Microsoft Makes Push To Get Back Into E-Sports 111
An anonymous reader writes: In October, Microsoft will publish Halo 5: Guardians, the first game in the series to be developed exclusively for the Xbox One. Microsoft is taking the opportunity to make a big play to become part of the e-sports market. They've announced a Halo competition with $1 million in prizes. As e-sports become more mainstream, and as game streaming has turned into a billion-dollar business, more and more development studios are seeing it as part of their marketing strategy. "When Halo fell out of favor among e-sports players, other games began to take off, often ones that were created with high-level competition in mind and that came from developers that invested heavily in events for professionals. Riot Games has turned League of Legends, its multiplayer online battle arena, into the most watched e-sport in the world, with 40,000 attendees at its finals in Korea last year." Microsoft wants back into that segment, and they're willing to spend big to do so.
E-sports! E-sports! E-sports! (Score:1)
Someone has to make this comment, and it might as well be me. I hate the name "E-sports." Can we just call it what it is, competitive video games? I mean, I get it, you want to sound all grown up and mature but ultimately you're playing video games "professionally." They're not sports. They're video games.
No one calls competitive Scrabble "board sports" or tries to pretend it's anything other than what it is, adults competing at a board game. There's nothing wrong with being competitive at silly things. I m
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Sports are games meant for entertainment of both player and spectator, just the same as video games.
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Sports are games meant for entertainment of both player and spectator, just the same as video games.
The fact that its a game, is competitive, and people are watching for entertainment doesn't make it a sport.
We're not singling out video games here:
Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Win Ben Stein's Money, and aren't sport's either. You don't hear them complaining.
Likewise Iron the tatoo artists on Ink Masters, and whatever you want to call the contestants on Ace of Cakes aren't playing sports. Nor is the guy on youtube doing crossword puzzles. Nor is your 8 year old spelling bee champion. But they too usually h
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So how do you define a sport then? A strenuous physical activity? Well then Golf and Skeet Shooting need not apply, yet people call those sports. What about a physical activity that involves unpredictability, making precise movements in response to quick decisions? That sounds kind of like...using a mouse to play League of Legends...
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So how do you define a sport then?
I define it, generally, as a athletic competition with a physical challenge.
Golf, skeet shooting, bowling,... all qualify as sports. The athletic fitness may be less stringent, but the ability to place a ball, or a bullet, or a bowling ball 'just so' are still very much a physical challenge. But yeah in the 'hierachy of sport' bowling is on the bottom rung for athletics.
What about a physical activity that involves unpredictability, making precise movements in response to quick decisions? That sounds kind of like...using a mouse to play League of Legends...
Jeopardy has all that too.No advance notice what the question is going to be. Quick decisions. And a even buzzer you have to race to physi
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Jeopardy has all that too.No advance notice what the question is going to be. Quick decisions. And a even buzzer you have to race to physically push. Its still not a sport either.
How about this: When Stephen Hawking can play League of Legends, we'll stop calling it an e-sport.
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Didn't you know the mighty Stephen Hawking is a fucking Quake Master?
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It ate my link. [youtube.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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When Stephen Hawking can play League of Legends, we'll stop calling it an e-sport.
Really that's going to be your line in the sand? Its a sport as long as it requires at least some minimum level of motor control?
I mean, Steven Hawking can't hold a cup of milk steady. So I guess that's a sport now too?
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Really that's going to be your line in the sand? Its a sport as long as it requires at least some minimum level of motor control?
Skeet shooting, curling, and bowling all need less motor control than a game like League of Legends. Sure, curling and bowling need strength, but not fine motor control.
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Which is like saying "sitting on my couch is as much a sport as the 100 meter dash."
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I don't know anybody who competes from their couch. You're thinking of console gamers, who don't compete in anything that anybody would actually want to spectate.
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There are exceptions... https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
While complexity does add to spectator interest in a game, if it goes too far, then spectators aren't interested. For example, Blizzard decided to make Starcraft 2 so fucking hard for beginners to compete at all (that is, they made everything so micro heavy that you need an APM of like 200 just to even begin to get competitive, with the top end players being at over 300 APM,) so that none of them are even interested in watching people play it either. Thus all of the big gaming leagues no longer hold tournam
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/sarcasm We already have a term:
E-penis
Or we could just call them, shock, digital games because that's all they are.
Why is the medium (for professional competition) even relevant again??
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Made this comment myself. Wish I had mod points.
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They're not sports. They're video games.
If Chess qualifies as a sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee, then I don't see why video games can't be a sport.
FIDE can't ban TV or mods (Score:2)
If Chess qualifies as a sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee, then I don't see why video games can't be a sport.
Unlike the governing body of an e-sport (its publisher), the governing body of Chess (FIDE) has no legal authority to prevent any of these:
Nobody owns gridiron football (Score:2)
Each gridiron football league controls its own television rights. Each of the two most prominent gridiron football leagues in the United States (NFL and NCAA) can make its own TV deals without consulting some hypothetical "owner of gridiron football". Likewise, anybody can manufacture gridiron football equipment or start a new gridiron football league without needing to license some exclusive right. Neither NFL nor NCAA nor any other owner of exclusive rights had power under law to shut down the American Fo [wikipedia.org]
Not with a console they won't. (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm trying to think of what games people play competitively on consoles, and none come to mind. Keyboard and mouse flat out destroys controllers when it comes to competitive play. Sure you'll have the occasional console player swear how much better they do with a controller, but the fact is they'll get trashed if they try to compete against a legit keyboard/mouse user.
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So, what is your point again?
They're trying to say their e-penis is bigger.
Re:Not with a console they won't. (Score:4, Interesting)
They're trying to say their e-penis is bigger.
Ok go read TFS for a second, don't worry, I'll wait.
Did you do so? Good. Now, recall that Microsoft wants to make money here. The money making part of tournaments is that you get spectators to pay to watch. Spectators want to watch skilled players, not people using aim assist on a controller.
How much money do you think T-Ball tournaments make compared to Major League Baseball games? No comparison at all. That said, Microsoft isn't going to make shit if they stick to the T-Ball league of video games, which is exactly what they are doing.
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If a game is played competitively, either the game/tournament allows for different controllers or not. If it does, all players will use the best controller, period. If it doesn't, well, players have to play with the allowed controller.
This is like arguing that Whiffle Ball tournaments can be every bit as lucrative as Major League Baseball. Hate to burst your bubble, but nobody made big money on tournaments dedicated to casual competitors.
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I'm trying to think of what games people play competitively on consoles, and none come to mind. Keyboard and mouse flat out destroys controllers when it comes to competitive play.
That's OK, because 2015 (or perhaps 2016) is the year of the keyboard and mouse on consoles [forbes.com]. (Sony is also licensing a kb/mouse peripheral [slashgear.com], AFAIK this is a licensing first. Yes, I know that there were mice for prior platforms; I have them for SNES, PS, and DC. (That's all of them, right?)
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Titanfall? Never heard of it. Try CS:GO with a controller and I'm willing to bet you won't make it out of silver.
I've read and re-read your comment, and I still don't see how it makes sense as a reply to mine. Neither linked article contains the word "Titanfall", nor does my comment...
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I think the most visible shock to me showing how different keyboard/mouse play was compared to controllers was in Battlefield 3. My brother bought it for his Xbox and I had it on the PC. I remember the tram tunnel level, the first area being sort of out in the open and it being a domination/capture the flag format. Playing on the PC, there frequently times where the map would end before the first capture point was taken, where on the Xbox it was the exact opposite - most often all flags would be taken.
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But the original claim was: "Keyboard and mouse flat out destroys controllers".
yes we said
(keyboard + mouse) > control pad
!(keyboard + mouse) > (control pad + aim-bot)
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So, if I fired up an aimbot along with my kb+m then we're good?
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Well, fighting games for one.
EVO was only a few weeks ago
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I'm trying to think of what games people play competitively on consoles, and none come to mind.
Smash Brothers has a serious scene, there's even a documentary [youtube.com].
Marvel vs Capcom has some intense following.
Streetfighter has had a scene for a while, maybe the oldest, check out this video [youtube.com]. To pull of that defense, he had to hit many button presses in a row with millisecond precision.
Frankly, if Microsoft consistently commits millions of dollars in prize money over several years, a competitive scene will grow up around it. I don't think many people will want to watch it, for reasons you mention, but i
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Nah, e-sports is essentially worthless on consoles because even with a AAA cross platform console game (if it exists), pros using either console can't play with one another because of the fuck wits in Sony/Microsoft decided that content couldn't be shared outside of their content ecosystem, which includes online matchmaking / competitions.
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Actually, Halo's been pretty big at the online competition arena - there's at least a couple of tournaments a year for it. (MLG, anyone?). It
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Chess isn't a sport
According to the International Olympic Committee, yes it is. I'd take their word over an AC any day.
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Do you have any idea about the amount of money the industry moves (and that is NOT only the prizes)?
Does this include money that moves when the governing body of a sport sues a league for televising the league's own matches [teamliquid.net]?
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That means an awful lot coming from some pathetic little AC.
I'm hurt (hurt I say!)
No, seriously, that shivering isn't laughter. I promise!
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I'm assuming the same idiots who watch Kim Kartrashian ... they can't find any meaning in their own life so they watch someone else's artificial life.
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I'm assuming the same idiots who watch Kim Kartrashian ... they can't find any meaning in their own life so they watch someone else's artificial life.
Your ideas are intriguing. I would like to subscribe to your magazine...
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I regret to inform there was only 1 issue ... the readers kept applying the advice (*shock*) and thus was no demand for future issues.
How to live a meaningful life
Vol. 1, Issue 1.
Far too many people waste away their life complaining about X. They are unaware there are only 2 types of people:
1. Achievers: The ones making an effort to live their dreams one step at a time , and
2. Dreams: Everyone else, who complains that they never have enough time, money, or excuse ___ of the month. They spend the majority
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What was the thing about suckers, birth rates and minutes?
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No. I'm more geared to dependable income.
Sure, $65/hour isn't as huge an earner, but at least I don't have to worry about it drying up tomorrow.
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Well, unlike you, I'm not required to ask "would you like fries with that".
Nor are $5 worth of McDonalds food part of my perks package...
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How much of his revenue does he have to pay out to video game publishers who claim the rights to his videos? A sport like Basketball, Table Tennis, or Chess has no publisher. It has a governing body (FIBA, WTTF, or FIDE), but a governing body can't sue you for televising a match.
Elo rating plz (Score:2)
How about "I wish players were automatically matched by skill, so that the pros and expert amateurs don't destroy people who are still learning the game"? Chess matches, for example, are more interesting between players with close Elo ratings.
Microsoft Makes Push To Get Back Into E-Sports... (Score:1)
... The push began vigorously and quite succesfully with CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, referring to CEOs of Apple and Google, Tim Cook and Larry Page, as "fkn scroobs" and suggesting they should "git on his fkn lvl"...
$1 million is a lot? Sounds like not worth it (Score:4, Interesting)
Professional sports teams pay single players 10$ million salary just to compete. Add up all the players in a league and you're looking in the billions.
Halo has a small skill curve/ceiling compared to something like Starcraft or League of Legends. In Halo, the difference between getting killed or scoring a kill isn't much. So if someone wanted to go pro with Halo, they'd have to take a lot of risk with them instead of being a lock to win. When skill ceilings are low, there's more random luck involved in who wins. I believe even the best Halo player isn't that much better than the top 100 world wide. So for someone to dedicate a thousand+ hours of practice to become the best Halo 5 player means they're willing to take the risk of not winning in your piddly 1 million dollar tournament. It sounds like a whole lot of investment for a big gamble. Now say you made a 5-10 million dollar tournament, and promised to do this for 4 years straight, then it sounds like something almost worth pursuing. But 1 meelion *finger to lip* is a joke. All it does is attract little kids who can't do math think they're going to be the next pro gamer. If they have an on site tournament like MLG, the travel expenses and hotels of everyone participating is more expensive than the prize pool.
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Once had? Right now the 2015 world championship is being streamed, and it has an 18$ million prize pool.
http://www.twitch.tv/dota2ti
Enjoy.
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To be fair, the vast majority of the money raised (continues to be raised) is given by the DOTA community at large.
Halo 5 is bad. 343 is bad. Controller is bad (Score:1)
I used to play competitive Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo Reach. I grew up playing Halo 1 and Halo 2 as my main game after learning about FPS in Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Halo's competitive community started at MLG who was forced to drop the game after/during Halo Reach since that game was bad. There is a lot of depth in the arena style skirmishes on maps like Sanctuary, Midship, and Warlock, but the game and franchise is otherwise completely beholden to aging casual gamers. The competitive community is not dea
LoL is only most viewed (Score:2)
that isn't spending big (Score:2)
Five mentions of Microsoft and Windows .. (Score:2)
Is it weird that E-Sports doesn't refer to (Score:2)
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Signed, the guy who has absolutely no hand-eye coordination.
256 color FPS? Luxury. (Score:2)
The 3D FPS game genre started with Wolfenstein 3D on VGA with 256 colors.
256? I thought it started with Battlezone with 2 colors: line or lack of line. And then MIDI-Maze on Atari ST with 16 colors, which was ported to Game Boy as Faceball 2000 with 4 colors.