I wouldn't give this company anything. Let this e-sports backfire on them and make them look dumb.
You seem to be under the idea that this is anything but a last gauge to see if there is any point in continuing to fund the WoW e-sport scene.
WoW is sunsetting and the e-sport side is prolly cooling down to. Honestly outside of Blizzcon i rarely hear anything about the WoW e-sport.
It is simply a polite way of saying, show us we should continue to invest in it.
They go the cheddar going in overwatch and HS. The new mobile diablo will do well as long as they price/monetize it right. Times are changing and that can be good. Sure you get some bad with it too but without change things stagnate
I wouldn't give this company anything. Let this e-sports backfire on them and make them look dumb.
You seem to be under the idea that this is anything but a last gauge to see if there is any point in continuing to fund the WoW e-sport scene.
WoW is sunsetting and the e-sport side is prolly cooling down to. Honestly outside of Blizzcon i rarely hear anything about the WoW e-sport.
It is simply a polite way of saying, show us we should continue to invest in it.
They go the cheddar going in overwatch and HS. The new mobile diablo will do well as long as they price/monetize it right. Times are changing and that can be good. Sure you get some bad with it too but without change things stagnate
I don't see anything polite in saying ok fools fork over the money if not we will not do the tourment (with I doubt most people care anyway)
This decision was vetted and approved by a board of directors. What does this tell us about the state of the company other than that they are desperate? I mean that these people know already that customers will see this as a desperate measure, and they went through with it anyway. So how bad are things at Blizzard actually?
Feels like something big (and bad for them) might happen soon™
They aren't exactly the first company to do so. Valve has been doing this with DotA2 esports for years.
The timing is truly awful though. Either they are tone deaf or desperate, and I can't help but wonder what could realistically happen that would be a larger blow to them than losing the Destiny IP.
except that dota 2 (or smite) is a free to play game with a cosmetic only cash shop.
wow has :
-a box price (or used to)
-extensions that you have to buy
-a monthly sub
-a cash shop which offer level boosts among other things.
and on top of all those transactions they want to take a portion from the sales of another item to crowdfund their tourney.
can't exactly be surprised by the backlash but again it's the company that presented diablo immortal at blizzcon ...
I never said that DotA2 was unjustified in doing so. Only that it does so.
I think you make a good point about Dota 2 doing this as well. That, I suggest, is about Dota 2.
Whereas - for me - this isn't about WoW but about AB's e-sport strategy.
At the start of 2016 they bought Major League Gaming with an intent of making it the Netflix of e-sports. The channel people would subscribe to to watch all their e-sports. And e-sports doesn't come under Blizzard with AB but under a "other business" division with its own president etc.
First HotS though and now this. Pretty much only AB titles under MLG as well. Hardly Netflix-esque. Add in that MLG when purchased wasn't profitable - if reports that the bulk of the $46M AB paid were used to repay debts built up since it was set up.
I think the pressure is on AB's e-sports team to increase revenue / cut costs.
AB - arguably to their credit - had a vision that they could "make money" off e-sports. Now Twitch might be but not so sure AB are. The likes of Riot Games and Take Two having "resigned themselves" to seeing tournaments and prizes as simply a marketing expense.
Lmfao...pay the new CFO 15 mil in bonuses but cant afford to fund esports. Funny stuff. I hope acti-blizz goes bankrupt. I'll never play anything they put out again. My dreams typically dont come true though. Heh
This would explain one of the reasons for their questionnaires,to find out how badly playrs want esport and are they willing to pay for it. Well first of all ,i made the point several times,ALL of Blizzard relies on Esports,they target it for their games.I also made point that if removed they likely lose a massive amount of players because they are not their for the games but there for the esport.
Blizzard makes and has made a ton of money off their games because or esport,also something i mentioned several years ago is as a quality developer,you have to give back to those games community . Instead Blizzard has forever maintained a greedy approach,likely because of only a handful of people that care only about money and those who get bonuses related to profit margins. Bottom line is Blizzard had it too easy for too long,they don't know how to operate properly or even fair and i doubt they could change.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Pretty sure Kotick can fund these two e-sports on his own and not feel a pinch on his wallet.
ofc.. but why do it. If there is not enough interest why keep pumping money in to something that gives nothing back...? Pride..? Stubbornness..?
Here is the thing, it could even hurt the brand if WoW e-sport does bad, and seeing how OW and HS e-sport is what keeps the lights on at the moment... That would be stupid.
Yes the Blizzard of old is gone, but so is pretty much every one else. Until the pendulum swings again the sheer amount of games and games studios shaped that market. We see it everywhere else so why people thought it would not come here... i will never know.
Also it was greed and desire to make "all the money" that had a small studio called Silicone and Synaps picked up and funded properly... So it cuts the same way, even if i agree that the tech bubble of the game field is getting a bit out of hand. But as i have been told that is the last step before a proper collapse again.
Maybe it would have been better if SnS was never picked up... But once someone owns you, you no longer holds the wheel.
WoW streamers at night quite often almost fall asleep while playing the game which in turn makes me almost pass out so I stop watching. I have really tried to regularly watch people play WoW for nostalgia reasons but it's VERY boring to watch IMO. They can have all the flashy mods but in the end they are just tab targeting and spamming the same few spells over and over in both PVE and PVP.
Really was hoping they would decide to scrap e-sports and merchandise production altogether and focus just on developing games again but it appears they're going all in with what failed them. Makes me think it's intentional destruction for reasons currently unknown cause when you've been impaled by an animal any smart person wouldn't go back for seconds? Would they?
Even though I agree with pretty much everything said here.. to argue the counterpoint - When Valve does this with Dota 2 noone seems to care, and is actually hugely supported.
Even though I agree with pretty much everything said here.. to argue the counterpoint - When Valve does this with Dota 2 noone seems to care, and is actually hugely supported.
Personally, I don't care for MOBAs enough to pay attention to what's being done with DOTA2 or others.
Generally, I feel the tide of consumer sentiment is rising to a crescendo with each baffling misstep by the producers in this industry, as consumers become less patient with newer news items like this one.
The industry is doing its damndest to eradicate all goodwill and benefit of the doubt players have given these studios in the past. The leash keeps shortening.
Even though I agree with pretty much everything said here.. to argue the counterpoint - When Valve does this with Dota 2 noone seems to care, and is actually hugely supported.
I never got the whole WoW e-sports scene. Watching people run a Mythic + or 3s arena is seriously the most boring thing in the world to watch. Are companies making money off this? They basically ruined WoW in order to gear it towards an e-sport lol.
I never got the whole WoW e-sports scene. Watching people run a Mythic + or 3s arena is seriously the most boring thing in the world to watch. Are companies making money off this? They basically ruined WoW in order to gear it towards an e-sport lol.
At first, i was laughing at Blizzard. Then i realized how people choose to spend their money these days and switched my attention to the general populace.
The only thing stopping the idiots from spending is if it starts "trending" negatively.
Activision/Blizzard is pulling out of the esports scene by the looks of it, first with HotS and soon to be with both Hearthstone and WoW, attempting to crowdfund to stave off the inevitable, i doubt its going to work. I feel sorry for whatever esports teams are involved, but these games were never going to last forever
Activision/Blizzard is pulling out of the esports scene by the looks of it, first with HotS and soon to be with both Hearthstone and WoW, attempting to crowdfund to stave off the inevitable, i doubt its going to work. I feel sorry for whatever esports teams are involved, but these games were never going to last forever
I think we all knew it would not last forever, its the way they are handling things that are mind baffling. i think the general concensus here is that only WoW can kill WoW, and it looks like they really are doing a good job at that
Comments
WoW is sunsetting and the e-sport side is prolly cooling down to. Honestly outside of Blizzcon i rarely hear anything about the WoW e-sport.
It is simply a polite way of saying, show us we should continue to invest in it.
They go the cheddar going in overwatch and HS. The new mobile diablo will do well as long as they price/monetize it right. Times are changing and that can be good. Sure you get some bad with it too but without change things stagnate
This have been a good conversation
I think you make a good point about Dota 2 doing this as well. That, I suggest, is about Dota 2.
Whereas - for me - this isn't about WoW but about AB's e-sport strategy.
At the start of 2016 they bought Major League Gaming with an intent of making it the Netflix of e-sports. The channel people would subscribe to to watch all their e-sports. And e-sports doesn't come under Blizzard with AB but under a "other business" division with its own president etc.
First HotS though and now this. Pretty much only AB titles under MLG as well. Hardly Netflix-esque. Add in that MLG when purchased wasn't profitable - if reports that the bulk of the $46M AB paid were used to repay debts built up since it was set up.
I think the pressure is on AB's e-sports team to increase revenue / cut costs.
AB - arguably to their credit - had a vision that they could "make money" off e-sports. Now Twitch might be but not so sure AB are. The likes of Riot Games and Take Two having "resigned themselves" to seeing tournaments and prizes as simply a marketing expense.
Well first of all ,i made the point several times,ALL of Blizzard relies on Esports,they target it for their games.I also made point that if removed they likely lose a massive amount of players because they are not their for the games but there for the esport.
Blizzard makes and has made a ton of money off their games because or esport,also something i mentioned several years ago is as a quality developer,you have to give back to those games community .
Instead Blizzard has forever maintained a greedy approach,likely because of only a handful of people that care only about money and those who get bonuses related to profit margins.
Bottom line is Blizzard had it too easy for too long,they don't know how to operate properly or even fair and i doubt they could change.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
ofc.. but why do it. If there is not enough interest why keep pumping money in to something that gives nothing back...? Pride..? Stubbornness..?
Here is the thing, it could even hurt the brand if WoW e-sport does bad, and seeing how OW and HS e-sport is what keeps the lights on at the moment... That would be stupid.
Yes the Blizzard of old is gone, but so is pretty much every one else. Until the pendulum swings again the sheer amount of games and games studios shaped that market. We see it everywhere else so why people thought it would not come here... i will never know.
Also it was greed and desire to make "all the money" that had a small studio called Silicone and Synaps picked up and funded properly... So it cuts the same way, even if i agree that the tech bubble of the game field is getting a bit out of hand. But as i have been told that is the last step before a proper collapse again.
Maybe it would have been better if SnS was never picked up... But once someone owns you, you no longer holds the wheel.
This have been a good conversation
Really was hoping they would decide to scrap e-sports and merchandise production altogether and focus just on developing games again but it appears they're going all in with what failed them. Makes me think it's intentional destruction for reasons currently unknown cause when you've been impaled by an animal any smart person wouldn't go back for seconds? Would they?
This is too late
Generally, I feel the tide of consumer sentiment is rising to a crescendo with each baffling misstep by the producers in this industry, as consumers become less patient with newer news items like this one.
The industry is doing its damndest to eradicate all goodwill and benefit of the doubt players have given these studios in the past. The leash keeps shortening.
and they are selling stuff from the store to crowdfund e-sports.....
is this out of season april fools joke?
One of the biggest gaming companies on the ducking planet... wants people to crowdfund something.. that will only make them more money..
Ok. Duck this. Whoever has the ability, launch the nukes. I'm done. I'm absolutely finished with this world. WHERE CAN I GET OFF THIS RIDE.