We need StarCraft 2 to be as good as it possibly can be. Every two months or so some CEO promises in an interview that esports will explode within the next two years. It has been ten years and, to the best of my knowledge, nothing but a few fire crackers blew up. If anything, esports is actually in a slump.

I do not expect SC2 will go really nuclear on us, but competitive gaming needs it. If the days of glory of StarCraft, Quake 3 and Counter-Strike were the spring and summer of esports, then we are now in late autumn. Everything seems to be dying down.

Think of how gaming would keep delivering new generations of players that would find their place among the biggest stars. Today, we see the same faces and names in the same tournaments over and over again, be it WC3, CS or Quake. News of a dazzling newcomer is rarer than a report of a major player retiring.

StarCraft 2 can be the new spring for esports with its fresh gameplay, a global, almost mainstream following and new generations of players. A game to support the industry on its own shoulders. There's just this one thing. It has to be good enough and its success needs to be a global phenomenon.

What if it's not?

It is an unlikely scenario, I know, but still worth at least giving it a thought. One of the perverse scenarios could be StarCraft 2 perpetuating competitive gaming in most parts of the world and at the same time dealing a crippling blow to esports in South Korea.

Competitive gaming in Europe and North America is driven by many forces - the will of developers, publishers, sponsors, leagues and finally the quality of the game itself. Those areas will not shun a game just because it is not as good as StarCraft. In a way, competitive gaming is sentenced to StarCraft 2 because there simply isn't anything else around to invest into.

Warcraft 3 will be phased out (as if it hasn't phased itself out by now...) and StarCraft 2 will replace it even if it's as great as C&C3. It will carry on for as long as it is not morbid and hopefully last esports until a worthy successor comes.

South Korea is where things can get really nasty. Those people have turned down games before but they need a good RTS to replace StarCraft more than ever. Reports have come in that Korean SC may be in a crisis and expectations for SC2 are very high.

The game has the potential to split the community in Korea. All it takes is SC2 not being convincing enough for the overwhelming majority of the industry to switch. It will take players and money from StarCraft and weaken its position, but it will not be strong enough to supersede it. Instead of one strong game Korea could end up having two weaker ones.

One game is what the industry needs. A game that will rejuvenate esports by bringing thousands of new players and blossoming in all corners of the world. If StarCraft 2 does not do the trick, we may be in for a very long winter.