Stumbling Towards the Finish Line

By Jimlloyd, Shindigs, and Waxangel

There were some high hopes going in, and in fact the NASL did improve in a lot of aspects in season two. By all means, NASL S2 wasn't BAD, as in it didn't actively drive you away from games like certain moment during season one. However, the best it could muster was a feeling of general apathy, as its rate of improvement lagged behind the rest of the rapidly growing Starcraft II scene. As much as we wanted to give NASL a second chance at its start, it's only fair that we now examine some of the reasons it once again fell short of expectations.


Fan Preference Towards Short Events

During its debut, the NASL was one of the first high profile leagues to promise almost daily top level games and received some plaudits for delivering consistently high-level matches. Even today, the few that support NASL cite the consistent availability of such games as one of NASL's biggest appeals.

NASL's execution of its core concept of being a long league improved for the second season, but by then the dynamics of the StarCraft II competitive scene had shifted drastically. Aside from the GSL, the leagues that drew the most attention were two to four day LAN events, and NASL's months long format looked out of place.

The scene is dominated by easily digestible and efficiently packaged tournaments that can force maximum attention over a short span of time. Consider Barcraft. 'BarCraft Providence' not only has a better ring to it than 'BarCraft NASL Week 2 Div 5,' but the name itself implies an entire tournament's worth of competition and drama. The 'ESPORTS weekend' (MLG, DreamHack, IPL3) appeals to both novice and veteran fans alike, offering the instant gratification of crowning a champion within days, not months. This particularly benefits the newer fans, who are still trying to grasp what ESPORTS actually is.

NASL's not alone in this department. When was the last time you saw the community collectively come together to discuss IPL Qualifiers or the MLG Global invitational? It's the pomp and circumstance of flashy live events that capture the attention of this young community, and it may be the only way for an organization to distinguish itself in an increasingly congested scene.


Rigidity from Broadcast Delay

Arguably, the most critical issue caused by the NASL's broadcast delay was how it hindered their interaction with the community. Like any other ESPORTS organization, NASL turns a keen eye toward the criticism from fans online, but all the attentiveness in the world is useless when you're on an inflexible broadcast schedule from weeks delayed games. It gave the NASL an undesirable aura of stubbornness, and ultimately led to a fatal inability to adapt.

Looking back, IPL Season 2 also had a very late broadcast delay, and they were met with an equal amounts of backlash. MLG and IPL are now fomenting an atmosphere of "You ask, we deliver," where fans can expect to see their criticisms acted upon posthaste. Though the NASL staff certainly heard the criticisms towards their league, there's just too little they could do about a broadcast that finished production on four weeks ago.

Again, it's all about the affinity towards short, live events. In MLG's case, if their event is a disaster, it's merely a three day disaster before they can retreat to their HQ and improve their product for the next event. In both practice and appearance, there's a huge advantage in adaptability. Adding insult to injury, NASL wasn't even able to capitalize off the success of other live tournaments. For instance, IdrA's win at IEM Guangzhou or HuK's win at MLG Orlando might have sparked some interest in their NASL games, if only they had the correct timing. It was survival of the ESPORTS fittest in 2011, and the NASL's broadcast structure left the organization without any room for growth mid season.


The Korean Boycott

This summer, the Korean teams channeled their inner OPEC and set a strict price for their players: travel, accommodations, and a considerable amount of change to spare. NASL could not (or refused to) alter their budget to meet these demands, and they were left without the Koreans who were a highlight of their first season.

With the season starting during the height of Korean dominance, it dealt a large blow to the legitimacy of the league. IPL had just come off a disappointing second season that one might attribute to the lack of Koreans. While IPL decided to loosen its purse strings and obtain those valuable Koreans for season three, it was easy to see that the stingier (or less financially endowed) NASL would suffer during season two.

Though the October Revolution did much to restore the credibility of non-Korean pros, Koreans remain a vital half of the ESPORTS equation. Beyond the caliber of play they bring, they are almost a status symbol for a league, their presence analogous to some sort of unofficial ESPORTS government stamp of approval. For a league that had a rocky first season, NASL needed all the validation it could get. After it's all over, NASL's management might wonder if it may have been worth bending the back for Korean.


Lack of Top Tier Casting

One of the most commonly cited reasons for not following the NASL was the casters. For the most part, the SC2 caster's first responsibility is to entertain, and then to inform (perhaps "be a friend and mentor" third). Not that SC2 isn't entertaining without casting – most readers of this article probably watch replays for fun – but entertainment is what the caster can add to an otherwise clear cut game. Tastosis aren't the top casters because they know more than everyone or because they can describe the positioning of a line of siege tanks better; they're the top team for the same reason there are monthly "greatest hits" videos of them on YouTube. They're really entertaining.

While Gretorp and Orb proved to be quite capable, they lacked the chemistry of even season one's maligned Gretorp and iNcontroL combo. By the end of the season one, the two were playing off of each other well; with a combination of Gretorp's goofy-ness that meshed well with iNcontroL's confidence, though neither of them took themselves too seriously. Gretorp and Orb are excited about the games, describe the action well, and provide good analysis, but it simply isn't fun. It's not directly analogous because the role of the SC2 caster is different from the casters in traditional sports, but the Gretorp / Orb vibe was almost like having two play-by-play guys in the booth. Gretorp and Orb might become parts of excellent casting teams in the future, but together they lacked that spark to move the cast beyond "watching a game I really like" to something more.


Poor Value for Cost

Price was a major factor. For $25, viewers received dubious value compared to offerings from the competition. The free low quality, paid high quality + VOD access model works for exactly one league, and that is the Korean boosted GSL.

In comparison, both IPL and DreamHack give away high quality videos for free, while MLG offers a much more tolerable low quality stream then NASL. VOD access is baseline. For a league suffering from prestige problems, it was almost absurd for NASL to charge more and offer less than their competitors.

Perhaps it would have worked better to have had a 1080p stream and then charged for VOD access? It may have let them capture more of the casual stream-watchers who ended up watching HD pro-streams instead. In any case, there were many ways NASL could have tweaked their pricing policy without discarding the pay model entirely.


The last stand of 2011

For all its troubles, the NASL does have that 'ESPORTS Weekend' to end the season. It's likely that many of the NASL nay-sayers will tune in this weekend, as the hype and excitement of watching live Starcraft II is irresistible (of course, some people will watch out of grim fascination, hoping for train wreck to validate their criticisms). People still call the NASL Season One Finals the organization's saving grace, and this seasons finals should offer another shot at redemption.