On November 14 2013 03:58 CakeSauc3 wrote: Man, this is sad news.
I've followed MLG since 2006 when they were doing Halo 2, one of my favorite games ever, and I got so excited when they picked up SC2, as well. Until now, even though they stopped hosting SC2 tournaments, I thought it was mostly due to conflicts with WCS that they would resolve for next year. After all, they've continued broadcasting SC2 on their website, and even now there's an old SC2 stream that is being played on their front page.
However, by releasing their commentators for SC2, it looks like their serious intentions with SC2 are at an end... who is going to pick up the slack and make this game awesome in NA again? It was always fun having the rivalry between MLG and Dreamhack, and it would be a shame to have nothing in NA to match it.
Not only sad to think that a huge part of SC2 is gone for us, but I've been following MLG for so long, it's weird to realize that they don't have a single game on their circuit now that I even care about.
Well, whatever. Best of luck to Axletoss and Axslav, hope you guys find a niche in the scene to fill, and maybe you can even be involved in continuing to grow the NA SC2 scene. One can only hope. Cheers on a job well done at MLG, though
Red Bull Battlegrounds certainly has the potential to fill the gap of MLG for NA if they become a little more regular and maybe add an open bracket or at least increase the number of participants to 32 or 64.
SC2 was gone from Columbus anyway, so this is merely MLG finally being honest with us and admitting that they're completely dropping SC2.
Oh noes, where will we ever find another company willing to half-ass tournaments while in the next breath promising that they care about our NA scene? I'm still waiting for Sundance to admit that they pillaged the NA scene for all it was worth and left us a rotting corpse once it wouldn't make them anymore money. Won't watch another MLG production (and will actively steer my friends that are getting into ESPORTS away) until they do.
Sad for Axslav and Axeltoss, but I'm sure they'll find other work. WCS kind of shrunk the need for casters, but there are always production positions/Dota2 stuff to do. Dota2 is growing, and it doesn't look like it'll stop once you take into account all of the stability-longevity stuff that Valve has introduced.
This is more a news story for the implications of MLG's involvement in SC2, which hilariously MLGAdam was defending in a Dota2 thread just the other day.
On November 14 2013 05:57 Mauldo wrote: SC2 was gone from Columbus anyway, so this is merely MLG finally being honest with us and admitting that they're completely dropping SC2.
Oh noes, where will we ever find another company willing to half-ass tournaments while in the next breath promising that they care about our NA scene? I'm still waiting for Sundance to admit that they pillaged the NA scene for all it was worth and left us a rotting corpse once it wouldn't make them anymore money. Won't watch another MLG production (and will actively steer my friends that are getting into ESPORTS away) until they do.
Sad for Axslav and Axeltoss, but I'm sure they'll find other work. WCS kind of shrunk the need for casters, but there are always production positions/Dota2 stuff to do. Dota2 is growing, and it doesn't look like it'll stop once you take into account all of the stability-longevity stuff that Valve has introduced.
This is more a news story for the implications of MLG's involvement in SC2, which hilariously MLGAdam was defending in a Dota2 thread just the other day.
I know it's trendy to hate MLG, but holy shit we could do with half the shit they're getting. They may have made questionable decisions and they may have screwed up (repeatedly), but their tournaments were unquestionably awesome. MLG Fall and MLG Winter 2013 are some of my favorite tournaments of all time. They weren't half-assed, they were awesome. All tournaments have flaws - Blizzcon did, Dreamhacks do, IEMs do - singling out MLG and claiming that they more than anyone else produced bad tournaments and somehow made sure it cost them as little as possible so that they could "pillage" is ridiculous.
This is why I laugh when people say supporting one game supports all games. No it doesn't, for the simple fact that esports is niche and there's not enough money to go around for all games and it can't be compared to traditional sports. MLG chose dota 2 over sc2 and that's fine as that's their business choice and right to do so. However, supporting dota 2 doesn't mean you're supporting sc2 as well. It means you're supporting dota 2.
It always makes me laugh when esports personalities say support this game and you're helping all games. They say that mainly to be politically correct because the reality is the esports games are competing with each other for a finite amount of tourney/sponsor money.
This is not the case with sports where the NHL can sustain itself still even though it gets stomped by the NFL in terms of audience/money. There's still enough money in the NHL ecosystem to self sustain itself. This isn't the case in esports where the success of one game will come at the expense of another.
On November 14 2013 05:57 Mauldo wrote: SC2 was gone from Columbus anyway, so this is merely MLG finally being honest with us and admitting that they're completely dropping SC2.
Oh noes, where will we ever find another company willing to half-ass tournaments while in the next breath promising that they care about our NA scene? I'm still waiting for Sundance to admit that they pillaged the NA scene for all it was worth and left us a rotting corpse once it wouldn't make them anymore money. Won't watch another MLG production (and will actively steer my friends that are getting into ESPORTS away) until they do.
Sad for Axslav and Axeltoss, but I'm sure they'll find other work. WCS kind of shrunk the need for casters, but there are always production positions/Dota2 stuff to do. Dota2 is growing, and it doesn't look like it'll stop once you take into account all of the stability-longevity stuff that Valve has introduced.
This is more a news story for the implications of MLG's involvement in SC2, which hilariously MLGAdam was defending in a Dota2 thread just the other day.
I know it's trendy to hate MLG, but holy shit we could do with half the shit they're getting. They may have made questionable decisions and they may have screwed up (repeatedly), but their tournaments were unquestionably awesome. MLG Fall and MLG Winter 2013 are some of my favorite tournaments of all time. They weren't half-assed, they were awesome. All tournaments have flaws - Blizzcon did, Dreamhacks do, IEMs do - singling out MLG and claiming that they more than anyone else produced bad tournaments and somehow made sure it cost them as little as possible so that they could "pillage" is ridiculous.
Well I know it´s too romantic, but one should consider that it was SC2 (and the GSL partnership), that pulled MLG back on track in 2011 - nothing else. They would be dead and long forgotten if it wasn´t that. So in my oppinion, it´s pretty disappointing to see them drop SC2, especially in this fashion (slowly and quiet - there is still now official statement and no reason given why). I mean if they would say, there are not enough viewers for SC2 and they are losing money with it, we could at least understand it somehow. But there is nothing but pulling the plug silently.
On November 14 2013 05:57 Mauldo wrote: SC2 was gone from Columbus anyway, so this is merely MLG finally being honest with us and admitting that they're completely dropping SC2.
Oh noes, where will we ever find another company willing to half-ass tournaments while in the next breath promising that they care about our NA scene? I'm still waiting for Sundance to admit that they pillaged the NA scene for all it was worth and left us a rotting corpse once it wouldn't make them anymore money. Won't watch another MLG production (and will actively steer my friends that are getting into ESPORTS away) until they do.
Sad for Axslav and Axeltoss, but I'm sure they'll find other work. WCS kind of shrunk the need for casters, but there are always production positions/Dota2 stuff to do. Dota2 is growing, and it doesn't look like it'll stop once you take into account all of the stability-longevity stuff that Valve has introduced.
This is more a news story for the implications of MLG's involvement in SC2, which hilariously MLGAdam was defending in a Dota2 thread just the other day.
I know it's trendy to hate MLG, but holy shit we could do with half the shit they're getting. They may have made questionable decisions and they may have screwed up (repeatedly), but their tournaments were unquestionably awesome. MLG Fall and MLG Winter 2013 are some of my favorite tournaments of all time. They weren't half-assed, they were awesome. All tournaments have flaws - Blizzcon did, Dreamhacks do, IEMs do - singling out MLG and claiming that they more than anyone else produced bad tournaments and somehow made sure it cost them as little as possible so that they could "pillage" is ridiculous.
Well I know it´s too romantic, but one should consider that it was SC2 (and the GSL partnership), that pulled MLG back on track in 2011 - nothing else. They would be dead and long forgotten if it wasn´t that. So in my oppinion, it´s pretty disappointing to see them drop SC2, especially in this fashion (slowly and quiet - there is still now official statement and no reason given why). I mean if they would say, there are not enough viewers for SC2 and they are losing money with it, we could at least understand it somehow. But there is nothing but pulling the plug silently.
The reason why SC2 isn't at Columbus is stated several times in this thread...
I swear people just hear what they want and ignore the rest.
On November 14 2013 05:57 Mauldo wrote: SC2 was gone from Columbus anyway, so this is merely MLG finally being honest with us and admitting that they're completely dropping SC2.
Oh noes, where will we ever find another company willing to half-ass tournaments while in the next breath promising that they care about our NA scene? I'm still waiting for Sundance to admit that they pillaged the NA scene for all it was worth and left us a rotting corpse once it wouldn't make them anymore money. Won't watch another MLG production (and will actively steer my friends that are getting into ESPORTS away) until they do.
Sad for Axslav and Axeltoss, but I'm sure they'll find other work. WCS kind of shrunk the need for casters, but there are always production positions/Dota2 stuff to do. Dota2 is growing, and it doesn't look like it'll stop once you take into account all of the stability-longevity stuff that Valve has introduced.
This is more a news story for the implications of MLG's involvement in SC2, which hilariously MLGAdam was defending in a Dota2 thread just the other day.
I know it's trendy to hate MLG, but holy shit we could do with half the shit they're getting. They may have made questionable decisions and they may have screwed up (repeatedly), but their tournaments were unquestionably awesome. MLG Fall and MLG Winter 2013 are some of my favorite tournaments of all time. They weren't half-assed, they were awesome. All tournaments have flaws - Blizzcon did, Dreamhacks do, IEMs do - singling out MLG and claiming that they more than anyone else produced bad tournaments and somehow made sure it cost them as little as possible so that they could "pillage" is ridiculous.
Well I know it´s too romantic, but one should consider that it was SC2 (and the GSL partnership), that pulled MLG back on track in 2011 - nothing else. They would be dead and long forgotten if it wasn´t that. So in my oppinion, it´s pretty disappointing to see them drop SC2, especially in this fashion (slowly and quiet - there is still now official statement and no reason given why). I mean if they would say, there are not enough viewers for SC2 and they are losing money with it, we could at least understand it somehow. But there is nothing but pulling the plug silently.
The reason why SC2 isn't at Columbus is stated several times in this thread...
I swear people just hear what they want and ignore the rest.
You might as well believe in Santa Claus, if you believe, that this is the true reason
On November 14 2013 05:57 Mauldo wrote: SC2 was gone from Columbus anyway, so this is merely MLG finally being honest with us and admitting that they're completely dropping SC2.
Oh noes, where will we ever find another company willing to half-ass tournaments while in the next breath promising that they care about our NA scene? I'm still waiting for Sundance to admit that they pillaged the NA scene for all it was worth and left us a rotting corpse once it wouldn't make them anymore money. Won't watch another MLG production (and will actively steer my friends that are getting into ESPORTS away) until they do.
Sad for Axslav and Axeltoss, but I'm sure they'll find other work. WCS kind of shrunk the need for casters, but there are always production positions/Dota2 stuff to do. Dota2 is growing, and it doesn't look like it'll stop once you take into account all of the stability-longevity stuff that Valve has introduced.
This is more a news story for the implications of MLG's involvement in SC2, which hilariously MLGAdam was defending in a Dota2 thread just the other day.
Yeah, it's not like the MLG Winter Championship 2013 was still one of the biggest and best tournament of this year. It's not like MLG invested four years and hosted some of the most memorable tournaments in SC2 history. It's not like MLG invested a shit-ton of time and money (which they likely never recovered) just to appease a completely unpleasable fanbase and fly in Koreans, something that had never been done.
This community just loves to bite the hands that feed it.
Remember when Steel Series stopped sponsoring Grubby? The community said a big thanks for funding a fan favourite's career and moved on - oh, no, wait, they delivered a giant "fuck you", swore they would boycott the product line, and made it loud and clear how dangerous it was to become a sponsor for SC2.
As much as it would suck for the scene, I would still love to see the SC2 community get a proper comeuppance for all the entitled bullshit its pulled over these four years.
On November 14 2013 03:38 GameHeart wrote: These guys are both great, I hope someone picks them up to do regular casting again.
I don´t think so. There is no need for more casters out there (besides for the very big tournaments). Although they might be good at analysing I feel like they lack of "excitement". I might feel this way because of the way the MLG content was produced but still. If I compare them to the major casters like Apollo, Artosis, Khaldor, Kaelaris, Day 9, Wolf ... or even the "smaller" ones like Take or Mori (yeah I absolutely love his casting), they don´t stand a "chance.
Nevertheless I wish them the best of luck in the future!
On November 14 2013 05:57 Mauldo wrote: SC2 was gone from Columbus anyway, so this is merely MLG finally being honest with us and admitting that they're completely dropping SC2.
Oh noes, where will we ever find another company willing to half-ass tournaments while in the next breath promising that they care about our NA scene? I'm still waiting for Sundance to admit that they pillaged the NA scene for all it was worth and left us a rotting corpse once it wouldn't make them anymore money. Won't watch another MLG production (and will actively steer my friends that are getting into ESPORTS away) until they do.
Sad for Axslav and Axeltoss, but I'm sure they'll find other work. WCS kind of shrunk the need for casters, but there are always production positions/Dota2 stuff to do. Dota2 is growing, and it doesn't look like it'll stop once you take into account all of the stability-longevity stuff that Valve has introduced.
This is more a news story for the implications of MLG's involvement in SC2, which hilariously MLGAdam was defending in a Dota2 thread just the other day.
I know it's trendy to hate MLG, but holy shit we could do with half the shit they're getting. They may have made questionable decisions and they may have screwed up (repeatedly), but their tournaments were unquestionably awesome. MLG Fall and MLG Winter 2013 are some of my favorite tournaments of all time. They weren't half-assed, they were awesome. All tournaments have flaws - Blizzcon did, Dreamhacks do, IEMs do - singling out MLG and claiming that they more than anyone else produced bad tournaments and somehow made sure it cost them as little as possible so that they could "pillage" is ridiculous.
Well I know it´s too romantic, but one should consider that it was SC2 (and the GSL partnership), that pulled MLG back on track in 2011 - nothing else. They would be dead and long forgotten if it wasn´t that. So in my oppinion, it´s pretty disappointing to see them drop SC2, especially in this fashion (slowly and quiet - there is still now official statement and no reason given why). I mean if they would say, there are not enough viewers for SC2 and they are losing money with it, we could at least understand it somehow. But there is nothing but pulling the plug silently.
The reason why SC2 isn't at Columbus is stated several times in this thread...
I swear people just hear what they want and ignore the rest.
You might as well believe in Santa Claus, if you believe, that this is the true reason
Sorry, I do believe them. I guess I'm not a cynic like most of the Internet. And you were still 100%, wrong, because they were not silent on the subject.
On November 14 2013 03:38 GameHeart wrote: These guys are both great, I hope someone picks them up to do regular casting again.
I don´t think so. There is no need for more casters out there (besides for the very big tournaments). Although they might be good at analysing I feel like they lack of "excitement". I might feel this way because of the way the MLG content was produced but still. If I compare them to the major casters like Apollo, Artosis, Khaldor, Kaelaris, Day 9, Wolf ... or even the "smaller" ones like Take or Mori (yeah I absolutely love his casting), they don´t stand a "chance.
Nevertheless I wish them the best of luck in the future!
A lot of people greatly appreciated their casting. Your opinion is as valid as anyone else's, but saying that they don't stand a chance is probably pretty far off.
On November 14 2013 03:38 GameHeart wrote: These guys are both great, I hope someone picks them up to do regular casting again.
I don´t think so. There is no need for more casters out there (besides for the very big tournaments). Although they might be good at analysing I feel like they lack of "excitement". I might feel this way because of the way the MLG content was produced but still. If I compare them to the major casters like Apollo, Artosis, Khaldor, Kaelaris, Day 9, Wolf ... or even the "smaller" ones like Take or Mori (yeah I absolutely love his casting), they don´t stand a "chance.
Nevertheless I wish them the best of luck in the future!
A lot of people greatly appreciated their casting. Your opinion is as valid as anyone else's, but saying that they don't stand a chance is probably pretty far off.
Nah, I did not want to be mean or sth like that. And I was not referring to their talent or knowledge! What I am trying to say is, that if I have the choice they are probably the "last" option I would choose (or I did choose). Which does not mean that they are bad!
On November 14 2013 04:19 LongShot27 wrote: Man, this sucks, say what you will about their casting but they did every event they could, from dreamhack down to the smallest tournaments you could find. I was lucky enough to play on stream with MLG and it was awesome. This is a real shame.
They did a lot of community stuff too. Also streamed their own games and "drank water" on stream.
MLG has revenue and brings in a profit. SC2 did not make sense from a business sense. New-er games with excited developers and communities do make business sense, and MLG supports those. Simple and logical!
I'm a big fan of the Axes, so I am anxious to see who picks them up and where they go. Axslav especially impressed me because he had some great insight into some of the nitty gritty that I never saw explained elsewhere.
Axslav and Axeltoss are easily one of the most likable casting duos; hopefully they get assimilated somewhere else or just go independent as they more or less were.
MLG just spent too much money from the beginning on SC2. They shouldnt have set the standard so high, flying in Koreans, provide 4 streams with very famous caster etc. was maybe a bit too much. MLG burned a lot of capital in the hope for massive growth in SC2 and by trying to keep up with IPL4 and NASL, instead they should have looked at the ESL on how to run stuff sustainably.