eSports

A working American eSports business model

by TosspoT • 9 Nov 2009, 20:49 • News
The American eSports scene is to many a graveyard of eSports founding fathers, names like the CPL & WSVG cloud the one succcess story that estimates it will make $50 million revenue from marketing alone this coming year. That is of course the MLG, who hosted their latest tournament this past weekend in Anaheim (which ButtonBashers won!!).

QuoteThe four-year-old company will generate about $50 million in revenue this year from sponsorships, and face-to-face and online tournaments that broadcast live online in high definition (HD), according to Matthew Bromberg, the company's president and CEO.

Most of the revenue comes from online competitions -- about 500,000 monthly, many sponsor-supported. "Revenue has more than doubled from last year to this year, and it will more than double again next year," he says -- adding that 75% of revenue comes from sponsorship, with the remainder from licensing agreements.


Read the full article Here
Comments
37
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mama 9 Nov 2009, 21:03
how interesting
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bdy 9 Nov 2009, 21:18
Says nothing about profit... Doesnt matter how much revenue they get in, if they arent making a profit or even breaking even, eventually they wont be able to continue. But MLG are doing a great job nonetheless.
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marshaL 9 Nov 2009, 21:37
my thoughts exactly
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TosspoT 9 Nov 2009, 21:50
MLG broke even last year and received further investment after that
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Ri bo 9 Nov 2009, 21:39
It's console only isn't it?
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TosspoT 9 Nov 2009, 21:50
and WOW
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Ri bo 9 Nov 2009, 21:53
Great for eSports...
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Malaki 9 Nov 2009, 22:00
"eSports" more like "moronBOX and NolifeWoW"
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Yossarian 9 Nov 2009, 22:17
You should add XBOX filter so I could filter this shit out.
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s3nse 9 Nov 2009, 22:38
good work to them, i suppose. unfortunately they're only console and wow atm, and i find it hard to even believe that WoW is an esport.. i read that marty stratton was in talks with mlg a while ago, so hopefully we might see QL in it next year. *fingers crossed*
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Malaki 9 Nov 2009, 22:52
actually wow is.

- need high micro management
- need reaction
- need more clicks/min then any egoshooter (less then wc3/sc etc ofc though)
- need good strategic thinking

atleast if you want to win an offline tournament... becoming online gladiator ofc is just faceroll...
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marshaL 9 Nov 2009, 23:11
yeh but to get to the stage where you actually get to do fun stuff one loses his life.
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Malaki 11 Nov 2009, 00:09
been there done that.
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Roach 9 Nov 2009, 23:15
Wow pvp is totally random bs I can't believe the idiot(s) who decided to play it as a competition game. Your points made could be for any MMO that has a pvp feature.
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Malaki 11 Nov 2009, 00:11
correct thats why you could play any MMO with PvP content competitively.

Same as i for example dont like racing games because i find them boring, it's just a matter of taste.
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s3nse 10 Nov 2009, 04:07
be careful who you say that to
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im a tree 10 Nov 2009, 08:57
actually i'd say very little of wow pvp is decided by strategy compared to, for example, vanilla guild wars
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Malaki 11 Nov 2009, 00:12
Depends on how far you stretch the word 'strategy' of course setups and RNG's do alot of the work :P
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Krosan 10 Nov 2009, 09:16
haha wow fanboi :D
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Deactivated6188 10 Nov 2009, 11:24
Quote by Malaki- need good strategic thinking

This depends on your setup, some classes/setups are complete faceroll be it on high level or low level. Now take Shadowpriests for example, I respect any Shadowpriest in WoTLK that gets to a high rating in anything other than 2s. Hell, it's even an achievement if they get high in 2s nowadays.
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Malaki 11 Nov 2009, 00:13
Yea look at my reply to Meez :P
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crook 10 Nov 2009, 15:33
bullshit, its all about fotm and the best setup. you can still become good with an odd combo, but you are bound to get bashed by a fotm combo with players who know what they are doing.

Still, it's fun aslong as you dont take it too seriously
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artyoM 10 Nov 2009, 17:35
wow is lowshit omfg face it
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lettu 10 Nov 2009, 00:08
now all u need to do is copy them and do it for pc games!! ;D
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zOMBie 10 Nov 2009, 02:27
Just fuel for the fire that is phasing the PC gamers out.
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Nellie 10 Nov 2009, 12:01
Do you not think the PC will be phased out soon enough? (recreationally) Look at the all in Macs - the PC to replace the TV in the living room, touch screen ala iPhone & remote control for gaming - basic internet browsing done ala iPhone - the delivery of this also opens up revenue streams to the likes of the Murdoch empire - subscription content delivered in a restrictive controlled format.
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zOMBie 10 Nov 2009, 13:16
Gaming wise yes I do & the xbox will be what killed it. American kids love their consoles & so do their parents. It's less expensive, less complicated & ensures a level playing field hardware-wise & I'm pretty sure cheating is almost a non factor but don't quote me on that.

What I do see happening is consoles becoming more & more internet friendly & it will get to a point where it completely replaces the PC as viable gaming option. You'll not only be able to play your favorite games online but also visit your favorite sites ( like crossfire) & be able to interact with a great deal of ease. I truly believe this is Microsoft's goal as a way to cement themselves as 1 of really only 2 companies contributing to online gaming technology nullifying the need for all these individual gaming hardware companies. Just another way to take control of another market.
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gerstensaft 11 Nov 2009, 01:12
not only american kids love their consols. the most of my friends switch to play games online with their xbox or ps3 and to be honest it's not only my circle of friends were is doing that. as you already said many people are switching because it's a lot easier to play games on a consol. you just buy one when it get's released and play with it for 4 - 6 years. after that you buy a new one. No need to buy new hardware etc.
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Krosan 11 Nov 2009, 14:50
Hardware companies won't just allow this to happen. What would ATI & nvidia do without gamers? Whatfor do you need a fresh and new Intel or AMD processor when you don't play games? They will keep supporting and funding PC gaming for a long time!
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zOMBie 11 Nov 2009, 17:47
Yes but you're missing the point, consumers are what drive industry. More & more those consumers are preferring consoles over PC's for gaming & that will continue so long as consoles continue to evolve.
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Krosan 11 Nov 2009, 18:20
Ye but what will those companies do then?
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zOMBie 11 Nov 2009, 18:36
I'm sure there'll always be a small market for PC gamers but I think we are beginning to see a major shift on several fronts towards console users being the targeted audience.
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tactics 12 Nov 2009, 04:34
Those companies will continue doing what they have started doing so well. Selling the uber graphic Crysis-like games to those who can afford a good enough PC, and create all the other games for consoles.
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Deactivated5560 12 Nov 2009, 14:12
All i can say having tasted the EU. gaming scene and then tasted the U.S. gaming scene, i found the U.S. gaming scene far more profitable and professional by far. As noted by Zombie, the console scene in the U.S. is extremely huge and this is also evident from the Game Publishing Industry who have have/are and continue to invest triple figure millions in that scene alone. So my advice to anyone contemplating the E.U. gaming scene is to switch before you realize its an absolute waste of time and money.

On that note, i guess one should also take into account the recent article in the BBC News. I guess IF and i mean IF the E.U. gaming scene decided to reach a level of professionalism then actions like the following article should be considered.

Quote Xbox console ban is 'permanent'

Thousands of Xbox 360 owners who have been cut off from Microsoft's Xbox Live service will have to buy a new console if they want to play online again.

Microsoft told BBC News that banned machines will be permanently barred and "unable to connect to Xbox Live".

A message displayed on affected consoles said there was "no recourse for terms of use violations".

Microsoft has barred as many as 1m gamers from Xbox live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.

"Users of banned Xbox consoles can recover their profile to another, unmodified Xbox 360 console to resume their Live service," the firm told BBC News.

"The banned console will be unable to connect to Xbox Live."

However, modified consoles will still work offline.


Lets see some 14 years old explain to his dad why they simply trashed the xbox over a tweaking issue. Let the good times roll... :-D


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8356621.stm
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