8

Blizz taking OW Global eSports Director applicants

Comments:
Threaded Linear
#1
Vanguard

Yep, it's happening.

Thoughts on making a move like this so early on?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great forward thinking by Blizz to have all this in place as soon as possible but this might be jumping the bloody gun somewhat when there are still so many factors within the game which, arguably, are problems from a competitive perspective and which they're getting community backlash over. (FoV, lack of proper scoreboard/killfeed, the 20-tick servers if this issue is really on the scale people are suggesting though someone on the OW subreddit made a very well-put-together post explaining why it may not be)

Though with that said, as an aside - people who have the beta and have played the game in a competitive setting, how big have the scoreboard, killfeed and FoV issues people have been complaining about actually been? Would be interested to hear thoughts on this now that there are some people with some early degree of competitive OW experience.

I'm a little torn on Blizzard's approach to Overwatch as an eSport but hey, hope for the best I suppose.

#2
Arx
2
Frags
+

If the game wants to succeed as an eSports title, the professional scene, competitions and virtually everything else will need to be ready at launch. They can't hire someone to do this job once the game is released as the initial hype plays a massive factor in determining an eSports success. From a business perspective you don't just organise a tournament and throw money at it, there's a tonne of planning and preparation that needs to be done before something like this can function and thrive, especially with the bar being raised to the level that Riot and Valve have set with League of Legends and DoTa respectively.

None of the gameplay issues you've mentioned prevent the game from becoming an eSports title. FoV is a preference and irrelevant bar a few people who want the game to change to be like the other 'reflex' games they are used to, the server tickrate is a non-factor in this objective (yes I know what it does and no it will not effect the game becoming a successful eSport but the netcode could do with being tightened up a little in general). The scoreboard / kill feed are issues that can affect the quality of commentating and the awareness of spectators in what is going on in the game so these are issues that will need to be addressed in one way or another.

For every few hundred gamers who won't play a game because the FoV is too low, the viewmodels can't be removed, or the bright lights get in the way sometimes, there's thousands that will play the game how it is, will form teams and compete in a professional structure if it is enjoyable, well managed and sustainable. If the money is there, Blizzard can make these things happen and hiring someone now to get the ball rolling is a very promising move for the game.

The biggest factor is money. If the business model of the game isn't correct, the eSports potential is massively limited. TF2 gained so much from switching to a free to play model but it was too late for the game title to be relevant. I'm wondering if OverWatch is planning to do something similar, charging people for the game for say, the first year and then switching it out to a free-to-play game down the road depending on how popular the purchasable cosmetics are. They really need to get their strategy right on this one.

Edit also forgot to add... it's not like people qualified for this job grow on trees. Finding someone with extensive experience in a reasonably new industry is incredibly difficult. The next best thing is to find someone with extensive experience in sporting or similar events but they then need to be trained in eSports, game knowledge and much more. They should have started recruiting for this role a while back :).

#3
Doug
7
Frags
+

http://i.imgur.com/3Zzhlt0.png
They want a TF2 player. Someone call Permzilla or Killing!

#4
godhand
0
Frags
+

This is literally non news..

they did this for every one of their multiplayer games

#5
PYYYOUR
2
Frags
+

Didn't they already hire an ex-ESPN executive for this position? Or was that another position?

#6
ScorpioUprising
2
Frags
+
PYYYOUR [#5]

Didn't they already hire an ex-ESPN executive for this position? Or was that another position?

I believe that was for global esports, covering all of their games.

#7
Beta
1
Frags
+
Arx [#2]

If the game wants to succeed as an eSports title, the professional scene, competitions and virtually everything else will need to be ready at launch. They can't hire someone to do this job once the game is released as the initial hype plays a massive factor in determining an eSports success. From a business perspective you don't just organise a tournament and throw money at it, there's a tonne of planning and preparation that needs to be done before something like this can function and thrive, especially with the bar being raised to the level that Riot and Valve have set with League of Legends and DoTa respectively.

None of the gameplay issues you've mentioned prevent the game from becoming an eSports title. FoV is a preference and irrelevant bar a few people who want the game to change to be like the other 'reflex' games they are used to, the server tickrate is a non-factor in this objective (yes I know what it does and no it will not effect the game becoming a successful eSport but the netcode could do with being tightened up a little in general). The scoreboard / kill feed are issues that can affect the quality of commentating and the awareness of spectators in what is going on in the game so these are issues that will need to be addressed in one way or another.

For every few hundred gamers who won't play a game because the FoV is too low, the viewmodels can't be removed, or the bright lights get in the way sometimes, there's thousands that will play the game how it is, will form teams and compete in a professional structure if it is enjoyable, well managed and sustainable. If the money is there, Blizzard can make these things happen and hiring someone now to get the ball rolling is a very promising move for the game.

The biggest factor is money. If the business model of the game isn't correct, the eSports potential is massively limited. TF2 gained so much from switching to a free to play model but it was too late for the game title to be relevant. I'm wondering if OverWatch is planning to do something similar, charging people for the game for say, the first year and then switching it out to a free-to-play game down the road depending on how popular the purchasable cosmetics are. They really need to get their strategy right on this one.

Edit also forgot to add... it's not like people qualified for this job grow on trees. Finding someone with extensive experience in a reasonably new industry is incredibly difficult. The next best thing is to find someone with extensive experience in sporting or similar events but they then need to be trained in eSports, game knowledge and much more. They should have started recruiting for this role a while back :).

I agree with most of the above apart from your last comments unfortunately my friend. You're assuming they want eSports to start immediately.

Similar to what Pyyour said, I would be very surprised if this person hasn't already been identified. Though for a role of this type, the company will wait for the perfect fit, not a best fit, this could be the reason why they have gone public.

P.S. Not sure they will go F2P.

#8
kounter
1
Frags
+

its going to be 40$ with purchasable skins

  • Preview
  • Edit
› check that that your post follows the forum rules and guidelines or get formatting help
Sign up or log in to post a comment