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Blizzard: Advertisers need to realise eSports has "viability of other sports"
Posted: 30.01.2013 13:08 by Simon Priest Comments: 1
Chris Sigaty of Blizzard has said that for eSports to "take that next step" in its journey, advertisers need to be poked awake and educated that they're just as 'viable' as other celebrated sports.

They need to be convinced of putting the "same sorts of investments" into eSports as others, with Blizzard happy with StarCraft 2's eSports - but there's an "additional tip that can happen."

What better way than to exploit the eSports scene and the viewing public than a reality show approach? It needs something along the lines of 'The Ultimate Fighter'.

"Ultimately what needs to happen from my perspective for eSports to take that next step or hit the tipping point is the realisation by advertisers that it does have the viability of other sports, that it’s worth putting the same sorts of investments they do into other sports into this," said the StarCraft 2 design production chief.

“I feel we’ve been extremely close. It’s done much better than I had hoped with StarCraft 2 but there’s still an additional tip that can happen.” 'The Ultimate Fighter' focuses on MMA fighters living together as they compete for a chance at being signed with UFC. It helps raise awareness to the sport tremendously and could ignite eSports.

"Getting these fighters together in a house and watching them learning their martial arts and trials they have to go through to get to their fight, to make it to number one, that sort of programming, people would eat it up about a pro-gamer and StarCraft 2 or whatever. That I think ultimately would be where we would see the really significant tip.”

StarCraft 2 will be getting more eSports competition this March 12th as Heart of the Swarm releases.

Source: VG247

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Comments

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jan 30, 2013
herodotus
while I agree that eSports could and should be supported far more than it is, it must also be noted that outside South Korea it is still a relatively small/niche 'sport'. With big money sponsorship would change this or not is a question best left to the experts, and not the blinkered, dollar-glazed eyeballs of Blizzard.