The International 2015

[Ov3rdose]

Once again I have been left to wonder what is going on on this site. Not one mention of the largest eSports competition ever. That has been going on since 27th of July with a price pool of 18 million dollars. And nothing on this site. Not ONE mention.

 

[Aerosteam]

You are correct, not one mention of it anywhere on this site. Not even the OP to this thread! What the FUCK is The International 2015?!

 

[tippy2k2]

This site has never really reported about eSports. Why in the world would you "wonder about the site" if it's continuing to not report on something it has never reported on...?

Frankly, I could not care less even if I tried really really really really really hard about eSports but if you want to talk about it, why don't you make a thread about it? Or at the very least, include in this thread complaining about why no one is talking about The International thing what the hell The International is...

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

According to my gaming lore knowledge, it is some kind of DoTA 2 Tournament.

Of course, since I don't even watch them or play them, I have nothing to talk about.

 

[briankoontz]

Esports is in the wonderful position of being frequently disliked by both gamers and sports fans, yet is rapidly expanding nonetheless. Gamers think "games are meant to be played, not watched" while sports fans can't fantasize about digital gladiators the way they do regular ones. The distrust of and antipathy toward the new kid on the block will fade over time.

If cosplay was more encouraged at Esports events the audience would provide plenty of colorful antics - a far better version of sports cheerleaders. At least the new female cheerleaders celebrating the new male gladiators would be able to choose their uniforms.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Have you tried going to a site that more consistently cultivates eSports (by which I mean MOBAs since that's the only thing eSports usually seems to mean) coverage?

I'm not going to rely on The Escapist for EVO results and fighting game news when I'm just going to get better and more knowledgeable coverage from Shoryuken.com (among other sites) guaranteed.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well when you pick an accountant convention name for your event it becomes increasingly unlikely anyone will care to pay attention. I hear the name several times each year and every single time someone needs to tell me again what this shit is suppose to be.

So perhaps it's better to check in on the accountant convention website itself for details.

 

[briankoontz]

A bunch of guys who take a game far too seriously for a competition that pays far too much money to the winners complete with commentators that rave on about what's happening on screen far too cringeworthy?

I wonder why indeed.

I'm confused. Are you talking about football, baseball, soccer, or DOTA 2? Or are we condemning esports because the participants use mostly their arms, wrists, and hands to play the game, as opposed to more equal bodily treatment (cardiovascularly) of many other sports?

Despite the fact that esports competitors use less muscle groups than most other athletes (save perhaps runners and cyclists), they are interacting with a very complex program, far more complicated than the rule-set of most sports.

I can understand a principled objection to all gladiatorial combat - someone who holds all sports in derision. But to celebrate traditional sports on one hand and condemn esports on the other is hypocritical.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

There are only 2 dictionary definitions that include 'International' as a noun. One is about socialist movements and the other is British and to do with multi-national sports competitions. As such when I read this title I wondered which International you meant, hoping it was the Rugby World Cup... Nope. It is watching people play games I am not interested in.

BOOOOORRRRING!

 

[briankoontz]

A bunch of guys who take a game far too seriously for a competition that pays far too much money to the winners complete with commentators that rave on about what's happening on screen far too cringeworthy?

I wonder why indeed.

I'm confused. Are you talking about football, baseball, soccer, or DOTA 2? Or are we condemning esports because the participants use mostly their arms, wrists, and hands to play the game, as opposed to more equal bodily treatment (cardiovascularly) of many other sports?

Despite the fact that esports competitors use less muscle groups than most other athletes (save perhaps runners and cyclists), they are interacting with a very complex program, far more complicated than the rule-set of most sports.

I can understand a principled objection to all gladiatorial combat - someone who holds all sports in derision. But to celebrate traditional sports on one hand and condemn esports on the other is hypocritical.

Good thing I wasn't celebrating traditional sports then, isn't it?

Esports competitors are not athletes, a gaming tournament should not be referred to as any type of sport, even if you shove electronic in the front. Sports has always been something incredibly physical. Clicking 100 times per minute is not even in the same remote vicinity as clearing 100ms in less than 10 seconds.

I approve of athletes pushing themselves to their absolute physical limits for something they love. I do not approve of their salaries nor how they are held in such high regard. I know the pain and suffering that goes into reaching athlete level fitness. Sports and everyday peoples obsession with them is horrible. But an esports tournament (and specifically commentating) is some of the saddest, most cringeworthy shit I've ever seen.

People in general aren't any more obsessed with sports than with any other element of culture. There are movie buffs, hardcore gamers, devoted music aficionados, and sports fans. So if you're going to criticize sports fans you might as well criticize the other types of geeks equally.

Commentating in general is about enthusiasm and hype. It's secondarily about clarifying what's happening and enlightening the audience. But esports are a fairly new medium, so the broadcasters are also promoters of the medium, to a much greater extent than they will have to be once the medium becomes established.

The vast majority of athletes don't make any money, and a large majority of professional athletes make much less money than the high profile ones who are the equivalent of lottery winners. Money depends on a *market*, an audience, for a sport. One can engage in any sport and push oneself to a physical limit with or without the involvement of money.

Esports is a cross between a skill-based game (like chess) and a physical sport. It's fair to say that fans of either existing thing may not like esports, since it's quite different. Chess fans can turn up their noses at the "plebian games" on display while sports fans who like to think they are brimming with testosterone say - "These skinny runts don't even STAND UP when they play, much less move around!"

 

[kris40k]

I'm not a big DOTA fan, and I caught the last two games of the tournament. I personally like catching SFIV tournaments better. I think esports are still on the rise concerning recognition, however, I do not think that every gaming site out there is one that will follow competitive gaming that closely. There are a few out there that do, just not this one *shrug*

The only real comment I have about the tournament is "congrats EG!" and Deadmau5 made a horrible decision on what song to follow up the championship winning game and presentation with; totally killed the mood for the hyped up crowd.

 

[briankoontz]

I do criticize geeks in general too. A vast majority of users on this site constantly highlight exactly why. I don't know why you're trying to argue a case or change my mind here. I give no shits to athletes, a bunch of nerds who take LoL too seriously or a bunch of intellects playing Chess like they're Patton in WWII. You can go into more detail than a high school english teacher will. I find esports to be entirely laughable and cringey as fuck to watch. You're not going to change that, nor do I really care what you have to say about it either.

Then you should have never replied, nor should you really be on this forum if you don't respect it's members. Go somewhere where you do, and if every place on earth is beneath you there is always outer space. Your opinion is no more valid than anyone else's.

 

[SomeLameStuff]

This site has never really reported about eSports. Why in the world would you "wonder about the site" if it's continuing to not report on something it has never reported on...?

Frankly, I could not care less even if I tried really really really really really hard about eSports but if you want to talk about it, why don't you make a thread about it? Or at the very least, include in this thread complaining about why no one is talking about The International thing what the hell The International is...

The Escapist HAS run news articles for League of Legends before though, quite (ridiculously) frequently. From patch [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/138408-League-of-Legends-Gets-Significant-Preseason-Jungle-Changes] updates [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/138576-League-of-Legends-Map-Visual-Update-Goes-Live] to new skins [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/138213-League-of-Legends-Halloween-Event-Has-New-Skins-Cinematic] to new champions [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139937-League-of-Legends-New-Champion-Announced-Bard-The-Wandering-Caretaker] to in-game events [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/141819-League-of-Legends-Champion-Gangplank-Removed-From-The-Game] to their World [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137845-League-of-Legends-World-Championship-Quarterfinals-Summary] Championship [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/138112-League-of-Legends-World-Championship-Grand-Final-Summary] Finals [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139561-League-of-Legends-Worlds-2015-to-be-Held-in-Europe] and even team rundown analysis [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137781-League-of-Legends-World-Championship-Finals-Guide].

In comparison, no word on this year's EVO 2015 aside from one news article [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140980-Busted-PS4-Version-Of-Street-Fighter-IV-Dumped-From-Evo-2015] about how Ultra Street Fighter 4 was going to be played on Xbox instead of PS4.
The Smite World Championship finals doesn't even get it's own results post, just an update on the original announcement [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139399-SMITE-World-Championship-Finals-Live-Today].
Nothing on the Starcraft 2 World Championship Series 2015.
Heroes of the Dorm gets one post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140033-Heroes-of-the-Storm-Tournament-Will-Award-Winner-With-College-Tuition] about it and is never mentioned again.
The International Dota 2 tournament only has one news video about it [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-news-now/9236-DOTA-2-Prize-Pool-Crosses-6-Million]back in May when the prize pool broke $6 million.

I mean, maybe you don't need to go into detail, but should news cover everything rather than bits and pieces on whatever the writers and editors feel like reporting on?