eSports Update – 10 Things You May Have Missed!
Over the last week, Twitch and Youtube brimmed with an overwhelming effort to raise money for cancer research through the #PourJulia campaign. The week-long charity event was dedicated to the memory of a member of the eSports community who sadly lost her battle with cancer. The campaign shows the true strength of the eSports community and funds raised will benefit cancer research in the future.
Another major media player is getting more involved in eSports, this time Yahoo, who have announced that they will be unveiling a dedicated eSports news service having already hired a team of writers. The growth of media involvement in eSports can only be a good thing for the community and helps suggest eSports is very nearly mainstream.
Activision Blizzard’s professional eSports organization, Major League Gaming (MLG) launched its very own GameBattles Android app on the Google Play this week. Players can check their achievements, view match scores and in-depth results as part of the experience.
In terms of events, the world’s biggest esports league is headed to Las Vegas in April. For the first time ever, the Spring Split Finals of the North American League Championship Series (LCS) will happen in a new location.
Read these top stories and more below in our weekly round of the top 10 things you may have missed this week.
The Economist eSports Superstars
Whur da grills at?
An article was posted (then immediately removed) on a prominent esports organizations website on why women aren’t in esports. The communities response was negative, and rightfully so.
The piece attempted to explain a real problem, but did so in a way that was laughably (and tragically) out of touch with reality. It depicted esports as something that women are inherently opposite too, citing biological and emotional “realities” as just some of the reasons the men to women ratio is so imbalanced in our community.
See, it’s easy to understand a problem exists, but it is much more difficult to find and explain the reasons or the solutions. So much to the point that, when the discussion comes up, journalists and writers end up saying things that don’t make any sense at all and are completely untrue.
Read the full story here
Yahoo is launching an esports news section
Another major media player is entering the esports news space. Internet giant Yahoo will soon launch a dedicated esports vertical and has already hired a team of editors and writers.
The move comes shortly after traditional sports powerhouse ESPN launched its own section on Jan. 14. It comes as no surprise that big organizations are looking to enter esports. The industry is set for a rapid trajectory of growth over the next few years, with one market research firm predicting industry-wide revenue to reach nearly $2 billion in 2018.
Yahoo draws in millions of users a month for its news content, covering everything from U.S. politics to health and science. It also covers game news under its tech section, but that mainly focuses on game reviews and has only rarely publishing esports-specific stories. The introduction of a dedicated vertical will mean more exposure for both Yahoo and the esports industry.
Read the full story here
As eSports Grows Online, TV Networks Like TBS and ESPN Are Hoping to Cash In
TBS premieres its inaugural eSports competition on May 27, advertisers and programmers will be watching closely to see if the nascent world of organized multiplayer video gaming is ready to become a television juggernaut.
The 10-week championship series, which will be televised and streamed live from Turner Studios in Atlanta, kicks off the network’s E-League, a pro league formed by Turner Sports and partner global talent management and events firm WME/IMG. But as with any emerging genre that suddenly finds itself in the spotlight, E-League will have to find the right balance between achieving scale and retaining its core audience of digitally forward young men.
The test will be to see if TBS’ sports fans who watch March Madness and Major League Baseball will tune in Fridays from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. to see E-League’s first-shooter game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Coverage of the games also will be streamed on Bleacher Report’s Team Stream app.
Read the full story here
MLG Release eSports GameBattles App With Live Updates
This week, Activision Blizzard’s professional eSports organization, Major League Gaming (MLG) launched its very own GameBattles Android app on the Google Play Store. In case you’re not a huge follower of professional video-game tournaments, you may have missed the fact that in the last decade, GameBattles has became by far the largest multi-platform online gaming tournament system used by over 100 console and PC games including numerous Call of Duty, NFL, and FIFA installments. If you ever followed a major tournament on a platform like YouTube or Twitch, chances are MLG had its fingers in organizing it. As of a few weeks ago, the platform celebrated 10 million registered users and considering the growing popularity of eSports worldwide, it’s not outlandish to presume that GameBattles will still be around for a very long time.
As for the mobile version of the app, you can currently use it for checking up on your achievements and general personal stats, view match scores and in-depth reports as well as scheduled matches, including those you yourself have participated in.
Read the full story here
League of Legends is deprived of the history and storylines it deserves
With millions of adoring fans from all corners of the world, League of Legends is the most popular, most diverse and most developed Esport. Unprecedented support from the game’s developer, RIOT GAMEs -who helped fund professional League of Legends events as well as investing and launching their very own professional leagues- facilitated League of Legends esports taking the world by storm. But while RIOT’s involvement has certainly been pivotal in the success of League of Legends – especially in terms of production and professionalism – they’ve also significantly hindered the competition, the story lines and in my opinion, the entertainment in watching League of Legends.
Since the introduction of the LCS in season 3, League of Legends has massively lacked international competition. Worlds, Allstars(MSI) and IEM Katowice were essentially the only tournaments where you could watch international teams from all regions of the world compete and in the case of the latter two, 6-8 team competitions with inferior formats, have resulted in League of Legends having a rather lacklustre international circuit. And with the lacklustre international circuit comes a massive loss for League of Legends fans, players, analysts and pro players alike.
Read the full story here
The North American LCS is headed to Las Vegas in April
The world’s biggest esports league is headed to Las Vegas in April. For the first time ever, the Spring Split Finals of the North American League Championship Series (LCS) will happen in a new location.
Up until now each spring final has been held in Los Angeles. League of Legends game developer and tournament organizer Riot Games announced earlier today that the 2016 event will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 16-17.
Like its previous Summer Finals at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the event will feature the third place match on the first day, with the actual finals match on the second day. And—similar to Riot’s trip to New York City—it’s likely the Mandalay Bay Events Center will sell out.
Read the full story here
League of Legends Community Raises Over $110K “PourJulia”
Over the last week, Twitch and Youtube brimmed with an overwhelming effort to raise money for cancer research through the #PourJulia campaign. Popular streamers, personalities, content creators, and members of the community united in support of the dream that one day, the lives of patients who are diagnosed with cancer will no longer have to end in tragedy.
Julia was just one of the many members of the League of Legends community who enjoyed watching streams and competitive League of Legends matches. She was particularly fond of players like Bjergsen, Santorin, and Huni.
Read the full story here
Gamers Angry After Australian Esports Organiser Misses Deadline To Pay Prizes
The Australian Call of Duty community is enjoying one of its best years ever thanks to the introduction of Activision’s Call of Duty World League and the massive amount of prizes on offer.
But 2016 has also brought new frustrations, with a Queensland-based tournament organisation owing money to players and teams from events running as far back as July.
The organisation is called Doesplay, a Queensland registered company that hosts free-to-play and paid gaming tournaments. As part of their services, they also offer a subscription service which expands the amount of tournaments players can participate in per day while also allowing access to premium event
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Blizzard CEO: ‘Development and eSports are now the same thing’
Fostering a competitive community around your game is key to its long-term success, the co-founder of Blizzard has argued.
The StarCraft, World of Warcraft and Heroes of the Storm outlet turns 25 this year, and CEO Mike Morhaime commented upon its continuing impact upon the inception and growth of the eSports sector.
“We’re at a stage where you can’t really distinguish eSports from game development anymore,” he told VentureBeat.
“If you’re going to create a competitive game and it’s going to be popular, you have to have an eSports ecosystem around the game. For us, it’s all part of delivering an epic entertainment experience for our players. It’s a key part of our strategy going forward.”
Read the full story here
