Rob Zacny's discussions
Godfather Part II, the scene where all mobsters are talking about how they’re going to divide Cuba between them and control it forever.
Then like a week later Castro seizes power. Also, all the mobsters turn on each other shortly thereafter. It’s an image that encapsulates a lot of ideas! Read more
No, I don’t have a ton of sympathy for him either. But I do have sympathy for the point that Riot’s timing was hugely harmful to Gambit (though Gambit should have known this was coming and taken proper precautions). I think Riot were probably right to slap him down, but the point is that teams and players have no… Read more
That’s not really my point. My point is that there are a LOT of different interests to take into account. I don’t want to see a cartel model come in, but I think some people (team owners, event organizers) will see upsides in trying to create one.
And I think those interests may cut against players (like with collusion… Read more
Haha. Depends, because different video games have different competitive scenes with their own stars. I’d say Lee Young Ho in Korea, who played under the name Flash, was one of the greatest StarCraft players of all time if not the greatest. The guy is a national celebrity, at the very least.
These are good points, though I’d argue a lot of commentators and casters are delivering what you’re asking for in that last point. StarCraft especially. Though there’s only so much that most casters seem to be able to do with MOBAs, which really do seem to require some level of firsthand experience. Read more
Haha. I think Dota looks pretty good, but I can see your point.
The big thing is that accessibility is hugely important for an esport. More people playing = more great players and a bigger audience = better competition. So older games, or games that are intended to run on older hardware, end up reaching the most… Read more
Of the people who are left, I guess Showtime. Tough to judge a field like this because it’s a European tournament, and I haven’t totally kept track of that scene. But Showtime beat MarineLord, who was one of my top picks, and I think he’s in a better place than most of his competition. On the other hand, if Hydra… Read more
Good point. Counter-Strike is probably the longest-running esports with the fewest changes, which probably contributes to its popularity. But yeah, mainstream sports are sort of built into the fabric of our national consciousness because they change so little. A competitive videogame is lucky to last ten years. Read more
This is a great point, and points to another issue with esports coverage and goals like “becoming the ESPN of esports”. Not only do people tend to focus on the competitive side of games they play, but there really doesn’t seem to be much of an “esports audience” the way that traditional sports have a lot of people who… Read more
Also I kinda feel like realistic racing sims make for kind of a weird esports because, well, actual motorsports exist. I love those games to pieces, but if I’m watching racing, it’s going to be F1, GT, and prototypes. I feel like more fanciful games are better suited to being esports.
Which is also kind of me admitting… Read more
Yeah, this is an important issue and I think it makes the ELEAGUE (or E-League, I keep seeing it styled differently) experiment particularly challenging. TV, and particularly cable TV, are facing major challenges with cord-cutting. I suspect you find a lower proportion of subscribers among the esports audience than… Read more