So, EVO just happened, what next? How do we CAPITALIZE?

[Corona]

Hey guys hey. Random thought of the day. EVO just happened, so what next? How do we increase exposure? Lets take to the airwaves! I say we call into our local sports radio station and give e sports some attention. I will personally be calling into the local Boston sports station this evening, myself (after some support from the NE Scene).

 

[-ShadowPhoenix-]

You will be laughed at if you call a radio station.
Wrong audience imo

 

[Lord Ike]

They need to have some big kind of PM tournament. That would be good because that is the closes game to Melee that has been released.

 

[Corona]

I just called in. YOU SHOULD TOO.

 

[pizzapie7]

Sports radio is an awful audience, and I love sports radio. Video games aren't sports. Melee is not a sport. Just like it doesn't need to be a "fighting game" to be competitive, it doesn't need to be a sport either. "E-sports" and "Cyber sports" are quite honestly cringe-worthy names. We don't want a sports audience, nor are we going to get one. We're not going to get the 40 year old middle/upper middle class putting away their golf clubs and picking up their children's old Gamecubes. Someone posted somewhere, might have even been here, that they had called a national ESPN Radio show, one of my favorite shows, and posted the clip. They basically laughed off the idea of competitive video games, like "it's nice and interesting but come on now, you're calling with that?"

If you want Melee, or competitive gaming in general, to get big, you need the Facebook, internet, cell phone generation audience. One of my favorite sports radio hosts talks about ratings and demographics a lot. It doesn't matter how big the audience is if they don't want what you're pushing. Sure, your local sports station may get a **** ton of listeners, but the demographic of "non-casual gamer" is vastly different than the demographic of "sports radio listener".

As for what else we can do, spread the word at a person to person level. Are you in high school or college? Start some fests. Tell your friends. Post fliers. Get on the internet and tell people that we exist and that the game is fun as ****. You're not going to turn non-gamers into ones, but you sure as hell can turn casual ones into competitive ones. The game is our thing. It's what we do. It's also our best tool, to just sit down and play the ****ing game with people.

 

[Corona]

Sports radio is an awful audience, and I love sports radio. Video games aren't sports. Melee is not a sport. Just like it doesn't need to be a "fighting game" to be competitive, it doesn't need to be a sport either. "E-sports" and "Cyber sports" are quite honestly cringe-worthy names. We don't want a sports audience, nor are we going to get one. We're not going to get the 40 year old middle/upper middle class putting away their golf clubs and picking up their children's old Gamecubes. Someone posted somewhere, might have even been here, that they had called a national ESPN Radio show, one of my favorite shows, and posted the clip. They basically laughed off the idea of competitive video games, like "it's nice and interesting but come on now, you're calling with that?"

If you want Melee, or competitive gaming in general, to get big, you need the Facebook, internet, cell phone generation audience. One of my favorite sports radio hosts talks about ratings and demographics a lot. It doesn't matter how big the audience is if they don't want what you're pushing. Sure, your local sports station may get a **** ton of listeners, but the demographic of "non-casual gamer" is vastly different than the demographic of "sports radio listener".

As for what else we can do, spread the word at a person to person level. Are you in high school or college? Start some fests. Tell your friends. Post fliers. Get on the internet and tell people that we exist and that the game is fun as ****. You're not going to turn non-gamers into ones, but you sure as hell can turn casual ones into competitive ones. The game is our thing. It's what we do. It's also our best tool, to just sit down and play the ****ing game with people.

I totally get what you're saying. However, look at it this way.

Sports radio is an awful audience, and I love sports radio. X-Games aren't sports. Skateboarding is not a sport. Just like it doesn't need to be a "extreme sport" to be competitive, it doesn't need to be a sport either. "X-Games" and "Extreme sports" are quite honestly cringe-worthy names. We don't want a sports audience, nor are we going to get one. We're not going to get the 40 year old middle/upper middle class putting away their golf clubs and picking up their children's old Haro BMX bike.

Once upon a time, the best you could do is get together with your friends and show off some moves. The idea that X-Games would one day have it's day on ESPN, nevermind a full week, was ludicrous. Not only does gaming have a following already, it TRUMPS the skateboarding community back then. Additionally, and this may be the BEST point in the favor of Melee and MLG in general, videogames are HIGHLY marketable. Systems, controllers, games, gear, apparel, you name it, it can be highly profitable. I don't know, it can be a possibility.

 

[EPsilon933]

Run tournaments and fests

Make streams and youtube videos

Promote your stuff on facebook and places online

Even do it in person like in a college dorm. Draw a picture of something about Smash Bros and tape it on the wall next to your door. Run fests in public lounges that aren't too often used for other social things and studying. Get people to see you without being annoying

Be active

 

[polypuff]

The smash community didn't get popular by appealing to the masses, but instead got popular by being found by people who enjoyed playing the game. I suggesting appealing to a local group of people who would enjoy a game like smash, instead of, lets say, businessmen in the street, since the more dedicate people are to a game, the longer they will stay and try to become better.

 

[Tails_Glados_Puff]

Sports radio is an awful audience, and I love sports radio. Video games aren't sports. Melee is not a sport. Just like it doesn't need to be a "fighting game" to be competitive, it doesn't need to be a sport either. "E-sports" and "Cyber sports" are quite honestly cringe-worthy names. We don't want a sports audience, nor are we going to get one. We're not going to get the 40 year old middle/upper middle class putting away their golf clubs and picking up their children's old Gamecubes.

Sport- an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Adding the word "cyber" changes the definition into a digitized sport. In which case, I don't see how it isn't. Sports aren't defined by who watched them.

 

[BO/\K]

Sport- an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Adding the word "cyber" changes the definition into a digitized sport. In which case, I don't see how it isn't. Sports aren't defined by who watched them.

The point is people who listen to sports radio won't give a **** about Melee

 

[Tails_Glados_Puff]

The point is people who listen to sports radio won't give a **** about Melee

I never said they would......

 

[Corona]

The point is people who listen to sports radio won't give a **** about Melee

NOT TRUE.

Most people, sure. However, myself and pizzapie7 are just two examples of people who both listen to sports radio AND play melee. It is not just 40-something year olds who listen in. I was tactful about when I called in, late evening/night shows tend to have a younger demographic listening in (teens, 20s). Additionally, if more than one calls in on the topic, it cannot be ignored.

 

[Corona]

The smash community didn't get popular by appealing to the masses, but instead got popular by being found by people who enjoyed playing the game. I suggesting appealing to a local group of people who would enjoy a game like smash, instead of, lets say, businessmen in the street, since the more dedicate people are to a game, the longer they will stay and try to become better.

It is those same businessmen, though, that have the money. Many owners of sports franchises basically could care less about the sport itself. They are in it for the profit. Like I said before, MLG as a whole presents an intriguing profit potential. That is a huge point in our favor.

 

[Amiibo Doctor]

Start a charity event. Get local businesses to pledge an amount of money for every person that shows up to play. A dollar, two dollars, a hundred. Do it at the schools, in the gym. You'll need to buy GameCubes and controllers, or get people to donate, but if it takes off, you could have a DIY local Melee scene.

 

[lygraf]

I'm going to make a concerted effort to attend my first smash event ever in Orlando, August 22nd.

EVO 14 caught my eye as I'm an avid twitch.tv watcher, and as a result decided on a whim to ebay my ass a gamecube, three nintendo controllers, and a old copy of melee. I plan on finding whoever I can online to come over and smoke blunts and beat my ass into competitive form. Shouting it from the rooftops on steam and origin is about the most I'm able to do at this point

 

[Amiibo Doctor]

Two words: Mardi Gras.