlg event xD. Now is there any way ro get it rather cheap? The only flights from munich ( nearest big airport for me ) are munich - london - nyc - raleigh. Which coats about 700 euros . How long is it from nyc to raleigh per bus? Or train or so. And is there anyone who already traveled from europe to amercia and knows a cheaper/the cheapest way. Or is it just stupid and i just invest my money in a hd pass?
It's about 10 hours from New York to Raleigh by train, maybe closer to 11 hours by bus. Slightly cheaper and shorter would be flying from Munich to Philadelphia and taking a bus from there. Ideally (from a cost standpoint), you'd want to take the Megabus service (rather than Greyhound) from NYC or Philly to Durham (which is in the same metropolitan area as Raleigh), but the routes (you are forced to change buses in Washington or Richmond) and general lack of availability in the Washington-Richmond-Durham corridor (only three buses per day) make it really tough to do.
Another option is flying into Atlanta and taking a bus north, but that doesn't seem to give much savings compared to just flying to RDU, unless (again) you're willing to fit yourself into the sparse Megabus schedule in that region (and you'd have to change buses in Charlotte).
It's really too bad that non-stops to from Munich to CLT are so expensive, because otherwise I'd suggest that you fly to Charlotte and take a bus (~3 hours) from there.
Edit: You might have noticed that I didn't mention much about the trains. That's because while Amtrak service is fairly regular and consistent within the "Northeast Corridor" (Richmond - Washington - Baltimore - Philly - NYC - Boston), in areas south of that (including Raleigh), there might be only 1-2 trains per day. For example, if you were to take my suggestion to fly the one non-stop flight from MUC to PHL, you'd get into Philly at 15:30, which would be way too late to catch either of the daily trains that go to Raleigh (which leave Philadelphia at 08:35 and 12:35).
Edit 2: However, because of the good Amtrak service in the Northeast, you'd be able to get to Providence rather easily (in the somewhat likely event that MLG returns there). There are about 20 Amtrak trains a day to Providence from NYC/Philly/DC (northbound) or Boston (southbound).
Wow thanks a lot for all your time Just talked with my mother and maybe she, my dad and younger siblings want to visit New York this year so I could fly with them and go to MLG, which would be, well great for a student without much money xD
On May 30 2012 06:24 Socke wrote: its always great when tournament organizers announce their eventdates long in advance.. so useful for proplayers who want to schedule their life&events
On May 30 2012 06:30 MrCash wrote: I am extremely curious on how successful the League of Legends arena will be. I've quit the game about the time I started playing SC2 and wasn't part of the game when it started to explode in popularity and notoriety. Since then I've had the perception of the game being filled with a very young audience, which likes free games, but either won't or doesn't have money to invest into it. Since LoL appears to have been rather profitable, that assumption was probably wrong, but the success of this (I assume) paid arena would be a good gauge of how successful it can actually be as an eSport to me.
The reason pure viewer numbers don't say everything, is if the sponsors invest tons of money into a game, but still don't see a return on their investment, it doesn't matter how many viewers it has. Some investments simply yield better results. That's been my perception of SC2, in that with lower viewers, it was a more mature audience with who investors would yield better returns. That was just my perspective, and this would be a good way to confirm or disprove it.
Very good post and this is the main problem that LoL has as an esports to me. I do see LoL players paying to get characters and stuff, but I have trouble seeing them to pay for an event or HD or w/e. This arena should be a pretty big tell on what is the future of LoL as an esports.
On the other hand, nothing groundbreaking, should still be kickass tho
I disagree with some of your points.
Considering the fact that LoL players have less problems with micro transactions (due to all the skins and all that bullshit) I really don't expect them to have problems with a minor amount of money for a tournament.
LoL's problem is creating a better viewers to players ratio. They have a massive amount of viewers compared to SC2 but that is because they have a ridiculous amount of players.
LoL is a very restrictive e-sport because it's pretty much only interesting to people that play the game at a very high level; very much restricing the amount of possible viewers. SC2 on the other hand has quite a large audience among people that either never played the game or don't play the game anymore (just ask around when you're at a barcraft).
went to MLG Raleigh last year. The Convention center is really nice, but Raleigh as a city is absolutely terrible. Hopefully there isnt a hurricane this time. Like the only nice building in downtown raleigh is the convention center and there are so many homeless people by the Chick-Fil-A outside the convention center. I wish MLG would do big cities like New York(for championships obviously not in their office), Atlanta, Chicago, LA, Houston, but those cost more, maybe someday.
This is not the place to discuss moderation decisions, but rather to discuss MLG summer. If you don't like a moderation decision, take it to website feedback
On May 31 2012 09:26 TommyP wrote: went to MLG Raleigh last year. The Convention center is really nice, but Raleigh as a city is absolutely terrible. Hopefully there isnt a hurricane this time. Like the only nice building in downtown raleigh is the convention center and there are so many homeless people by the Chick-Fil-A outside the convention center. I wish MLG would do big cities like New York(for championships obviously not in their office), Atlanta, Chicago, LA, Houston, but those cost more, maybe someday.
Raleigh is mostly based in government, it isn't a big commerce center as some of those cities you listed. So it's downtown skyline isn't exactly stellar, but the historical sites add to the cityscape. Where the convention center is located is a newer area being developed, it has an outdoor music venue located just across the street. Granted last year's event was somewhat gloomy because of the hurricane, the event itself was run very well. They've been doing alot to improve the homeless situation, but that's something you find in any major city.
They've been going to Raleigh for years, big college population, it being somewhat central along east coast, and it's been able to accommodate the scale necessary for these events.
A lot of us in Florida are wondering if there's going to be an MLG Orlando or Miami this year. Would anyone be able to give us an update? Sadly a whole bunch of us weren't able to make it last year but are determined to go this year.
MLG wants to play hide and seek when it comes to the live venue dates.
No problem. I just spend my money elsewhere. I am not going to sit and wait for MLG... I've got other places I can spend my money.
Not like MLG or any of their staff read this forum, and if they do, they honestly don't give a rats ass about mine or anyone elses opinion. They just want $$$$$$$. Nothing more.
(imagine how successful a Canadian event would be - I guess NASL is taking care of that one! (and I am attending the NASL event in Toronto))
On June 01 2012 09:03 Grimmyman123 wrote: MLG wants to play hide and seek when it comes to the live venue dates.
No problem. I just spend my money elsewhere. I am not going to sit and wait for MLG... I've got other places I can spend my money.
Not like MLG or any of their staff read this forum, and if they do, they honestly don't give a rats ass about mine or anyone elses opinion. They just want $$$$$$$. Nothing more.
(imagine how successful a Canadian event would be - I guess NASL is taking care of that one! (and I am attending the NASL event in Toronto))
how much time do you need, they made this announcement nearly 3 months ahead of the live event. that is plenty of time to plan a trip
and if you haven't seen MLG staff on this site posting... well you must be blind
On June 01 2012 09:03 Grimmyman123 wrote: MLG wants to play hide and seek when it comes to the live venue dates.
No problem. I just spend my money elsewhere. I am not going to sit and wait for MLG... I've got other places I can spend my money.
Not like MLG or any of their staff read this forum, and if they do, they honestly don't give a rats ass about mine or anyone elses opinion. They just want $$$$$$$. Nothing more.
(imagine how successful a Canadian event would be - I guess NASL is taking care of that one! (and I am attending the NASL event in Toronto))
how much time do you need, they made this announcement nearly 3 months ahead of the live event. that is plenty of time to plan a trip
and if you haven't seen MLG staff on this site posting... well you must be blind
I'd just like to be able actually look at the schedule and to be able to Choose which event I want to attend, when I can schedule the time off, and that works for other vacationing type stuff.
I really do hate not getting a choice. I hate to be told what I have to watch, where, and when.
On May 31 2012 21:45 Kzenk wrote: Unfortunately I can't make it to any event live... I'm in NYC and no MLG is in NYC only Arenas and its not open for public :'(
I know,what's up with that? It'll take me one subway ride but it's not open to the public. Not even a meet and greet/autograph of some sort.
is mlg going to try to do something about how fast the player passes sold out last time? alot of people didn't even get a chance to buy one because of the premium passes being on sale a day earlier
On May 31 2012 21:45 Kzenk wrote: Unfortunately I can't make it to any event live... I'm in NYC and no MLG is in NYC only Arenas and its not open for public :'(
I know,what's up with that? It'll take me one subway ride but it's not open to the public. Not even a meet and greet/autograph of some sort.
meet and greet/autographs were held at legends bar in NY for there arena events.
If you don't understand why there isn't an MLG in your area, look at that map. The darker portions are higher populations. Having events where there are huge swaths of highly populated areas just makes sense. Anaheim is in California, which is the center of population on the West Coast. Columbus is in the center of the most populated area of the Midwest, there's "reasonable" access from PA, MI, VI, KT, IL, etc. Providence and NY and obvious, the Northeast is the most densely populated part of the country, period. Raleigh is fairly centrally located for the more populated areas of the South excluding Florida, which they catered to with Orlando last year.
Places like Texas (choose a city), Chicago, Seattle, etc. are hard because pretty much the only people who are going to get to that event are people who live in the city itself; otherwise, it's a hassle. You also have to consider the cost of renting venues, which I know nothing about.
You vastly underestimate the willingness of people in the midwest to travel. You're right that the population isn't really centralized, but if you were to have an event in KC you would get people from Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, and Illinois coming to the event. People out here are used to having to drive to a big city like KC to see a cool event.
I guarantee if you had an MLG in KC it would sell out just as easily as the ones in NYC or Anaheim.
On June 01 2012 09:03 Grimmyman123 wrote: MLG wants to play hide and seek when it comes to the live venue dates.
No problem. I just spend my money elsewhere. I am not going to sit and wait for MLG... I've got other places I can spend my money.
Not like MLG or any of their staff read this forum, and if they do, they honestly don't give a rats ass about mine or anyone elses opinion. They just want $$$$$$$. Nothing more.
(imagine how successful a Canadian event would be - I guess NASL is taking care of that one! (and I am attending the NASL event in Toronto))
Not saying it wouldnt, but when theyve had it there in the past it hasnt done very well and they dont have a reason to go to canada.
EPT
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/e6rLS.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.mapofusa.net/us-population-map.gif)
