Making eSports Into an Industry Giant

(reposted from my article http://www.rtsguru.com/article/2090/Making-eSports-Into-an-Industry-Giant.html)

To turn 'hobby' into 'industry' you have to make the business model sustainable, and we have a few ideas on how to make that happen.

So I was doing my doing my usual rounds of checking up on all the happenings within eSports; checking results, flipping trhough some vods, etc. when a really good rant on vVv's Loser's Bracket podcast got me thinking...

The rant was about monetizing eSports and how the standard business models for sports and entertainment somehow has failed to be implemented within eSports. Despite being fairly easy to regulate in terms of monetizing broadcasts, most big organizations still provide a free product the the majority of the viewers and rely on risky venture capital/ sponsorship deals to sustain themselves. There are a lot of issues with this but the larger problem is that as esports consumers we aren't doing enough to directly support the things we love.

If you want to listen to the rant (it's a bit long) you can do so HERE. It's about half an hour long but incredibly entertaining. It can probably be summarized as: high quality performances should be monetized. So pretty much, the large organizations which serve as focal points for gathering money and sponsorship should put some of that burden on the viewers, where it has a much smaller impact since it is so spread out. Having the 80,000 viewers that we see tune in to a stream pay $2 each is enough to demonstrate that eSports can have a sustainable business model. Currently most of the money is investment or sponsorship & ad revenue, which works for large TV networks because they are reaching an absolutely massive audience but even the less popular channels you have to pay for in addition to whatever cable package you have. For some reason, perhaps because of the mentality of the 'internet age' viewer base, most spectators feel that a free stream is a necessity and the organizations don't want to alienate the viewers even if it means weakening the business model. 

This check could be ten-times that size with our help.

Now as it was brought up in the podcast, some organizations like the GSL have subscription models and are taking the right path to ensure that they continue to help Esports by making sure they continue to exist as long as the demand exists. However, they are essentially being undercut by other organizations who pay to produce a similar product, investing in production, high quality players, and setting up lan evironments/ festivals but not charging for the product. 

Now Starcraft II is certainly seen as one of the flagships of eSports, partially due to our willingness to back the game we are passionate about. We support our documentaries, we show up en masse to tournaments, and we buy all kinds of nerd swag gear. But even with this, we aren't spending that much compared to fans of other sports. Tons of families have seasons tickets to their favorite/local baseball team or buy tickets a few times a year to see their NBA or NFL team play. Even assuming that a ticket is around $60, that's still higher than what many of us pay to watch most of the major  tournaments that happen throughout the year. Now part of that responsibility is on us to make sure that we show our support in a more tangible way than just following our favorite pros on twitter. We should be making sure that everyone understands that there is a business behind eSports and that one cannot exist without the other.

But it's also the responsiblity of those businesses to both provide a quality product and then charge for that product. It's not that as a fan of esports you should just be throwing your money at things. You want the companies, the teams, the players, etc. to make you say "Shut up and take my money!" because it's a quality service you care about and you are more than happy to pay for it. I know that although MLG events and IPL's are expensive to go to, I am more than happy to attend (and have). I run the Top 200 KotH with my own money just because I am happy to contribute to the scene. But I know that on a large scale, there's no way I could do that safely without charging. So even while I enjoy having a free stream to watch some of the big tournaments I agree with the rant made. There just aren't any other examples of this kind of content being given away for free. I'd rather pay than have it be free for a year but not even exist the next. 

Imagine how much money there'd be for everyone to earn if eSports was funded better.

One point that wasn't really discussed but that I got to thinking about is that while the Starcraft II touranemts are still using this business model, we have MOBA tournaments with massive prize pools because they are running off the micro transaction business model where are large portion of the customer base is actually continually contributing small amounts that together, allow for these invesments to continue. World of Warcraft is a muchbigger game in terms of revenue because of the monthy subscription and sheer number of players playing but I want everyone who plays Starcraft (or any eSport game that you' only paid a 1 time cost for) and just imagine how much could be done if all the players were putting even a small percentage what WoW or XBL players pay towards eSports each month. 

So I guess it comes down to the community. We should be vocal about our willingness to support the amazing scene that has grown out of our love for these games. We should be looking at ways to put money into the things that we are getting something out of and we should be vocal about what kinds of additional things we want to see and pay for. I know I (and many others) would be whipping out a wallet if I saw a chance to buy a Slayers Jacket.

What things can you think of that you would be more than willing to pay and how do you think we can work together to make sure that Esports becomes a true professional industry?

Interview with LastShadow

So those of you who tuned in to the Koth (2/3/2012) might have heard an extra voice commentating. That was LastShadow, a foreigner who's now been in Korea for 7 months and plans to stay indefinitely. I decided to interview him this weekend about his upcoming plans and goals for the future.

ARTICLE: http://www.rtsguru.com/game/1/article/2052/Interview-with-Nick-LastShadow-De-Cesare.html

The RTS/ ARTS connection

MOBAs have also been described as ARTS or "Action Real Time Strategy" but how much do RTS skills carry over to games like LoL, HoN, and DOTA and is it reciprocal?

Article: http://www.rtsguru.com/article/2040/Do-RTS-Skills-Carry-Over-to-MOBAs.html

New interview with DigiWombat about the MOBA scene. http://www.rtsguru.com/article/1971/The-Age-of-MOBAs-with-Randall-Wombat-Fitzgerald.html

Here's another quick article I wrote for www.rtsguru.com about the upcoming year and what it means for Esports.

http://www.rtsguru.com/article/1954/The-Year-Ahead-in-eSports.html

While you're reading that I strongly suggest you download the latest replay pack (1.27.12). It has some seriously AMAZING games. We're trying to get some uploaded to youtube for you to enjoy.

Joining RTSGuru.com

So the next little announcement is that I have now become a writer/ Esports managing editor for RTSguru.com (a sister site to mmorpg and fpsguru). I will be putting out a couple articles each week and hopefully I will remember to link them here as well. Keep an eye out as I hope to be bringing you awesome coverage of lots of stuff happening in Esports (this actually includes the MOBAs) and will be doing a better job describing my experiences of all the major NA SC2/esports events.

For those of you who missed it I was at the CSL's first regional LAN this weekend and had a chance to interview Duran Parsi aka Xeris (of nasl, csl, and team LighT). Check it out!

http://www.rtsguru.com/article/1930/Interview-with-Duran-Xeris-Parsi.html

Coaching Team Infinity Seven

Reposted from http://infinityseven.net/home/m/1831112/article/519366
Check out the TL thread here: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=303715

Los Angeles, January 16th, 2012 - Today, Infinity Seven is proud to announce the addition of Richard "Thundertoss" Johnson to its StarCraft 2 team as coach.

Thundertoss' responsibilities will entail the coaching of Infinity Seven's rising StarCraft 2 team players, such as CrazyMoviNG, Maker, jEcho, Mentalist, as well as Insur and Pyre from the new youth team division.

"Having known Richard for a while now, it is with great pleasure that I welcome him to the Infinity Seven family. I have always been in awe of his passion for StarCraft 2 and the scene in general. Richard's addition to our organization further adds to our continued growth and I look forward to working with him and our players.”

- Zhang "zemotion" Jingna, Team Owner, Infinity Seven

"I've always respected Infinity Seven and considered them a team with great potential and fantastic management. I'm excited to start putting all my skills to use and just based on the attitude of the team and the improvements we've already made in this short time, I predict some impressive performances as we strive to make it to the top."

- Richard "Thundertoss" Johnson, Coach, Infinity Seven

We sat down with Thundertoss to ask him a couple of questions about himself, the game and the scene in general.

Richard "Thundertoss" Johnson

For those who don't know who you are, can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background and how you became interested in Esports?

I've been playing RTS games almost exclusively since I was about 6 years old and it's been my only steady passion. A few years ago my friends and I got back into the Brood War scene and would stay up to watch the major tournaments and ProLeague matches and when the StarCraft 2 Beta came out, I jumped on it.

Since I didn't get one of the earliest beta keys I paid of lot of attention to the content that was coming out. I was also in school at CMU so I couldn't put as much time into playing it as I wanted. 

I attended Day[9]'s release party and it truly inspired me to do something for the scene like he had done. Shortly after, I ended up doing my own event which is now the Top 200 KOTH. I help a ton of people with modding, I've helped Destiny and Minigun with their gameplay and I've worked for z33k as well.

You've had success with the "Top 200 KOTH" series you run, what other events have you been involved with?

A lot. The JTV Invitational, Kingston HyperX Invitational, SOS Japan, CSL Champion Cup, Thunderzark Invitational, Thunderzone showmatches, Apocalypse LAN, Midwest LAN, etc. The Top 200 KOTH and the CSL Champion Cup are my two most important original creations and I sponsor them myself.

I've also worked with SpazCraft as well as some other famous showmatches such as the Destiny series and I've helped countless other tournaments behind the scenes.

What will your responsibilities be as coach?

I will be more of a Korean style coach, much different than what you see streamers doing with lower level players. This means I'll be going over things much more in depth (obviously professional players have a solid grasp on the basics). I'll be going over all aspects of everyone's playstyle and looking to improve their matchups, their micro, their decision making, etc... while also working on improving their mental game.

Furthermore, I'll also be helping them prepare for upcoming series in tournaments such as GSL's Code A and helping them develop strategies for the specific maps, matchups and opponents.

In a nutshell, I'll be doing everything, similar to the Korean teams. However, in the larger Korean teams, one coach is dedicated to studying the opponent and the other is dedicated on the individual player to improve his gameplay.

What got you interested in coaching?

I've always been good at analyzing and explaining complex subjects to people in a way they can relate to. And for StarCraft, that has worked out well. My busy schedule didn't really allow me to become a necessarily competitive player but did allow me to watch and analyze a lot of high level games.

Casting sometimes hurts your playing ability because you become too used to watching the game but it gives you a greater insight on all the matchups rather than the race-specific ones. It's also about analyzing a game and then explaining it in a clear and concise manner. To me, that lends itself better to coaching than playing does. 

You have quite a lot of casting experience under your belt, does this help your coaching?

Casting experience lends itself if you're watching games at the highest level of play. As a player, you have a smaller focus and a more narrow approach to the game and it might be harder to coach a player who utilizes a different playstyle. If you are experienced with a full spectrum of matchups and playstyles, you can more readily identify ways for a player to improve by pulling on that large amount of experience. 

Without a coach a player learns by finding out things that don't work but if you've seen what's possible you can help someone get to an optimal solution or strategy as long as you know why it works as well.

Recently It's GoSu also hired Gretorp as a coach, but most North American teams still don't have coaches. Do you see this as a necessary transition in the near future, and how helpful do you think it'll bring us closer to the Koreans in terms of skill level?

I think that this is a vital step for any team that wants to be competitive in the future. It is probably even more important for North American teams because we don't have the practice houses and infrastructure set up to mentor players and bring them to a level where they can compete on equal footing against Korean pros. This is why the great foreigners all go to Korea to train and then compete. Obviously, just having a coach isn't going to put you into Code S but without one your chances fall drastically. Skill level is very tied into how much you practice and how efficiently you do it. Coaches can dramatically increase practice efficiency, especially for talented new/younger players that show potential. On NA teams, high level players essentially coach themselves by looking over each other's  games and discussing situations with their practice partners. Having a coach means you have someone with high level understanding that can watch the game as it happens and provide insightful feedback without having to go back and re-watch the entire game. Even if a teammate is doing this job, it's a less efficient form of their own practice. In every other sport or talent it is simply common knowledge that if you want to become one of the best you need a coach. This is also true for StarCraft although very few people seem to realize it.

Why did you choose Infinity Seven and where do you hope to see this team going?

I actually scouted Infinity Seven before they scouted me. I had been looking to put together a new team to rival the current foreigner powerhouses. Infinity Seven is one of the only teams that has players in Code A that hasn't bought Korean players or is majorly funded Korean team.

But beyond the potential I saw in the players, I was really impressed by the management and Jingna. I think this team's priorities are more aligned with mine than that of other larger and more corporate teams. 

I see this team having multiple members competing in the GSL, if not this season, then the next. Furthermore, I predict that Infinity Seven will do very well at this year's MLG stops.

How do you see the meta game changing into this new year? What do you expect to start seeing in terms of strategies?

Well there are number of predictions I've made a while ago about some new things I think people will eventually figure out, such as using hallucinations to force incorrect tech responses or abusing an opponent's lack of early detection.

I think we might see some of the Brood War strategies that took years to be fixed out, since we are starting to see more and more Brood War pros switching over. For example, a Protoss Bisu build with blink Stalkers and Dark Templars against Zerg or a Phoenix and Dark Templar style we've seen in PvP a few times.

Since we've already seen some of the Hellion drop play against fast expand builds in the GSL that draw from Vulture play in Brood War, perhaps someone will show us some fantasy-eque Mech play vs Protoss.

Oh and of course, my favorite one to cast; Zergs learning how to zone and delay better with burrowed Banelings (maybe we'll even see some ravens built!).

What are currently your favorite units?

Man that's a tough one! Some are fun but kind of detract from the game. I think it has to be the following: +2 Archons, Cracklings and Reapers with Medivacs in the late game.

Do you play any other games outside of SC2?

I hardly have enough time to play StarCraft, so no, not really. I'm somewhat of a StarCraft purist. I have played a few games of DotA2 recently but StarCraft takes up most of my time. Anything I play beyond StarCraft is mostly for purposes of getting a feel for it from an e-sports perspective, not for the gameplay itself.

There's a couple of pictures of you wearing a SlayerS t-shirt, care to explain how you got your hands on it?

A while ago, Cella came to California to see the HoTS preview at Blizzard HQ. He knew I lived in the area so he talked to me on Skype so we could meet up. Since he didn't bring extra jerseys, he promised me that he would have MMA bring one to the next event. At MLG Columbus I was taking pictures of all the players and ended up taking a pic of MMA after one of his games on the small stage. He pointed at my hair excitedly when he saw me and asked if I was Cella's friend. I explained that I was and he took out the jersey and signed it for me.

About Infinity Seven

Infinity Seven is one of the most promising new Esports brands from North America. In the short timespan since its formation, iS has already made great strides towards establishing itself as a recognizable name in the professional gaming industry. The team has seen its players participate in multiple Major League Gaming events, achieve top placements in numerous ZOTAC Cups and Playhem Opens, and qualify for the Intel Extreme Masters Global Challenge in New York City and Global StarCraft League in Seoul, Korea. 

Infinity Seven strives to continually push the limits of what it means to be a driven, competitive, and goal-oriented team. Proudly sponsored by companies such as SteelSeries, deviantART, and ScienceWerk, iS will only serve to further impress its fans by continuing to grow, and remaining determined to become the best that it can be.