Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments
Search

News for nerds, stuff that matters

Slashdot Log In

Log In

Create Account  |  Retrieve Password

Land of the Videogame Star

Posted by Zonk on Sun Oct 08, 2006 04:39 PM
from the where-nerds-are-kings dept.
Entertainment Games
The New York Times has up an article today looking at the phenomenon of videogame players treated like rockstars in the forward-thinking nation of South Korea. There, where televised gaming is all the rage, the appearance of a favorite player can provoke a reaction not unlike a teeny-bopper concert. From the article: "The objects of the throng's adoration were a dozen of the nation's most famous athletes, South Korea's Derek Jeters and Peyton Mannings. But their sport is something almost unimaginable in the United States. These were professional video gamers, idolized for their mastery of the science-fiction strategy game StarCraft. With a panel of commentators at their side, protected from the throbbing crowd by a glass wall, players like Lim Yo-Hwan, Lee Yoon Yeol and Suh Ji Hoon lounged in logo-spangled track suits and oozed the laconic bravado of athletes the world over. And they were not even competing. They were gathered for the bracket selection for a coming tournament season on MBC Game, one of the country's two full-time video game television networks. And while audiences watched eagerly at home, fans lucky enough to be there in person waved hand-lettered signs like 'Go for it, Kang Min' and 'The winner will be Yo-Hwan {oheart}.' " ESPN, take note.
+ -
story

Related Stories

[+] E-sports Gaining Popularity in South Korea 20 comments
delirium of disorder writes "According to the JoongAng Daily, a Korean English language newspaper, e-sports are a large and growing pastime in South Korea. The market for organized gaming competitions in South Korea was 40 billion last year and is growing at 29 percent a year. Tens of thousands of people go to watch tournaments and Korea even has three 24-hour television channels devoted exclusively to computer gaming." From the article: "According to the Korea Game Development Institute, the average budget for a pro gaming team in Korea is about 1.5 billion won, which includes practice sites, living quarters and transportation. The income of pro gamers depends on the individual. The highest earners can receive about 200 million won a year in salary and prize money plus endorsements and other additional fees from television appearances."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

Land of the Videogame Star 50 Comments More /

 Full
 Abbreviated
 Hidden
More
Loading... please wait.
  • or should 'forward thinking' and an still playing an ancient (though exellent) game not go together?

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Rix (54095)
      Is there a way to bump starcraft up past 640x480 that I don't know about, or do they just bleed from the eyes?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by MSTCrow5429 (642744)
      I think they're severely degarding the meaning of the phrase "forward thinking" here. Being lauded for playing a computer game is rather pathetic. Computer games are fun, but they're not real life accomplishments. Apparently, marketing is done excreting the words "forward thinking" out of every orifice, so now it's been handed down another level to those who don't even have real jobs (no, playing games for a living is unproductive and not a job).

      • Re:is it just me.. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by ampathee (682788) on Sunday October 08 2006, @05:07PM (#16357993)
        Being lauded for playing a computer game is rather pathetic. Computer games are fun, but they're not real life accomplishments.

        Well, neither is playing football, or running very fast around a track. People are lauded for all sorts of stupid reasons.
      • (no acting for a living is unproductive and not a job) - believed by the wife of one of my friends whose from China...
        (no sports for a living is unproductive and not a job) - believed by at least a few dozen people I'm sure...
        (no racing for a living is unproductive and not a job) - believed by anyone who has watched Taladega Nights...

        What (by chance) makes you think your opinion is somehow more realivent than anyone elses?
    • playing an ancient game
      As opposed to what? Baseball? Football? Basketball?
      • Yeah you can hide in the corner, blind-fold yourself and yell Beatles sucks, Elvis sucks, Bob Dylan sucks or whatever. You don't have to like any of those artists nor Starcraft. But you don't like it doesn't mean it sucks.
        • Seeing as how it's an entirely opinion based system it could indeed suck ... for him. There is no correct opinion.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by grumpyman (849537)
            Your comparison breaks down because The Beatles had talent, Bob Dylan has talent, Elvis had talent, so someone saying "Bob Dylan sucks" is perhaps trying to incite something, maybe they are simply a blowhard about what they like/dislike, or whatever but that does not remove the talent these artists have. Starcraft on the other hand just plain sucks.

            This is the exact point there - you are exactly trying to incite something with absolutely no justification for your argument. At least you point out why th

  • ESPN 8 (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 08 2006, @04:43PM (#16357797)
    ESPN, take note.
    Stuff like this would be perfect for ESPN 8: THE OCHO!
    • Tonight at Ocho on the Ocho... North American Squares [funny-city.com] Showdown. Stay tuned afterwards for the Tetris Triathlon at nine.

  • Athletes (Score:4, Insightful)

    by PresidentEnder (849024) <wyvernender&gmail,com> on Sunday October 08 2006, @04:54PM (#16357881) Journal
    My problem with this is that it isn't skill in "videogames" in general that they're displaying, per se, nor stratigic thinking. At that level of Starcraft, twitch becomes as important as it is in first person shooters, and everything else takes a back seat. I'd like to see competitive showings of games that aren't all twitch speed. I have nothing against Starcraft; I'd be hard pressed to argue for any other game as my all-time favorite. I just can't see myself watching it, any more than I watch tennis or ping-pong (not that they don't get airtime).

    That said, since twitch becomes so important, they really do deserve to be called "Athletes."

    • Twitch is important in some athletic competitions as well.

      They shouldn't be called atheletes because there is nothing athletic in what they are doing.

      athleti
      1. Of or befitting athletics or athletes. 2. Characterized by or involving physical activity or exertion; active: an athletic lifestyle; an athletic child.

      This much should be obvious. But since the Olympic Games are giving out (or thinking of giving out) Gold Medals for Chess, I guess it comes down to who can win the technicalities battle with the best
    • Not only is skill questionable so is the repeatability of these performances. I dont see how this is any different than those old game magazines showing us the guy who played ms pacman for 96 hours straight. The submitted wrote "forward thinking" and I dont feel that there is anything forward about this, just different. As far as the teeny-bopper effect goes, well, my friends and I still love the beatles and there is little question about their talent, output, and effect on rock music. I doubt we'll he

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Mavric1337 (845283)
        Except your ignoring the fact that you do not play Ms. Pacman versus another human. These people are competing against each other just like any other type of competitive sport, only difference being that they are behind a computer. Whether or not using a computer makes you an athelete is irrelevent, these people are still competitors.

    • Interesting point; perhaps, turn-based games like Civilisation and Advance Wars would be more suited to making tournaments that would be considered worth watching in the West?

    • Re:Athletes (Score:4, Informative)

      by xIcemanx (741672) on Sunday October 08 2006, @06:47PM (#16358571)
      You've clearly never played high-level Starcraft.

      Korean pros practice for so long not to increase their handspeed (which is as fast as it can get) but to get a better grasp on the strategy of the game.

      We measure handspeed by BWChart, which calculates your ActionsPerMinute in a game. True - top pros have about 500 or so APM while a newbie has about 60. But one German player (Fisheye) managed to place second at World Cyber Games with an APM of less than 200.

      Mouse speed matters none if you don't know what to click or where. Strategy makes up maybe 80% of the game; speed makes up the rest. It's like poker where lukc matters surprisingly little. Just as a bad poker player can't make any use of his luck, a bad starcraft player can't make use of his handspeed.

      • Re:Athletes (Score:4, Informative)

        by Txiasaeia (581598) on Sunday October 08 2006, @09:45PM (#16359531)
        I'd like to second this. I'm actually living in South Korea and working as an English teacher, and the pros on the two gaming channels are absolutely *amazing*. For instance, I would have never thought to race three or four SRVs over to your enemy's base, along with a pack of marines, build a few supply depots & block the opponent in, then build a barracks and slowly fill up the opponent's base with marines. It's ridiculous how good these guys are, and it has more to do with strategy and tactics than it does with how fast they can mouse.

        Does that mean that these cyber-athletes deserve to be rich and famous? No idea. But here, Starcraft is as valid a sport as soccer - and that's saying something.

  • Games are transient (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Das Modell (969371) on Sunday October 08 2006, @05:02PM (#16357947)
    They've played Starcraft for a while now, but they'll stop playing eventually. They used to play Quake, but now they're playing something else, and soon they'll abandon that and play yet another new game. Compare this to chess or any of the physical sports that have been practised for centuries or millennia. Gaming is quite unlike any sport (that I can think of) because the "sport" keeps changing. It's like using tennis rackets but changing the rules and the playing area every few years. If you're competing with consoles, then even the controller keeps changing. Everything is completely transient. Can you think of a sport or similiar activity that is similiar to video gaming in this way? What about hardware and software settings - does everyone use the same gear and settings in tournaments? It's really amazing what kind of a difference your mouse can make.

    Anyway, it's cool that people are competing in computer and video gaming, but I just can't take it seriously as a professional "sport" for some reason. I don't think there's really even any effort in video gaming. Anyone can do it. Those guys just sit on their asses twelve hours a day, play a video game and drink Coca-Cola. Kind of like every other hardcore gamer on the planet, but the only difference is that for some reason they're just a little better than others... with the current game, anyway. There just isn't any real effort involved. Think about how much effort someone needs to put into a sport like boxing. All the training, conditioning, repetition, injuries... if we compare video gaming with something like chess, I don't think it still qualifies. Chess is an ancient and well-established game, and being the best isn't quite as simple as being the best Counter-Strike player. It requires more effort, more intelligence, more talent, more training.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by kfg (145172) *
      Gaming is quite unlike any sport (that I can think of) because the "sport" keeps changing. It's like using tennis rackets but changing the rules and the playing area every few years.

      Tennis didn't used to use rackets and was only played on an indoor court. That's why you'll find tennis often refered to as lawn tennis, to distinguish it from real tennis.

      Today's Tour de France hardly bears a resemblence to the original; and auto racing not only changes the rules every season, but sometimes multiple times a sea
      • I know rules have changed in many sports, but it's nothing compared to how quickly video games are swapped for new ones. That's the whole point.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Lars512 (957723)

      I don't think there's really even any effort in video gaming. Anyone can do it. Those guys just sit on their asses twelve hours a day, play a video game and drink Coca-Cola. Kind of like every other hardcore gamer on the planet, but the only difference is that for some reason they're just a little better than others... with the current game, anyway. There just isn't any real effort involved.

      I was once told by a lecturer that if you want to be world class at something, you need to spend at least three so

      • Anyone can play football too, but that doesn't make them the best at it.

        I'm going to make a wild guess that the difference between an enthusiastic but amateur football player and a professional football player is far greater than the difference between a hardcore gamer and a professional gamer. Gaming is too easy.

        And don't you think playing a game or for that matter anything for 12 hours straight is a rather rigorous training in it self? So they get to drink soda while they play/train so what? They are stil

        • Keep in mind that most people in Korea are black belts (at least) in Tae Kwon Do. The must like games too. I for one am glad to see them expand into more forms of entertainment and other areas of social activity.
          Also, I for one welcome my Martial Arts Master Video Game Playing Overlords.
          • I never claimed that you can suddenly become the best CS:S player ever by playing every now and then, nor did I claim that I'm the best CS:S player, nor did I claim that every hardcore gamer is equally good at CS:S.

            Video gaming is just too easy. I know because I've played since I was six years old or something. There isn't enough effort involved, so I can't take video gaming as seriously as real sports.

            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by ElleyKitten (715519)
              I've been gaming since I was a little kid, too. I frequently participate in local game tournaments, especially Super Smash Bros. I practice several hours a week, and I run through the single player modes on very hard like it's nothing, but I'm still pretty much shit at the tournaments. I will never take first place, no matter how much I practice. And you know what? The people who do take first place don't have shit on the professional players who place in the national and international tournaments, the

      • People that play games like athletes ruin the fun for everyone else. The way these poeple play kill all the dumbed down casual fun around.

        Some games have already started to solve that problem. For example, Age of Mythology tries to match players with equal skill levels, and assigns a slight handicap if there is no equal-skill matching available.

        A more obvious example would be Sin Episodes, where you have visible results of the difficulty level being adjusted on the fly. The only difference is this is s

  • "Forward-Thinking"? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The New York Times has up an article today looking at the phenomenon of videogame players treated like rockstars in the forward-thinking nation of South Korea.

    An unhealthy obsession with video games by the South Korean youth is considered "forward-thinking"?

  • If South Korean gamers can get lots of hot groupies, maybe I should move there. Mmmmm... groupies.
  • This certainly explains the plummeting birthrates in South Korea. So even if everyone is a gaming geek, they *still* don't get laid. Time for Plan B...

  • Timelessness (Score:3, Insightful)

    by DreadPiratePizz (803402) on Sunday October 08 2006, @05:34PM (#16358135)
    If we look at baseball for example, it's a timeless sport. People did, do, and will continue to play the game. It's a part of our culture, the great american past time. It's going to be with us for a long time. But what about Starcraft? Can it last 100 years like baseball? Or will the crowd move on to the newest RTS or Starcraft 2, perhaps leaving these players out in the cold when their skills don't carry over? There will always be a great deal of people who would go to a baseball game. In 15 years, will there even be anybody still interested in Starcraft?

    I think it's great that they are able to achieve fame, but they should enjoy it while it lasts, for they will never be as remembered as baseball legends, like Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson.
    • I'd argue that a video game itself does not equal a 'sport' like in real life, but instead a category does (more so if you think of indivual titles being like game rules for a certain era, baseball doens't have the same rules today as it did 100 years ago after all)... So the question should be: Will RTS's be popular in 100 years? & I think the answer will be: As much as baseball is still popular today it will be.

      Baseball (at least in the US) is on a fairly steady decline... The last decade has seen ma
    • for they will never be as remembered as baseball legends, like Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson.

      Who?

  • Getting in shape... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Hahnsoo (976162) on Sunday October 08 2006, @05:35PM (#16358143)
    It's certainly a different "world" in Korea. I'd just like to interject that the video game "stars" over there do keep in physical shape. They train extensively not only on the keyboard, but also go through physical training. In team games, the top Korean teams train in light calisthenics and do extensive team drills both in-game and in sports. The feeling is that the mind and the body must be in top shape in order to perform professionally at the highest levels. Couch potatoes need not apply.
  • "Idol" obsession is nothing new in that part of the world. When I lived there it was nutty the people and things that would suddenly become popular, but its really fleeting...think Andy Warhol's definition and halve that. If someone made a tv show about accountants you can be sure that the day after the first show there would be a fan club. Professional gaming is gaining popularity but you can bet that the worlds best frisbee golfer will make the cover of sports Illustrated before some deathmatch winner

  • we'll get to be as forward-thinking as the South Koreans. Don't hold your breath on that one.

    Pass the chips, Payton Manning is playing!

  • I remember when no korean gamer could beat me more than one time in ten in Starcraft. Then maphack came out and ruined the game.
    • That's so true, I used to play radio games all the time ...

      ... in my mind, and in my car ...

    • *Get you in shape

      *Teach you teamwork

      *Teach you leadership

      *Teach you commitment

      *Get you laid

      Apart from possibily the last point, a synchronised Dance Dance Revolution team would be doing this!

      See, you're not just making a prat of yourself! Its a sport!

      And if you loose the first point too you could point out CS or Guild Wars as well, and all the other games that are similar.

    • My experience of gaming is that it actually teaches you a huge amount about teamwork and leadership. Some of the better FPS Clans rely on both of those extensively in fact - well-drilled clan fireteams operates in very similar fashion to a military (or at least professional paintball) platoon (eg. fire-and-movement principle, etc.). And if you'd ever tried running a clan, well you'd know all about the leadership it demands.

      Get in shape however - very true, gaming hinders your fitness, bigtime. Commitment? W

    • Re:As a real athlete, I find this somewhat offensi (Score:5, Interesting)

      by level99 (968745) on Sunday October 08 2006, @05:39PM (#16358167)
      You know, I understand where you are going, but you are wrong on some of those bullet points.

      1. Shape

      True. Sitting on your ass, doesn't get you in shape. Unless you count "large behind" as a shape. ;-)


      2. Teamwork

      Actually, that depends. For a 1on1 FPS game like Quake (insert number here) or a RTS game like Starcraft, that might be true. For a team-oriented gamer like Counter-Strike that is not true, quite the opposite. 5 players HAVE to work together, otherwise they will get raped by the other team. Most of these teams practice 6-8 hours a day, 4-5 days a week. They are often spread out over vast distances, and only communicates thru a VoIP program (like Ventrilo). Take my word for it, that teaches them a lot of teamwork. If anyone fucks up while they're playing, they all get punished (by losing the round or the match). They can't see eachothers facial expressions or bodylanguage, so it can be really hard to understand humour and passing remarks. They learn teamwork - and under hard conditions.


      3. Leadership

      Yeah, I guess you have a point there. Some of these guys learn to motivate and give commands, but thats usually 1 out of 5 players on a team. He usually gets quite good at it tho.


      4. 6-8 hours a day. 4-5 days a week. Playing online. From remote locations. Thats commitment. It might not be the same kind of commitment you see in the gym or on the track, but its commitment.


      5. Get laid

      You would be REALLY amazed by the gaming culture these guys live in. I was something of a celebrity myself in my local gaming community a few years back, a manager of the top team in that country, and the editor-in-chief of the biggest community site for these players. I saw more action doing that, than I did while I was DJ'ing popular nightclubs back when I was fresh out of school. Every culture has their groupies, this is no exception. While you probably couldn't pick up women at a bar by boasting about your gamign skills, you can definitely pick them up from within the community just by being celeb-like. Nothing to be proud of, just saying it happened. And as most slashdotters would probably agree, once we can approach women by text, we have fairly good chances of coming of as intelligent funny people. Simply a lot easier steer conversations in the right directions, and you dont have to worry too much about being shy (or her being shy). These people are the last frontier of IRC networks, and the girls/groupies/female gamers are there as well.
    • Except for point A certain games actually can do the other points (the last however mostly in other countries, at least since arcades died here in the US). So I don't see the complaint your making as very valid...

      Teamwork, leadership, and commitment: I used to be part of a team that played CS and these were all big points for everyone in that team... Why? Because we played in a league and wanted to prove we were as good if not better than others. If you don't work together you die (there are some rare excep
    • Yeah for the 1% that make it. Do you know how many D-1 athletes are just glorified burger flippers now?
    • *Get you in shape DDR - Check! *Teach you teamwork DDR - Check! *Teach you leadership DDR - Check! *Teach you commitment DDR - Check! *Get you laid ... Damn

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest © 1997-2009 Geeknet, Inc.