eSports and Evolution 2012 (Part 1) - By Sam Accardo
While yes, Evolution (the biggest fighting game tournament in the world) 2012 ended a few weeks ago, the changing of the guard that occurred during the tournament is one that will not soon be forgotten. For the past 10 years that Evolution (Evo) has been run, if you look at the finalists in many of the popular fighting games in the current millennium, you will see 2 nations dominating the field: America and Japan. And for that matter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was dominated by American players. But that all changed once the champions were crowned in Las Vegas on July 8th, 2012.
There is a reason that people love watching the Superbowl, the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals, the World Series, and other championship sporting events. It’s because that’s where the stories get made. Big sports events are so popular, I know people that use them as a way to remember where they were or what they were doing at the time. I’d bet five dollars that a male football fan would be able to give you the 2 contenders in the Superbowl 5 years back from memory as he’s picking up flowers on the way home for his wife’s birthday party that he just remembered is in an hour. For example, I completely remember exactly who I was with and where I was during game 6 of the recent Stanley Cup Finals. And even though the event is for video games, that same phenomenon occurs with Evolution just as much.
But before I get into the startling finals of both Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition (Version 2012) and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I want to talk a little bit about eSports in general. As you may have noticed, this blog is about sports and video games. So when watching sports and playing video games are combined, it’s like Christmas came early and I got everything I wanted. But whenever I watch videos of people playing video games, I get a few odd looks. The look that says, “you know… you could actually be playing the game instead of just watching it.” I’ve never understood why that is since no one gives you an odd look when you’re watching sports on TV. I mean, what’s stopping you from going out and shooting some hoops yourself? Regardless of the fact that it’s a video game that I’m watching, it still requires an extreme level of dedication and practice to be able to compete and win at Evo. And that dedication and hard work deserve respect. But I think the problem is that people don’t understand how hard it is to do a 50+ hit combo in fighting games. And until people understand those concepts, people will never give gamers the respect that they deserve.
The players that do respect the elite players at big tournaments like Evolution make up the Fighting Game Community (FGC). It consists of players, fans, and tournament organizers that are dedicated to fighting games and the culture around the games. And it is one of the most vocal communities in all of video games. One of the members, Seth Killian, eventually worked with Capcom as a sort of ambassador for Capcom to talk to the FGC and see what they were saying about their games. The FGC is the sole reason arcades are still functioning in this current industry where gaming is either on your PC, game console, or phone. And the FGC has made Evolution a worldwide event that is fueled by the hype and popularity the FGC provides. To say the FGC is something to overlook, would be like overlooking the fans of soccer on a worldwide scale. And to say that professional eSports is something to be overlooked will soon be impossible.
In a recent business move, CBS Interactive, the network which has deals with the NFL and NCAA, set up deals with Own3D and the North American Star League. Own3D is most known for hosting live streams of League of Legends (currently one of the most played games on the internet), but other developers like iD and Valve also use their services. And the North American Star League hosts the biggest tournament for Starcraft 2 outside of South Korea. CBS Interactive also has deals with TwitchTV and Major League Gaming (two other popular video game streaming companies). Clearly CBS Interactive has read the writing on the wall: eSports are becoming more and more popular. And CBS wants to be there when the writing comes true. And I’m positive that at some point, eSports will be at the very least, the same popularity as hockey or soccer. But that won’t happen until the wider audience actually understands why the matches are so cool in the first place.
For the longest time I swore off baseball. As far as I was concerned, baseball may have been America’s pastime, but football was America’s sport. But then one day a friend of mine (who is co-creator and writer of this fine website) explained to me how insane of a skill pitching is. And then I sat down and watched Kershaw (GO DOYERS!) pitch the ball. And my buddy was absolutely right. Watching a guy pitch is something else. And that was the same feeling I get when I watch a player like Alex Valle pulling off a solid combo on a good punish, or watching Filipino Champ unleash an insanely difficult combo in the finals of Evolution 2012. And the reason I wrote off baseball is the same reason eSports haven’t transcended their target audience: people just don’t understand why what the players do at Evolution makes people jump up and down and scream their lungs out. And until the general public realizes how difficult it is to play at a competitive level in video games, video games and the players who play them will never give them the respect they deserve.
In this Ikaricast xaos and Seraph discuss what happened during EVO 2012. After listening in, please send us your thoughts we want to know your opinions on this event.
Evolution 2012 is the fighting game championship tournament. It’s going on this weekend in Las Vegas and later tonight all of the best players for their respective games will be announced. Fortunately, for Chris and I (Oscar) we wanted to go to EVO 2012…
