I sincerely hope this sends the message that no game should firmly rely on the expectation of an esports competitive scene. It’s a fantastic thing to have happen, and has occurred even for party game Super Smash Bros with no esport support, but it’s not something you can force.
Sometimes the spectator appeal just isn’t there.
The thing is, it’s pretty much Activision Blizzard’s fault here. They destroyed the grassroots competitive scene to make way for the Overwatch League, but that took a bit more than a year. They could’ve found a way to integrate the existing scene instead. And that was just the start of the League. The game itself was mismanaged with the sequel taking way too long and being misunderstood (with good reason).
There were some many mistakes with the Overwatch League, that I don’t think we can use it to generalize that much. ESports was a bubble though, no doubt.
OWL biggest mistake, imo, was accepting whatever deal YouTube gave to them. Even if the money allowed for better production value, no esport is gonna take off on YouTube
There were just so, so many mistakes. Avoidable ones too. The pandemic was unavoidable, but the structure of the League made it more difficult to get through.
I don’t think it was necessarily a mistake. I regularly watch CSGO/CS2 tournaments on Youtube (as opposed to Twitch) because the viewing experience is just straight up better. Video quality is better, you can rewind back, you can pause and continue where you paused. The only big reason to prefer Twitch over Youtube is the chat, but the majority of time Twitch chat is cancer and I have it off anyway.
No Esports taking off on Youtube isn’t the fault of Youtube, it’s the fault of viewers who are too ingrained into Twitch.
I feel so bad for those kids getting esport degrees. They’re better learn to say “would you like fries with that”
I feel so bad for those kids getting esport degrees.
What universities are offering e-sport degrees? This is the first I’ve heard of it. Can you post some links?
I first heard about it through Shenandoah
Also U of North Dakota
Ferris State
Harrisburg
And more https://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/10-colleges-esports-degree-programs
Oh no! … Anyway
It will set them back for at least 7 seconds
Let’s not act as if this isn’t just a rounding error for them
I don’t think that a forced esports league was going to prosper anyway. Things like EVO,l and pre-accusation MLG where the focus is independent of the game are where esports can flourish. It’s important to note that games change and interests shift, these “leagues” don’t have the staying power like traditional sports leagues.
With that said, Microsoft now owns the MLG name and assets, and could build that back up if they had interest.
Probably less than the money they’d lose trying to keep it alive.
Which is the exact reason it got axed. No way they’d let it go if it was profitable
Esports not being profitable is basically a given at this point.
Well deserved. Chop some acti-btard staff too.
Hopefully Microsoft allows for a more community based competitive scene to grow
ok 👍
