In esports, it feels like competition has hit a fever pitch. They watch one game that they’ll defend to the death. They’re not interested in experimenting and expanding their horizons. I’ve found that in speaking with friends, most focus on only one or two esports. These days, companies seek to isolate their game further and further even with things like ESL and IEM. Sure, you may not like the other game, but you didn’t care if your game was located in the same tournament convention. The forced competition also has killed much of the comradery in gaming. This attitude, in my mind, will lead to an even worse situation than the former style of governing an esport. A puddle of toxic waste on the path to greatness. The worst part is that most people chalk it up to a few bad eggs. Match fixing, illegal gambling and more take over. The places where players don’t get paid but don’t want to come forward. These are the places where seedy backroom deals take place. These types of games such as CS:GO are privy to a lack of regulation and a general disinterest from the publisher/creator. Mad Max is the esport that everyone likes to pretend is still “original” but can have just as many problems as the former. Oh, the big bad corporation hates dissent and wants to establish a freaky utopia? Where do I sign up to overthrow them? This idea is an easy pill to swallow as well. It’s a move that holds skepticism as nothing of the sort has been attempted to such a large scale. Coincidentally, these are also the places that are moving heavily toward franchising. You will play by their rules or you won’t play at all. These are the guys who own and dominate their game and crush out any ill-will. Mad Max.ġ984-style esports are your big organizations like Riot, Blizzard and so-on. These situations fall into two major fields that can be described with media: 1984 vs. Every single game these days has this problem and will continue to have this problem. This isn’t ubiquitous to a single esport either. Companies are increasing their hold over their games and forcing out both competition and people they do not desire. Since the move, money has been pouring into esports like cake batter into a pan, covering every inch of it. After all, esports had to mature to reach a wider audience right? Money and Politics Someone looking back and saying that it wasn’t like what it used to be so it’s worse. It’s not “setting a good example” to mock and laugh at someone you beat in a perfect match. It’s not “right” to scream in an enemy’s face. In this way, esports has to move towards normalization and political-correctness. Games are designed to have esport scenes from the ground up, vying to be the next big part of the pantheon. A once-niche audience of seeing who was the best is now prime time entertainment for the masses. To me, the main problem with esports is the move towards widespread entertainment and consumption. These days, you’re lucky to get someone saying they’ll easily beat an enemy. When someone got demolished in a match, you could bet that they’d throw their controller and scream some horrible epithets about their opponent. I’d compare it to something of an underground fight club, where you could only really catch these matches on the tail-end of a shaky recorded youtube compilation. Things like vulgar language, fights and money matches were common. What really changed my point-of-view on the subject is remembering part of why I loved old esports: It was an untamed wilderness.īack then, esports were an uncertain field. I could argue that I outgrew esports but when you have journalists, players and people who are decades older than I am, it’s not a strong argument. Sure, I watch Worlds and see what’s happening at The International but the drive to remain current and up-to-date is gone for me. I’ll be blunt that I was never really invested in the new wave of esports. It makes me sad that all of that is gone. I remember the hype and memes surrounding the MLG circuit with Halo and everyone scrambling to throw together a team for an online tournament. I remember watching pro Starcraft and getting frustrated when I didn’t have the dexterity or the APM to play it on a professional level. I remember watching EVO Moment #37, not really understanding why it was a big deal but getting hype anyways. Rather, I have a pick-up truck worth of memories where I recall how things happened and the stories associated with them. In my case, when it comes to esports, I don’t have a singular fond memory that makes me go “That’s it. The usual course of action when someone opens an article like this is to hearken back to their fondest memory.
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