What is Americanism?
Keeping this strictly within context, Americanism is the favoritism of American values and tastes, when deciding what rules, games, and locations to use for competitive events.
Why is America so important?
With a population of 301,139,947 and the second highest purchasing power parity in the world – 21% compared to 22% for the European Union. America's strength comes from Europe's weakness. 85% of European money comes from six separate countries (Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, France, Italy, and Spain – in that order). Yet only one of them has a significant pedigree in eSports.
Oh, and there's the small matter of Intel, AMD (ATi is owned by AMD), nvidia and Microsoft all being North American as well. Scary thought, eh?
Need proof of Americanism?
Electronic Sports League's (ESL) 'recent' Extreme Masters event in Los Angeles seemed a strange location, considering the best 'local' talent only managed sixth in both the Counter Strike 1.6 (eMazing Gaming ) and Warcraft III (mTw.Nilknarf) tournaments. Why not save everyone some air miles and host the event in Europe? You're after all a European organisation.
DUM, DUM, DUM, American sponsorship!
After five years in France, the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) decided to move its main event to North America. The timing was significant as they once again signed with the graphics giant nvidia. The event will be held in California and guess where nvidia's corporate office is...go on guess...that's right, California.
DUM, DUM, DUM, American sponsorship!
More subtle examples of interference can be found with a little digging. Take for example last years World Cyber Games. Microsoft started sponsoring the organisation in 2006, and the 2007 event saw the number of console titles double, whilst the event itself was in Seattle, a mere 15 miles away from Microsoft's Redmond base.
DUM, DUM, DUM, American sponsorship!
Why Americanism is dangerous?
Before you start watching YouTube videos like I did, I am by no means Anti-American, I love Bush as much as the next guy... but everyone has limits!
The harsh reality is, why market towards elitist European tastes? You can make more short term profit from the Halo playing, Mc'Donalds chomping, AK-47 toting natives anyway. American publishers and developers continually undermine our fragile existence for a quick buck.
Competition wise, the World Series of Video Games (WSVG) and Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) might have kick started World of Warcraft and Counter Strike 1.6's career, but they've on the whole remained relative failures. The number of unsuitable competitive titles being 'endorsed' and pushed forward because of them was highly suspect, and both choose to soil their own reputations in order to survive.
This is the decline of competition and integrity I fear. There are games better suited to show the true capability of eSports, and there are people better able to run our competitions. Their aren't always the most popular or lucrative, but nevertheless, must be protected ferociously.
The Future?
America will eventually learn that they can't buy their own significance in eSports. Let's hope for their own good, it occurs before they're forcibly removed. Their importance is not because of innovation, intelligence, respect or achievement. There is no sentiment, and no one will care where the sponsor money is coming from. Integrity can only be lost once after all.
"White folks ain't trying to keep you down. White folks just don't like to be pushed into a corner. They'll come around. You just got to make it look like it was their idea, like they're the ones that thought of it. They need to feel like they're the great emancipators. Like it was theirs to give in the first place. Let'em have it. I mean, if that's all it takes, let them have it."
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This is my world, my world!
Does the Americanism of eSports mean a decline in competition and integrity?
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The summer is over, schoolbells will soon be ringing, and ESWC has put its gear away for another year. Roll on 2009!
ESWC put the young 'Russian on the map but he can't be considered a great until he wins in San Jose.
I came to QuakeCon expecting a festival celebrating id Software's best games and their champions. I went home ashamed and disheartened.
Did you know that one of the greatest writers of the 20th century wrote a book about WoW? No? Neither did he.
Not long ago someone somewhere tried to explain why Warcraft 3 teams fall apart. What he forgot to mention is a certain team's harmful influence on the WC3 market. An influence that could even lead to the collapse of the WC3L.
According to a leading figure within the International Olympic committee (IOC) the international torch relay was a “disaster”. A 72-year-old Olympic tradition picked up by a fascist regime to promote big blond boys in tight fitting shorts will come to an end, ironically enough in China, at the opposite end of the political spectrum with the ole commie reds.
The event was to determine which non-European teams would qualify for the Extreme Masters.
Microsoft started sponsoring the organisation in 2006, and the 2007 event saw the number of console titles double
And you never stopped to think maybe the WCG chose Microsoft as a partner because they wanted to introduce more console games?
And none of the four representatives (MiBr, e-STRO, Lyn & Lucifier) which qualified, were American!
'And you never stopped to think maybe the WCG chose Microsoft as a partner because they wanted to introduce more console games'
The deal didn't just influence the console section of the organisation, so no. But again back to the elitist European ideology. The new games introduced were Tony Hawks Project 8 and Gears of War (4v4). I would say that was a catering to American markets, wouldn't you? Though I may not like them, fighting and racing genres play better on console (DOA4/PGR3), but to add a completely frivolous game and a console shooter seems suspect.
Naturally the ESL knew that in advance, didn't they? Four of the teams competing were American, one was South American and one was Korean, while the Warcraft tournament had five Americans, one Canadian and Four Koreans. The event was primarily a qualifier with cash thrown in to entice a few Europeans to cross the pond in the sake of entertainment, it had little or nothing to do with an American founded sponsor and everything to do with giving the Americans a fair shake.
Tony Hawks and Gears of War are two ridiculously popular titles that have a strong multiplayer fan base in America and Europe, there's no reason why they wouldn't have picked them up, Microsoft sponsor or no.
U.S.A make money , source make money ... alll us players play source just for money
i remember a south park episode with john smith =)
Well i think WCG had their reasons to try and get more console games and well the ESL case, hal_emrich seemed to give that a nice reason...
Ofcourse the sponsors affect a bit the decision on what games are played.. They give money to the whole event so why couldnt they promote their own games then?
DUM, DUM, DUM.. Its just how the world works.. Companies dont just give money for an event "for fun", they want someting from it.
It's not how the real world works fortunately, it's how gaming business works. Look at ESWC, they've actually chosen even better games this year, (and hosting a separate event in France to compensate) and you certainly don't need a GeForce 8800 Ultra to play Quake III or DotA. So sponsorship doesn't automatically mean bending over backwards to satisfy, thus my point about integrity.
ESWC had a 'bad' year in 2007, stayed strong and have become even stronger (on paper). WSVG and CPL, completely buckled and sold out under the pressure, now one of them is history, and the other may as well be.
I understand that sponsors want new games, which need good hardware to play it out there...
ITS ALL ABOUT MONEY, it sucks, but thats life.
Havent you noticed that q3 is (almost) dead.. "again".. Its amazing that CS has stayed so popular for so long. But CS needs a good gfx to play it at top level, so...
WEll ok i dont know what my point was, got interrupted too many times while typing. Oh well :D
I bought an entirely new computer last February and since then, two new hard drives (one external, one internal), a new case, a new printer, new network card, and three sound cards. I'll probably be looking to pick up a new graphics card in the summer as well. This is without even mentioning accessories, I just spent almost a hundred pounds on a new pair of earphones.
Their (hardware companies) idea of progressing the market is unsustainable and just plain weird. I got your point though, don't worry. :P
EUROPE = PC = Skilled Games
In USA, XBOX > PC on eSport place, since MLG has start.
Halo has auto aim. You're taking away one of the fundamental aspects of a fps game and dumbing the experience down to make the genre more accessible.
you see americanism when the esl hosts a showcase event in LA, neglecting, that intel sponsors them for years now. you see americanism when the eswc hosts an event in the us, after years, when the eswc was held in france. and both of the events were/ are neither dumbed down nor played with strange games.
you forget, that this whole esport tournament thing is an american "invention" in the first place. so where is the elitist european taste anyway, when what we play was brought to us from the usa?
"American publishers and developers continually undermine our fragile existence for a quick buck."
American publishers are the once that supply our fragile existence with a basis in the first place.
you are totally wrong here.
i highly doubt that any of the mentioned high profile it companies really thinks in such regional ways, that they really think of a home market. each one of those companies acts on one global market. i dont think that the home market they had 20 years ago is really that important anymore
That's the irony I guess. While they may be responsible for the start and some of its development, if they don't act in a certain way, there control will diminish. But what's funny, the universally enjoyed games like Counter Strike 1.6 and Quake III, they were actually very competitive in. Association is the best way to advertise, and by forcing 'weaker' organisations to pick new games they're in fact making it harder for themselves in the long run. Most people upgrade their computers anyway, even if the competitive game they play is old.
To your second comment. Yes they do. America is the largest consumer on the planet, and any game which isn't targeted towards them is likely to be a flop. Whether it's on PC or console, it doesn't matter, same principle.
America= big market (consoles, games, hardware...)
when i think of the first modern esport steps, things like pgl and quake 1 come to my mind. somewhere around 96/97, so 3 years before the first wcg challenge.
With PGL and Q1 back in the late 1990s, I don't really consider that progaming. Sure you can win money but you need more than that to be considered progaming. Early 2000s I feel is the beginning of what is progaming truest to the actual meaning of it - when players make a monthly salary enough to live off of. That is professional gaming in any activity - whether its games, squash, poker, etc.
should comment then!
that's what I learned at school and heard about again at university ;)
American involvement in esports is quite simply a poor idea considering the booming markets of Asia and thats what should be the focal point for the upcoming esports entrepreneur, American sponsorship is not worth shit because sure they'll listen to what you have to say but not have a vested interest in esports as they cannot see the big picture.