Smash as an spectator event: Do you think we can make it happen?

[TheFifthMan]

Smash, for a lot of us, is an e-sport. Those of us that compete love watching videos, reading Smasher interviews, poring over frame data, doing tech practice, arguing about wavedashing, and going to tournaments. However, the best of us don't enjoy the publicity or the prize pots given to the best Halo 2 players. And even those pale in comparison to the national fame, publicity, and the over $200k sponsorships given to Starcraft players in South Korea.

Now, mainstream e-Sports is already coming soon, no doubt about that. However, will Smash become one of those e-Sports? Do you want it to go that far?

I'd personally love to see Smash on national television. Perhaps not like Starcraft in Korea, because for many Starcraft professionals, Starcraft has become life, requiring 10 hour a day almost daily training sessions. As much as I love Smash, I don't want to see players place their whole lives around it just to have it enjoy a national scene. Perhaps Smash players will come around the same way that college athletes do. Well, maybe slightly less than that.

 

[AlphaZealot]

Smash is already one of the more popular esports in the country.
MLG sponsored 4 tournaments this year with 200 people in attendence at 3 of them.
Midnight Gaming Championship ran Smash.
Evolution 2007 Championship Series ran Smash.
The Underground Gaming Series ran Smash, but they aren't very good so that doesn't really count.
The electronic gaming league ran Smash for abit before the league effectively closed its operations.

It's not Halo, but its still good. Of all the games MLG ran this year Smash actually had the second highest turnout, it beat out shadowrun, R6 vegas, and Gears of War.

 

[Adi]

I'm sure with Brawl and a more prominent online community Smash's place as a competitive game will only increase.

 

[tennisthehilife]

I'm not sure how competitive Brawl will be as it seems toned down a bit but we don't really know yet.

But for sure: Brawl will be the Halo of Wii or perhaps even 10x more popular because this game is reaching for the casuals just like the Wii so just about everyone and their grandmas will be playing. Perhaps Brawl will pull non-gamers into casuals into hardcore gamers (even girls/mom/dad/grandmas can be hardcore gamers, i think eventually w/ Wii). So with all those people this game will be super popular and (hopefully if its competitive enough) it will be the top e-sport and tournaments will be held around the world!

 

[UltimateShinigami]

i hope so too. i just recently started college and i'm on the football team, but every1 plays halo and madden. when i mention smash bros, the majority of the people either go "super what?!" or "i played that on n64" the hand full of people who actually play melee are horrible at it (they have no knowledge of advanced techs). Smash needs to get to the point that even if some1 doesnt play it, they at least still know what it is. the problem however, is not the fault of the game, but of the company. the aforementioned young adults think nintendo is for little kids or that it's gay and etc. it is up to us, the "haves" to show the "have-nots" that wii is a gr8 system with competative games just like xbox

 

[Baeseth]

The MLG and other televised "E-Sports" are the biggest bunch of bull**** I've ever seen. Playing a video game is not a sport, and broadcasting it is ********.

 

[Coach John McGuirk]

Oh man, this thread needs to go outside and run a few laps around the block. E-sporting is an easy way to become overweight and unpopular.

 

[SkyeYuki]

I'm pretty sure Smash is like the 2nd or 3rd most played game worth the title of being an E-Sport already, although it depends on if MMOs are E-Sports or not...

 

[NintendoWarrior]

Nah Smash won't reach the level of Madden. Men way older than even play it.

 

[tennisthehilife]

Oh man, this thread needs to go outside and run a few laps around the block. E-sporting is an easy way to become overweight and unpopular.

I run my laps *points to name, sig, + location*

Iono about E-Sports. Is E-sport really a sport? I love professional gaming but iono if it should be called a sport. I know you can get sweaty and intense but even so... (I'm not discouraging gamers just don't call it a sport)

Nah Smash won't reach the level of Madden. Men way older than even play it.

HEY! Little girls, grandmas and undeveloped fetuses will be playing Brawl! Everyone will own a Wii and everyone will own Brawl! Awareness of the awesomeness of Brawl will spread just like the Wii and Wii Sports. First they get the attention of non-gamers, turn them into casuals, then eventually everyone will be hardcore and all thanks to Nintendo, Wii, Wii Sports, and Brawl!

 

[Catskill_Crew]

Oh man, this thread needs to go outside and run a few laps around the block. E-sporting is an easy way to become overweight and unpopular.

That's not necessarily true..

You might not be popular to your group of friends, or high school buddies, or even co-workers, but look at how popular people like Isai, Gimpy, M2K, and Ken are? They are SOME of the most popular metagame players, and EVERYONE on these boards instantly realizes them in awe.

And I've played video games all my life, and so has my brother, I'm perfectly normal sized, and my brother is actually dangerously skinny.
=P

 

[TheFifthMan]

Can a mod change the title to "Smash as a spectator event" or something equivalent... Did it myself, sry mods

All of you (except for maybe the tennis dude, AlphaZealot, Baeseth, and Adi) are probably thinking way, way, way too small. When I say e-sport, I mean e-sport as a spectator event. As in Starcraft in South Korea spectator event where people stand outside sold out venues cheering on their favorite player (who, by the way, probably earns around $100,000 to $300,000 a year and has a fanclub with at least 50,000 members) with thundersticks and pep squads. On primetime TV.

Smash will probably never see this level of insanity, but how close do you think we will come to this?

 

[Michael Blaine]

I don't see why not. The news media seems to love pimping wii games as the solution to national obesity. The game seems to heading in that direction anyway...

 

[tennisthehilife]

Can a mod change the title to "Smash as a spectator event" or something equivalent...

All of you (except for maybe the tennis dude, AlphaZealot, Baeseth, and Adi) are probably thinking way, way, way too small. When I say e-sport, I mean e-sport as a spectator event. As in Starcraft in South Korea spectator event where people stand outside sold out venues cheering on their favorite player (who, by the way, probably earns around $100,000 to $300,000 a year and has a fanclub with at least 50,000 members) with thundersticks and pep squads. On primetime TV.

Smash will probably never see this level of insanity, but how close do you think we will come to this?

I just thought the name "e-sport" was a weird use of the word sport, whats a sport anyways? *looks @ dictionary.com* I guess it can still be called a sport. I know professional gaming is a spectator event. I'm @ awe @ all the pro gamers and wonder how awesome it would be to be a pro gamer, all the money from tournaments, but I understand its really hard to be the best of the best gamers. Actually pro anything is good, actually I would want Pro Tennis player then Pro Gamer second.

I don't see why not. The news media seems to love pimping wii games as the solution to national obesity. The game seems to heading in that direction anyway...

But this isn't really a motion sensitive exercise game, unless your pro (<-- well then I guess it can be a sport). But, I do agree the media is fully on Nintendo's side and will help promote Brawl.

Smash will probably never see this level of insanity, but how close do you think we will come to this?

I think it will surpass because of Nintendo's power to bring in the nongamers + casuals. With everyone in the world playing this thing (+ hopefully its deep in gameplay), it will surpass Starcraft!

 

[GregUnit]

For being considered "a kid's game" by many, Smash is a very popular game. I think that adding online to Brawl will make it more popular, as it seems to me the only games more popular Smash Brothers in terms of tourneys had online or were from a very old series.

I like watching Smash sometimes, but I can't stand watches Foxes/Falcos, all they do is SHL each other for 10 minutes. I like watching other characters, just no Fox/Falco doubles (which are 90% of the matches )

and OP, you're over exaggerating the fame FPS players get. I mean they might get a lot of fame in their circles, but I can honestly say the only FPS player I've heard of is Fatal1ty, and I don't even know what game he plays just saw him on the news. FPS circles are bigger than the Smash tourney circles because Smash is dismissed as a kid's game by 12 year olds who think games with excessive violence (FPS games) are hardcore and only kool kids play those.

 

[TheFifthMan]

and OP, you're over exaggerating the fame FPS players get. I mean they might get a lot of fame in their circles, but I can honestly say the only FPS player I've heard of is Fatal1ty, and I don't even know what game he plays just saw him on the news. FPS circles are bigger than the Smash tourney circles because Smash is dismissed as a kid's game by 12 year olds who think games with excessive violence (FPS games) are hardcore and only kool kids play those.

Lol, you obviously have never seen a KeSPA-league Starcraft match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7ptEQZrDj4
I am not kidding when I say Starcraft and e-sports in general is HUGE, HUGE in Korea. (Why do you think they announced Starcraft 2 there?) Lim Yo-Hwan, known by Boxer, plays for the Korean Air Force E-sports team. He has around 600,000 members in his fanclub and had made about $300,000 a year before he was called to compulsory military service.

 

[Magnacor]

FPS circles are bigger than the Smash tourney circles because Smash is dismissed as a kid's game by 12 year olds who think games with excessive violence (FPS games) are hardcore and only kool kids play those.

*cough*Halo*cough* Anyway, I think that with the Wii becoming increasiningly popular and Brawl being the game for Wii, Super Smash Bros will become incredibly popular. Probably even surpassing Halo in US sales after a few years. I think that by simply adding Snake, the so-called "hardcore" gamers will take the game more seriously eventually making this game a bit more competitive possibly even getting on satelite TV on the "video game channel" or something.

 

[Cojiro]

That's not necessarily true..

You might not be popular to your group of friends, or high school buddies, or even co-workers, but look at how popular people like Isai, Gimpy, M2K, and Ken are? They are SOME of the most popular metagame players, and EVERYONE on these boards instantly realizes them in awe.

I think something is terribly, terribly wrong if you count that as proper popularity. Internet respect for the lose, coach is correct. Games are a hobby, not a substitute for proper social integration.

That said, I'd be happy watching stuff online - can't imagine sitting down at the TV flicking onto the Smash channel to be honest.

 

[shadydentist]

I highly doubt it will succeed as a spectator event. Watching video games is far too specific to attract a mass audience.

Unless, as mentioned, you live in korea.

 

[Smo]

If things like commentaries were introduced majorly, it would be quite cool. For televised smash you would probably have three main audiences.
Smashers
Friends/family of smashers
Other gamers.

The question is... are there enough of these groups to make a working tv show? Meh, I dunno. I'm English, so I dunno how different it would be in the states or otherwise...

 

[The Red M]

Absolutely We can definitely make this work. A spectator event is not so much out of our grasp.