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COVER STORY
2013 Forecast Game Industry
Headline News
2013 Forecast about Global Game Industry
Foresee of the global market by issue
by KHgames Sophie
Focus 1. Tepid Mass Market Reaction to Wii U
Causes Sony and Microsoft to Hold Off on
Launching New Systems by David Cole, DFC
Intelligence
Back in 2007 Nintendo was named marketer of the
year by Advertising Age for the launch of the Wii.
Right now, there is no danger of that happening with
the Wii U. From announcing the system 18 months
before its launch to the continued inability to
communicate the strengths of the system, it seems
Nintendo has lost its way with communicating to mass
market consumers. A great strength of Nintendo was
its ability to communicate with both its core audience
AND more mainstream consumers. The launch of both
the Wii U and the 3DS XL were very subdued affairs
that indicate a lack of confidence in the product.
Of course, the Wii U sold out to the initial core base of
Nintendo fans and is likely to be in short supply well
into 2013. The problem is that an alarming number of
people in the broader mass market are still unaware of
the Wii U. It is telling that the week the Wii U
launched, Microsoft was touting impressive sales for
the Xbox 360. Much of these consumers were
probably potential Wii U buyers. The long term issue
for the industry is a weak performance by Nintendo
means that there is less pressure on Microsoft and
Sony to release new game systems. The industry needs
a stronger Nintendo to keep it on edge.
Focus 3. The Next Generation of Consoles is Here
But Will Have Low Impact. By Billy Pidgeon,
Inside Network
We're likely to see a next-generation console release in
2013. I believe it will be the successor to Xbox 360.
Sony could (and should) reboot with a new console,
but will probably continue to push PS3. Xbox 360 will
still be the dominant platform for sales of packaged
games.
We are nearly there already, but by the end of 2013,
more revenue will be generated through the
consumption of digitally purchased software and
micro-transactions than physically purchased software.
We've all seen this trend coming and it should be no
surprise on its eventual occurrence, but we suspect that
2013 will be the year that digital revenues surpass
physical revenues in the Western Markets.
Focus 6. The Audience for Games is Still Growing
But Could Peak in 2013. By Billy Pidgeon, Inside
Network
Games are a mainstream medium for the mass market.
There are more people playing games today then there
have ever been. There are more than 250 million
gamers on Facebook alone. I do not believe the
hardcore gamer base has decreased, but I do believe
they are playing games differently. Gamers are playing
fewer AAA games for longer periods of time and
multiplayer is a preferred play mode for many. Gamers
are extending play in their favorite games with add-on
content, and can access high quality games on more
platforms then ever before.
"It will be very difficult for small developers without
heavy funding to break into mobile or Facebook"
Focus 4. More Breakout Successes on XBLA and
PSN Cause Developers to Flock Towards Online
Console Products by David Cole, DFC Intelligence
Minecraft on Xbox Live Arcade was a huge success.
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have now built a
large audience that is very comfortable making digital
purchases. The right product can now generate
substantial sales on console systems without ever
having to be launched at retail. We think 2013 will see
even more success stories in digital only console titles.
Billy Pidgeon
Many gamers who started out playing relatively simple
casual games are more sophisticated, expect better
gameplay and are willing to pay for it. And they don't
have to turn to consoles to get better games.
Of course, as usual, we expect that developers will
overflood the market with product resulting in more
losers than winners. However, that is just the nature of
the beast in the game industry.
Focus 2. No Next-Gen Xbox in 2013 by Michael
Pachter, Wedbush Securities
Focus 7. Double-Digit Growth for Digital Revenue,
Again by Billy Pidgeon, Inside Network
Expect the Xbox 720 announcement at E3-I don't think
the Xbox 720 will come out in 2013, but think that
Microsoft will announce the device at E3, with a
launch date in early 2014. The problem with a 2013
launch is that the feature set is not yet decided, and I
think that the box will be able to receive television
programming live, meaning that Microsoft has to
negotiate with cable TV providers to deliver the box
and integrate its functionality into the existing cable
infrastructure. That's pretty complicated, so it could
take time. Expect the Xbox 720 to be subsidized by
cable TV providers, much like cell phones are
subsidized by carriers, with a likely retail price under
$200 (and maybe under $100).
Revenue from digital game distribution has never been
accurately reported. Rather, it's been consistently
under-reported.
News | 2013. 1. 17
Digital revenue from paid downloads, item
transactions and services generated on all platforms -consoles, PC, tablets and smartphones -- actually more
than made up for the 2012 decreases noted in
aggregate hardware and packaged software revenue.
Focus 5. Digital Gaming Revenue to Surpass
Physical by Jesse Divnich, EEDAR
Based on my research and observations, I believe
digital revenue will continue to grow at double-digit
rates. I am less certain that vendors and publishers will
provide collaborating numbers to back this up.
2
NEWS BOARD
Game & eSports News
Holiday app downloads hit 1.7 billion
By Alex Lim
The week between
Christmas Day and New
Year's Day w records
tumble for iOS and Android
downloads and device
activations. According to
new information released
by Flurry, 50 million
Android and iOS devices
were activated between
December 25 and January
1, with 17.4 million
activated on Christmas Day
alone. By comparison,
The week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day w records tumble for iOS
and Android downloads and device activations. According to new information
released by Flurry, 50 million Android and iOS devices were activated between
December 25 and January 1, with 17.4 million activated on Christmas Day alone.
By comparison, Christmas Day in 2011 saw just 6.8 million activations.
App downloads were similarly impressive, starting strongly with 328 million on
Christmas Day and reaching 1.76 billion by the end of the period. The US led the
world with 604 million downloads. China was second with 183 million downloads,
and the UK trailed in third with 132 million.
In the coming year, Flurry expects the huge adoption of tablets and smartphones to
push weekly downloads above one-billion on a regular basis, with the fourthquarter likely to produce the first ever two-billion download week.
Also, Rovio's flagship had hit a huge number of downloads over the holiday.
Rovio has announced that Angry Birds had shown over 8 million downloads on
December 25. The company released an infographic showing the milestone. Angry
Birds also has over 30 million downloads for the week of December 22 to 29.
Data from Flurry shows 17.4 million new Android and iOS devices sold on
Christmas. Rovio says this means Angry Birds was downloaded for every other
new smartphone or tablet.
The report from Flurry states that "Following a year where Google and Apple
drove unprecedented adoption of mobile devices, Facebook declared itself a
"mobile" company, and Amazon and Microsoft both made significant investments
into mobile computing, we look forward to continued record-breaking adoption of
smart devices and applications."
Conquering the gaming world
By Mind Sports South Africa
Success in any sporting discipline requires dedication to the craft and
commitment to be the best. This principal rings true for more obscuring sporting
disciplines and is epitomized by e-sport competitor Robert ‘PandaTank’ Botha,
whose dedication to the game Starcraft II has seen him become the best in his field
in South Africa and one of the best in the world.
Botha has had an outstanding year, punctuated by many successes in the gaming
world. According to Colin Webster of Mind Sports South Africa, which is based in
Houghton, there is no doubt that 2012 will hold very special memories for Botha.
“Robert's success has been built on years of training and active participation in
competitive gaming. Robert's commitment and skill in the game of Starcraft II is
legendary, and in two short years he has established himself as a main contender in
international competition.”
Through hard work and dedication Botha has overcome the disadvantages of being
in a country far removed from all international competitions. In 2012 he was
selected to represent South Africa as a member of the Gigabyte Protea eSports
Team for the second year in a row, finished in the top eight at the Electronic Sports
World Cup in France where he was in a group with competitors from the Ukraine,
USA and Japan.
He also finished in the top 16 at the International eSport Federation's World
Championships in South Korea, and was awarded a fully sponsored three month
training course at the highly esteemed Razor Academy in the USA.
“Thus it was hardly surprising that at the MSSA's Annual General Meeting, the
entre meeting, with seemingly one voice, endorsed the Management Board's
decision to award Robert Botha the title of 2012 Mind Sports Player of the Year,”
concluded Webster.
News | 2013. 1. 17
Dream Accomplished:
‘Major’ entered Team 8.
By Jay Shin
On January 2, Team 8 competing at KeSPA Pro League and operated directly by
Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA: www.e-sports.or.kr) signed the contract with
Juan Carlos Tena Lopez.
Juan Lopez, born in 1993, is from Mexico, and is well known Starcraft II Terran
player in Mid & South America region with his ID “Major”. He won the champion
at WCS Mexico preliminary on August 2012. Then, at the WCS Grand Final on
November, he advanced to the round of 32. Also, he won 3rd place at 2012 Battle.
net North America Championship.
Juan says, about his mission and goal with the Team 8, “As a professional gamer,
my primary goal has always been entering the team competing at KeSPA Pro
League. Now, as I accomplished it, amusing and attracting Korean fans and other
fans from other countries at the same time is my goal. I am very happy that I
accomplished half of my dream already, and will do my best to achieve the best
result within the Pro League as a professional gamer from Mexico.”
Korea e-Sports Association states that, with the contract with Juan Lopez as the
first step, they will continuously consider of inviting more foreign players as a
measure for globalization of Pro League and empowering the Team 8.
Romania gears up for the biggest
e-sport year yet By Vlad Rosca at Professional Gamers League
With 2012 being the most important
in Romanian e-sport history regarding
the events hosted, 2013 is shaping up
to be even bigger, with the most
comprehensive streaming coverage
yet on PGLTV.
Things will kick off with the start of the Season 3 for the Romanian eSport
Championship, a tourney that will span from February to May and will feature
some big changes when compared to previous iterations. Alongside a subtle
modification to the tournament format, aimed at encouraging teams to bond and
practice a lot more than in previous years, the Season 3 for ReC will also mark the
debut of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as the main first-person shooter title of
the championship. This will be an important milestone for the Romanian CounterStrike community, as new players will be able to challenge the established team
brands now that the playing field will be once again even for everyone.
In the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena scene, DOTA 2 and League of Legends
will continue to go head to head, with teams from all over the country battling it
out in weekly cups to prove who is the best and deserves the right to be crowned
champions in the LAN finals that will take place at the end of May.
However, this will be just the appetizer for the main course coming later this year,
when the DreamHack Open will return to Romania, bigger and better than before.
With an impressive prize pool, top production values, the hottest games and the
best gamers in the world attending, DreamHack Bucharest 2013 will once again be
THE e-sport event of the year to watch, in September.
3
NEWS BOARD
Game & eSports News
2013 Forecast about Korean Game Industry
Online Game, New Blockbuster Games Coming
by KHgames Sophie
The keywords of 2013 online game are ‘Portal Site
Alliance’, ‘Blockbuster MMORPG’ and ‘Sports Game
Fever’. Alliances between portal sites will be
strengthened, as the first generation game portal sites
like NHN, Hangame, Neowiz Games Pimang and CJ
E&M Netmarble etc show further cooperation beyond
channeling service as a big alliance between Nexon
and NC Soft appears.
Also, Sports games which took the leadership in 2012
will be strong in 2013. Regarding soccer games, FIFA
Online 3 by Nexon and Winning Eleven by NHN
Hangame are struggling to win the first prize. In the
field of baseball, MVP Baseball Online &Ma9theReal
by Ntreev Soft, The fan by Neowiz Games and Pro
Baseball 2K by Nexon will fiercely compete to
survive.
Nexon’s line-ups like Dungeon&Fighter, Mabinogi,
Mabinogi Heroes, Maple Stories and NC Soft’s lineups like Aion, Blade&Soul and Lineage series capture
a significant market share and FIFA Online 3 operated
by Nexon(in Korea) takes the top spot among portal
sites. NHN Hangame, Neowiz Pimang and CJ E&M
Netmarble etc start to co-operate game services and do
co-channeling service to keep having the upper hand in
the market.
[A three-cornered fight in mobile games, expect
another new strong title]
Netmarble and Neowiz Games made an agreement to
share users in their portal sites by co-publishing
‘Cha9Cha9(football game)’ and NHN Hangame also
has a strategy to share users with Netmarble by
channeling some contents and Mgame, one of the
leading game portal sites, will join the trend in the
middle of 2013. We can expect this trend emerging as
a major issue.
Although top 2 mobile game platforms, ‘Kakao Talk’
and ‘Line’, made a big contribution to a big success, it
has to face a crisis due to short terms of fad. They have
no choice but to challenge themselves by introducing
open API, targeting the global market and acquiring
new contents etc. At the same time, various new
platforms come out these days, the competition get
fiercer.
The keywords of 2013 mobile games are ‘A threecornered fight in mobile games’, ‘Kakao Talk &Line’
and ‘Diversifying genres’. A three-cornered fight
among leading companies like top 2, Com2us
&Gamevil and a newcomer, Wemade Entertainment
which made a meteoric rise with line-ups in the Kakao
Talk, the mainstream routes for mobile games in Korea
will be more competitive.
Their strategies are to take a greater control of the
competition by developing a new title with fast paced
strategies and launching next title based on their
previous success. Additionally, we can expect small
and medium sized companies’ startup and current
game companies are set to enter the mobile game
market.
Especially, the games which have not only networks
among users but also plenty of contents will be a huge
hit and game development applied by current IPs will
be the mainstream.
Nexon is planning to enter the mobile game market
with their famous IP and already has a wide range of
user bases by launching ‘Maple Story’, ‘Kart Rider’
and ‘Goonzu Online’. NC Soft is also planning to
enter the mobile game market by using their IPs which
target adults.
In the contents, a competition between a blockbuster
MMORPG and sports games appears to be fierce. Lots
of blockbuster games like Archeage(blockbuster
MMORPG) by a genius developer, JaeKyung Song,
Yulgang 2 by Mgame(martial art MMORPG game),
Chunryoung Story by WeMade Entertainment, Bless
by Neowiz, Archlord 2 by Webzen and EOS by NHN
Hangame etc will be released.
News | 2013. 1. 17
My People by Daum Communications and Cyworld
3.0 by SK Communications will get into the market
and operate mobile game services to follow Kakao talk
and Line.
Regarding contents, current games which used to be a
kind of games to kill time and puzzle games will be
greatly diversified.
Above of all in 2013, a lot of RPG games will be
released and try to be the representative genre in the
mobile game; Little Legends (the first social RPG) by
Com2us, Zenonia(the representative RPG)by Gamevil,
Knights of Silkroad(3D MMORPG) by
WeMadeEntertainment, Ragnarok Conker by
Neocyon.
For the baseball season, Pro Baseball Manager by
Ntreev, Pro Baseball Master 2013 by Nexon will be
released soon.
Yulgang 2 by Mgame
(martial art MMORPG game)
4
GAME LIFE
Jay’s Game Analysis
Jay’s Game of January: TEKKEN
I am glad to talk about “TEKKEN” series, which is one of my favorite
games, as the first story of my column. “TEKKEN” is a representing
game in fighting action genre, which has been produced and published
by Namco Bandai in Japan. Since 1994, Namco Bandai has released 8
version of “TEKKEN”, and the latest version, “TEKKEN TAG
TOURNAMENT 2” was released in 2012 and was selected as an
official title of IeSF 2012 World Championship. “TEKKEN” has been
gaining popularity, boasting more than 40 characters and balance of all
characters.
In IeSF World Championship held in last October 2012, more than 30
national players from all around the world participated in “TEKKEN”
and proved its global status. “TEKKEN” has been serviced with 2 types
of platform – Arcade and Console (Playstation 3 & X Box)
Catching up with new format of IeSF Newsletter, I have got a chance to analyze brilliant eSports titles or games which have possibility for e-Sports title. I would like all readers to have
fun with my column.
Simple control & Glamorous Action
What do you think the best feature of “TEKKEN” series? I think “TEKKEN”’s low entry
barrier to players with simple control. In “TEKKEN”, you can show more than 30 commands
with only 4 buttons and 1 lever. Each button represents left & right punch and kick.
With these simple devices, even beginners can approach TEKKEN easily. Of course, It is hard
to master all commends and combos, so those beginners tend to be maniacs easlily.
Competitiveness: Mind & Psychological competition
TEKKEN is further from other fighting action games which players gain upper hands with
express high level of commands. In practice, a real charm of watching matches of TEKKEN is
not the commands, but the psychological warfare such as check and balance and dodging.
Therefore, most masters of TEKKEN have a sense to analysis the pattern and style of
opponents, and players without those kinds of sense often present the victory to opponents
without 1 blow.
Spectating Factor: the highest value for being a e-Sports title
TEKKEN is a great game that makes spectators understand games easily, which is one of the
most important factors of e-Sports title. As a game is superb in lots of factors, e-Sports fans
and spectators tend to have difficulty in in understanding matches.
In this point of view, most people are easy to understand which player is better with life gauge
and commends. In e-Sports stadium in Korea where TEKKEN tournaments was held, not only
users but women fans who could not play TEKKEN got together and enjoyed the matches.
News | 2013. 1. 17
5
GAME LIFE
Jay’s Game Analysis
Evolving to e-sports title through network-wise of console and arcade
devices
Console devices are usually regarded as household game player. However,
since middle of 2000, the network system integrated with the console device
and made it possible for console games to be operated in online. This means
online e-Sports tournaments of console games as well as games based on PC
are available and it seems to speed up vitalizing e-Sports.
Although lag situation in online matches in console games was one of
problems, it has been revised in TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2, the
latest version of TEKKEN series, so that users can enjoy matches not only
with players next door, but with a player at the other side of the world.
Also, network system has been adopted in arcade version. It support players
to check their off-line ranking and playing data in online. With this service,
players can know the best player in their region and challenge each other to a
duel.
TEKKEN & Jay
I started playing TEKKEN since 1999, when TEKKEN TAG
TOURNAMENT was rising high in Korea. I also have a winning record of
TEKKEN TOURNAMENT hosted by a game center in Busan in 2002. Since
that, I have been a massive fan of TEKKEN.
Also, when I started to work in e-Sports field, I wanted to make TEKKEN an
excellent e-Sports title and my first performance in IeSF was to select
TEKKEN as one of the official titles in IeSF 2012 World Championship. In
last October, I participated in National e-Sports games in Korea as a
representative player although I failed to make 1 win.
Wishes to TEKKEN
It seems that TEKKEN has few tournaments compared to its global
reputation. In the IeSF 2012 World Championship, what players of TEKKEN
appealed with one voice was the hope to hear the news of TEKKEN
Tournament as many as possible.
I hope that the developer of TEKKEN recognize the needs of e-Sports
tournaments of users and support to lead the invigoration of fighting action
genre. I believe that developer’s interest and investment to e-Sports is
connected to player loyalty and inflow of new players, and these aspects will
be more than worth sales volume to the developer.
TEKKEN® TAG TOURNAMENT 2&©2012 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
By Jay Shin
News | 2013. 1. 17
6
GAME LIFE
MOBILE GAME ZONE
iPad Endless running Run & Gun
by Pocketgamer.co.uk
Game info.
Best Comment
Product: Run'n'Gun
Publisher: Gaijin Entertainment
Format: iPad, iPhone
Genre: Casual, Endless running
Players: 1
Version: Europe
All the good stuff in one package. by Banana Fractions
This game has combined a lot of the features from leading runners and it has turned out quite well! Sharp graphics, guns,
boss fights, many hazards, different environments and characters, powerups and upgrades. You'll see similarities of Subway
Surfers, Agent Dash and Temple Run in here and it works quite well. The game gets a little jittery in the faster speeds,
making it a little difficult to maneuver but overall it's a pretty solid game. Definitely recommend it if you're a fan of the
genre. My favorite are the twins! :D
It may surprise you to learn that Run'n'Gun contains both running and gunning.
Okay, so that probably didn't surprise you. How about this - it's a 3D endlessrunner in the mould of Temple Run. No?
All joking aside, Run'n'Gun really isn't a particularly fresh concept, so it had better
play a mean game if it's to impress.
The 'gun' part comes into play in two ways. As you progress through the various
zones you'll encounter hobgoblins, who run along just in front of you. Line
yourself up with them and you'll start pumping them full of lead automatically,
causing them to spill coins in their wake.
While this mechanic is fun in its own way, it's also a bit hands-off and shallow.
Occasionally you'll also get to tap explosive barrels for more coins, but - again this is hardly what you'd term visceral gunplay.
Survivalist fantasy
Mission over
You play the part of a typical square-jawed meat-head with an itchy trigger finger.
The world he inhabits is slightly more original - a kind of anachronistic steampunk fantasy world.
It's through this world that our hero runs, dodging left and right, as well as jumping
over and ducking under obstacles.
Lateral movement is handled by tilting your handset, while ducking and jumping
requires a swipe in that direction. Occasionally you'll encounter a sharp turn, at
which point you have to swipe left or right accordingly.
The game has the irritatingly cheap tendency to place obstacles immediately after
or before these sharp turns, which is often what catches you out and sends you
back to the tavern.
Gunning for the champ
That's the 'run' part of the title covered. It's pretty standard Temple Run fare for the
most part.
News | 2013. 1. 17
There's a little more to Run'n'Gun in the shape of missions, which you can accept
from a barman at a tavern between levels.
Well, they're called missions, but they're essentially the kind of banal achievements
that are usually automated in other games, like turning a corner 40 times or
crashing into so many obstacles. They're more than a little dull, and the way you
have to manually select them one at a time feels like an unworthy promotion of a
background feature.
As you might expect, there's also a heavy in-app purchase system that demands
silly amounts of money for power-ups and new characters.
What this all amounts to is a reasonably accomplished but thoroughly generic
endless-runner. Run'n'Gun's attempts at innovation are shallow and slightly halfhearted, and its core mechanics have quite simply been done better elsewhere.
by Jon Mundy
7
WORLD REPORT
KOREA & TURKEY
SK Planet Starcraft II PROLEAGUE has been launched
By Korea e-Sports Association
SK Planet Starcraft II PROLEAGUE 2012-13 Season (SC II PROLEAGUE)
based on “Starcraft II : Wings of Liberty” of Blizzard Entertainment has been
launched on 8th December 2012.
“SC II PROLEAGUE” is an annual league during 2012 ~ 2013 and the prize
money has highly increased to KRW 300,000,000. (App. 300,000 USD).
Furthermore, “SC II PROLEAGUE” is delivered to all around the world as well
as Korea, with English broadcast system.
Major change of this “SC II PROLEAGUE” is that international e-Sport team,
EG-TL (Evil Genius & Team Liquid) joins to the “SC II PROLEAGUE”
instead of Air Force team “ACE”. It is the first time that non-Korean e-Sports
team participate in “SC II PROLEAGUE” from its initiation in 2003 although
some non-Korean players have done. EG-TL was pointed as one of favorites
among 8 participants in Media day of “SC II PROLEAGUE”, as JAEDONG
joined the EG-TL.
Through “SC II PROLEAGUE” with various issues, Starcraft II seems to
enhance its global status as a massive e-Sports title. Also “SC II PROLEAGUE”
is expected to have a chance to develop itself to major e-Sports tournament in
the world.
2013, Turkish e-Sports highlights
By Furkan Faruk AKINCI at SETI Media
Leauge Of Legends
Go4Lol Turkey begins
Go4Lol, highly popular weekly online tournament series in Europe and USA, is
now launching in Turkey. The tournament which has prizes like cash and Riot
point, will begin with the first one on Sunday, 9th of December. At the end of
every month, eight teams which rack up the highest points will compete in the
big final and will win more cash prize.
LoL Saturday Night Tournement
It is a traditional Saturday Night tournament organized by Riot Games. The
tournament is held every second week and Riot Games Points are awarded to
participants. (So far?), it has been held during November and December 2012.
LoL Demacia Tournement
The tournament with the heroes of the city of Demacia was held on November
23rd, 2012. The winner team won T-shirts with Demacia city logo.
LoL Noxus Tournement
The tournament with the heroes of the city of Noxus was held on November
23rd, 2012. The winner team won T-shirts with Noxus city logo.
Riot Games Winter Season
The winter season tournament organized by Riot Games began December 9th
2012. Grand finale will take place on January 20, 2013. In total, 27 500 Turkish
Liras cash and 200 000 Riot Points prize will be given as a gift.
Point Blank
Steel Series Serial Killer Point Blank Tournement
Serial Killer Point Blank Tournement was held in Popular tournament place
Gameekstra, on Sunday, December 23. Steelseries products and 1.5 million NG
was given as a gift to top 3 teams.
amount is 30.000 Turkish Liras and the winner team will represent Turkey in
the International Point Blank Championship (PBIC).
Counter Strike
11th Conventional 4Fun CS Tournement
Almost traditional at Gameeextra. An awarder but mostly appealed by small
teams kind of tournement. The last tournement lapse has been held on 16th of
December 2012. The winner awarded by Razor peripherals.
S2 The Last Weapon
Joygame’s 3rd Turkey Tour Finals
The tour has started on 12th of December. The final will be held on 4th of
January 2013. The prime winner will be awarded with a Monster Gaming
Laptop other finalists will be awarded by Thermaltake Corp.
Wolfteam
Joygame - Turkcell Clan Tournament
Tournament is held by Joygame and one of the biggest and powerful mobile
operator company Turkcell. It is a popular and well known tournament on
nationwide. Tournament Registration date has started on 27th of December. The
main event dates are not yet to be announced. Total cash prize amount will be
apx. 11.200 $ (USD)
HON ( Heroes of Newerth )
Soundblaster Heroes League
HON is an international tournament but yet Turkish players will participate the
action at ADEX Internet cafe which is a well known and most popular gathering
point for all gamers in Istanbul. Winning teams will be rewarded by
Soundblaster and cash money. Tournament is still on.
Point Blank Turkey 1st National Tournement
Official Point Black tournament’s city auditions has been done in December but
the date of the grand finals has not been announced yet. Tournament’s total
prize
News | 2013. 1. 17
8
WORLD REPORT
SWITZERLAND & SOUTH AFRICA
BarCraft Switzerland
By Swiss E-Sport Federation
Ever since the invention of television and live-broadcasting, pubs and
sportbars around the world were dominated by a mostly male audience,
watching either football, rugby, cricket, dart and other bloodthirsty,
testosterone-filled competitive sports. In 2011, BarCraft has turned the world of
Guinness and Fish & Chips upside down. The audience is still mostly male, but
the sports of interest have changed – to eSports. In more than 150 cities
worldwide you will find bars showing e-Sports.
Of course in most cases they won’t be showing videogames on regular days, but
they will when it is time to host a “BarCraft”. However, while BarCraft
historically started with showing StarCraft at a bar (Bar + StarCraft = BarCraft),
there are now more and more events adopting the idea to other games, such as
League of Legends or DotA 2. They go by other names (BarDotA, Mobar,
Pubstomp etc.) yet they all share the same, fundamental idea – bringing e-Sports
into the public.
When it comes to accomplished professional gamers, Switzerland is still as
small a country as it ever was. However, in terms of eSport-enthusiasm,
Switzerland is starting to turn into a superpower! Despite the lack of an
internationally active pro-gaming scene, the hunger for watching global
tournament broadcasts, and following the performances of the world’s best
players, is as big as never before! A desire which the Swiss E-Sport Federation
(SESF), in cooperation with BarCraft Switzerland, successfully satisfied.
For close to a year now, BarCraft Switzerland and the SESF, have been holding
BarCrafts all over Switzerland, on an almost monthly basis.
With an average attendance of 50+ enthusiasts, and an all-time high of over 120
eSport-fans, the outcome of the events has exceeded even the most optimistic
estimations.
What started as a simple idea at a local boozer in Zurich, has turned into a key
cornerstone in the landscape of the Swiss e-Sports scene within months.
Not only in Switzerland but in the whole world, BarCraft proves an important
point which enthusiasts always knew to be true, but never had the means to
show it: Gamers are everywhere.
Students, engineers, cashiers in supermarkets, bankers, social-workers – they all
come together at a barcraft, to watch e-Sports. Ordinary, regular customers are
likely to find it disturbing, when they happen to find themselves in the middle of
it by chance – at first.
But they will realize that e-Sports is simply a new generation of competitive
sports, and that the passion of e-Sports enthusiast is no different than the
passion of football fans for their sports – only with more fun, and less violence.
Women dominate Mind Sports
By Mind Sports South Africa
On 8 December 2012, Lyrene entered the SA National Championships. While
females and males play in separate championships in international
championships, in South Africa both men and women play off against each
other.
2012 has been a good year for women who were involved in Mind Sports
South Africa.
Lyrene Kahn and Gabriela Isaacs were selected to represent South Africa as
members of the GIGABYTE™ Protea eSports Team for the 2012 IeSF World
Championship in South Korea.
At such championship, Gabriela finished in second place and Lyrene finished in
a very credible fourth place against very stiff international competition. The
result was truly remarkable from the point of view that both Gabriela and Irene
had never before participated at an international championship.
News | 2013. 1. 17
Notwithstanding the fierce competitiveness in SA gaming, Lyrene still dazzled
all the gamers to finish in a very solid second place to only be beaten by
Johannes Botma of Bloemfontein.
Not only did Lyrene do well, but Kristen Bishop (of Wits University) also
shone. The two women forced all of the men (other than Johannes Botma) out
of the medals to take second and third places respectively. The strength of
female South African gamers seems to be thus assured.
Thus it was hardly surprising that at the MSSA's Annual General Meeting, the
entire meeting, with seemingly one voice, voted to award Lyrene Kahn the title
of "2012 Best Newcomer of the Year" and Gabriela Isaacs as the "2012 eSports
Gamer of the Year".
9
INTERVIEW
ONLINE GAME CEO
JaeKyung Song, a ceo of XL games
‘Archeage’ Creating user’s joy themselves
MMORPG’s value-oriented - Suggesting a new paradigm
by KHgames Sophie
Users can choose their life; he can build a house,
garden and ship and live peacefully without a raid and
hunt. What makes it possible is that the game also puts
great importance in the normal life style of individual
users and the importance of this life style has similar
with that of raids factor.
When you want to build a big castle in the Archeage,
you need lots of user’s help and you can’t build your
big building without their ‘Labor’. Also, this Labor
can be traded with ‘Money’ in the game, you can get
values with the fact, the existence of character. It’s a
unique try you’ve never seen it before in other
MMORPG games.
The reason why all actions need ‘Labor’ is that we
want to reduce the gap between heavy users and light
users and we don’t want advanced users to infringe
light user’s right.
Our ‘Labor’ feature makes sure that all beginners get
at least a little respect in the whole game. It’s our
choice to satisfy the basic definition of ‘Game For
Everyone’.
JaeKyung Song who is famous for a genius game
developer and godfather of ‘Lineage’ finally comes
back to users with his brand-new title ‘Archeage’.
Archeage starts to kick into first gear on 2nd of Jan,
2013.
[ MMORPG’s value-oriented]
JaeKyung Song, a ceo of XL games, has significantly
influenced Korean MMORPG market. Lineage, his
representative title, was opened to the public in 1998
and it’s been over 10 years. Many people are curious
about his new MMORPG and the reason why he chose
MMORPG title again.
He said ‘there was no concrete concept about
MMORPG itself when I first developed some game
titles like ‘Lineage’ or ‘The Kingdom of the Winds’
and I had a difficult time developing such games as
there were no examples.
I’m proud that today’s MMORPG games provide high
quality compared to old ones, but I think interest of
MMORPG is patterned these days. The basic value of
MMORPG is to create joy and pleasure when the game
is harmonized with users well. I do want to approach
the basic value of MMORPG with Archeage.
He said ’of course, there were something lost due to
long tests. But I never regret it as I could get more
positive things. The most important part is interactive
contents between users and our game. I believe it’s
hard to push our opinions and send the message to
users in one direction. I can complete today’s
Archeage through 5 time tests, getting millions of
users’ voices. I’d like to describe Archeage like a party
which is made by our users and us, as it is not solely
from our game developers.’
Archeage offers users a variety of interesting factors
except war and battle factors which is focus on the
importance of real life features like farming and trade
etc.
Some people said adding real life features to the game
is awkward, but JaeKyung Song said he got lots of
positive feedback from his users several times. This is
one of Archeage’s distinctive features, a unique
MMORPG with public popularity.
[Suggesting a new paradigm]
In the game, users can live whatever they want to. This
is the one of features, The Degree of Freedom.
Although online game market seems a little depressed
these days compared to fever of mobile games, when it
comes to Archeage, many people expect the possibility
that Archeage can revitalize online game market in
Korea. He asserts we need to take some drastic
changes actively rather than stick to current success.
His advice toward online game developers sounds
more meaningful as he is the founder of Korean
MMORPG game.
There are many titles representing him, the greatest
game and the blockbuster made by ‘the genius game
developer’. Although it starts with enormous
expectation and it could make him under pressure, we
are looking ahead to a bright future.
JaeKyung Song has a positive expectation rather than
worries as he has a strong confident on ‘Joy’ and ‘the
Degree of Completion’ which are equipped in the
game and he strongly believes those are the most
essential in the game.
He said ‘I’d like to appreciate all users who have been
giving lots of attentions for Archeage, we have been
dedicated to it and put our utmost efforts. I’d like to
ask you continuous interests and enjoy our game.
Thank you so much.’
Archeage had tried CBT(Closed Beta Test) for 5 times
before he opened the game to the public. Especially, it
took over 90 days to do the fourth closed beta test to
verify it. While the game got rapid advancement
through these steps, users got familiar with the game.
There is a possibility that this ‘familiarity’ could make
the game lay an egg as it lost its expectation from
users.
News | 2013. 1. 17
11
INTERVIEW
ZOOM IN E-SPORTS
Mr. Jongwook Won, the head coach of “STARTALE”
Startale Progame Team_JONGWOOK WON
By Matthew Byun / Reporter at International e-Sports Federation
Q : Introduction of STARTALE e-Sports Club
- “STARTALE” was founded in 2010 with Sung Jun Park (July) and Sung Jae Kim
(IntotheRainbow) as the core members of the team. STARTALE is operating its teams for two
game titles Starcraft II and Counterstrike Online, but mainly focusing on Starcraft II. Mr. Seung
Hwan Cho, the CEO of HUMING GLOBAL, Inc. and Director of Asia Marketing at JOYGEAR,
is taking role as honorary leader of the club, and Mr. Jong Wook Won as the Head Coach and
Owner,Mr. Kwang Bok Kim and Mr. Hee Won Yoon as the coaches are leading the teams in the
club. Also, James, the manager, is supporting players of STARTALE for competing abroad in
global tournaments as well as working for global sponsorship.
Q : Focus on Training System of Korea team
- Other teams in other countries might be used to how Korean teams train currently. It seems that
they are interested in Korean teams since we are producing fine professional gamers, and these
gamers are cutting a conspicuous figure within global competitions.
The players in a Korean team usually get trained and practice all together as gathered in a certain
team’s quarter. Since other global tournaments are usually operated in short period for 3 to 4
days, it seems that other global teams do not look into the needs for team quarter. However, in
case of Korea, since we are spending most part of week for individual league and team league,
this format of training can help players benefit each other in terms of strategies. Also, this system
includes analysis of maps and opponents’ performances by coaches, and schedule management
for systematic operation of the team, and we think these are essential.
▶ Personal Profile (JONGWOOK WON)
- 2003 Manager & Coach in SG Family
- 2004 Coach in Pantac & Curitel team
- 2007 Head Coach in Pantac
- 2007 Korea national head coach of IEF
- 2010 Head Coach in Startale
- 2010 President of Starcraft2 Association & e-Sports Federation
- 2012 Korea national head coach of GSL World Championship
- Current Owner & Head Coach of STARTALE Pro Game Team
▶ Profile (Star Tale)
- Team Members
2010.09
´
TG Sambo-Intel Starcraft II OPEN Season 1 Runner-up
2011.03
´
Intel Extreme Masters in Hannover in Germany Winner
2011.03
´
Intel Extreme Masters in Hannover in Germany 3rd Place
2011.05
´
LG Cinema 3D Global Starcraft II League May Code A Winner
2011.06
´
Dreamhack Summer 3rd Place , 4th Place
2011.08
´
Major League Gaming(MLG) Raleigh Winner
2011.10
´
Sony Ericson Global Starcraft II League Code A Winner
2011.10
´
Intel Extreme Masters(IEM) in New York Runner-up
2011.11
´
ZOWIE Divina International Invitation Tournament Winner
2012.01
´
Home Story Cup in Germany Runner-up
2012.04
´
IPL Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas
2012.05
´
HOT6 GSL Global Starcraft II League Season2 Runner-up
2012.05
´
Redbull Battle Ground in Texas in USA Runner-up
2012.09
´
Blizzard World Championship Series Asia Final Runner-up
2012.10
´
HOT6 GSL Global Starcraft II League Season4 Winner
2012.11
´
Major League Gaming (MLG) in Dallas Winner
2012.11
´
Lone Star Clash Season2 in Austin in USA Runner-up
- Team
2011.01
´
Joyteck Cup Team Invitational Winner
2011.02
´
GSTL February Runner-up
2011.03
´
GSTL March 4th Place
2012,04
´
GSTL Season1 in Las Vegas Runner-up
2012.07
´
Own3d TV KSL Winner
2012.11
´
Ongamenet S.S.O The Clan Season 3 Winner of Counter Strike Winner
2012.11
´
IPTL Global Team League Winner
News | 2013. 1. 17
Q : Key Players of Startale (in terms of issue gamers)
- Currently, STARTALE e-Sports Club possesses 20 of Starcraft II players. STARTALE’s
source of pride is that players of STARTALE are regularly distinguishing themselves within
tournaments differently to other teams. Especially, Lee Sak Won (PartinG), Seung Hyeon Lee
(Life), Ji Sung Choi (Bomber), Hyun Woo Park (Squirtle), Won Pyo Lee (Curious) are core
power for the team, and they are harvesting good results within diverse tournaments.
Q : Difference between Korean Tournament and Other Global Tournaments
- I think it might be the strongest point of Korean e-sports that there is professional league which
continues for all year round. Constant league and consistent broadcasting of each competition
allow the circumstance for sponsors to invest more as well as building the grassroots for players
to make fine results within global tournaments. Since the leagues in North America or Europe
are mostly sporadic series of tournaments, for the lack of continuity, it obligates players from the
systematic training and practicing.
We wish that cities somewhat mecca of e-sports may evolve in North American and European
region, and, as revolving around these cities, also wishes e-sports may become league-wise.
There, we would like to see them growing in company with Korean leagues through the
vitalization of professional teams and professionally systematic training. It is always good to see
Korean players dominating in global competitions as a Korean citizen, but it is also a pity for
overall growth of global e-sports.
Q : Future Schedule and Vision
- Increasing the value of our players and the team as participating and winning more global
tournaments is my current personal goal. Also, I wish more global sponsors may invest into esports market and build better circumstances for e-sports. We need to show more visions of esports to sponsor companies, but have not accomplished it yet. However, personally, I believe
that e-sports contain so much vision and potential.
Especially, Starcraft II and League of Legends are currently rising as hot contents among young
gamers. I think e-sports teams and organizers should think about win-win strategy in comply
with this phase of timing. Also, I hope all the e-sports people in the world may share same idea
and vision for growth of e-sports, and with this consensus, I would love to see the eye-catching
growth of e-sports for the next level in the year of 2013. STARTALE Fighting!
12
INTERVIEW
Game Industry View
Kevin Lin is COO of Twitch
the world's leading video platform and community for gamers
By Jay Shin
Twitch is the world’s leading video platform and
community for gamers. More than 23 million gamers
gather every month on Twitch to broadcast, watch and
chat about gaming.
Twitch’s video platform is the backbone of both live and
on-demand distribution for leading video game
broadcasters including casual gamers, pro players,
tournaments, leagues, developers and gaming media
organizations.
Twitch is leading a revolution in the gaming community,
working to create a participatory experience that
transcends gameplay.
Q : History & Activity of Twitch in e-Sports field
eSports was still a burgeoning thing when we launched
Twitch in June of 2011. It had been around for a long
time, but had never really found the footing that it
deserved.
That all started to change when the eSports ecosystem
started coalescing around live streaming platforms like
Twitch. Right away we began partnering with the largest
eSports organizations - teams, leagues, tournaments,
popular titles.
Kevin Lin is COO of Twitch, the world's leading
video platform and community for gamers. Since
graduating from Yale in 2004, Kevin has worn a
variety of hats in different industries, from a stint
as a zookeeper at the Audubon Center for
Research of Endangered Species to running
major events and promotions for New York City
to peddling beverages in San Francisco. Finally
finding his home in the live online video world,
Kevin is excited to be helping grow the world of
video game broadcasting and competitive
gaming as a new form of entertainment for the
masses.
News | 2013. 1. 17
The prize pool, production value, massive audience
(online and off) and video quality really showed the
world that eSports is for real.
Q : Opinion about e-Sports broadcast trend
It's huge and very successful, but only getting started.
More gaming companies are creating games with eSports
in mind, more tournaments, bigger prizes, and, while it
already is a global phenomenon, it will become yet more
internationalized with countries bubbling up better and
better teams to compete on the international scene.
More sponsors will want their brands in the space - think
Nascar. Broadcasting will become ever more important
both for eSports and for games in general as spectating
games becomes a mainstream hobby.
Q : Plan & Vision of Twitch in 2013
The plan for 2013 is to help eSports continue the
momentum it has built in 2011/12. That means continuing
to support the entire ecosystem - from teams and leagues
to advertisers, tournaments and pro players.
Last year we convened the first global summit on eSports
- the Valencia eSports Summit - to do just that.
We built specific features for them and helped them reach
their audience. It's been an amazing ride and we can't wait
to see where it goes.
Q : The most memorable tournament or event
There are so many amazing experiences, but the most
memorable has to be the Riot World Championship in
2012. There were huge prizes, more than 1 million
concurrent viewers, laser-beam supported live orchestra,
and unforgettable matches.
13
IeSF NEWS
International e-Sports Federation
2013 IeSF News
Subtotal of Entry for e-Sports Discipline of 4th AIMAG
by Alex Lim / Editor at International e-Sports Federation
The year of 2012 has been a year for IeSF to prepare
a foothold for a new leap as IeSF has successfully
prepared e-sport’s entry into the customized sports
world, which has been the dearest wish and one of the
most important mission of IeSF and its fans.
It is reflected from the achievement of IeSF that esports have been included as one of the official sport
disciplines of 4th Asia Indoor & Martial Arts Games
(AIMAG), which is one of the mega-multi-sports
events hosted by Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
Reference:http://www.ocasia.org/Game/GPSports.aspx?
9QoyD9QEWPeH6nLBrRSBtZOdJn2u220HU4AyLCxhr60=
The 4th AIMAG will be held over eight days in
Incheon, Korea, from June 29 to July 6, 2013.
Featuring 12 sports disciplines, with approximately
2,400 participants from 45 Asian nations, the 4th
AIMAG will be a high-profile test event for the 17th
Asian Games in Incheon the following year.
The 4th AIMAG consist of 12 sports disciplines:
Billiard (10 gold medals), Bowling (6), Chess (4),
Baduk (4), Dance Sport (10), Futsal (2), Kabaddi (2),
Kickboxing (9), Muay Thai (9), Kurash (8), Short
Course Swimming (30) and Electronic Sports (6), and
players will be competing for total of 100 gold medals.
Events for e-sports discipline consist of 6 titles with
total of 6 gold medals: Special Force, Starcraft II,
Tekken Tag tournament 2, League of Legends, FIFA
13, and Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed. For more
information, please refer to the link: http://www.
aimag2013.org/en
Furthermore, the 61st OCA Executive Board in its
meeting has authorized the International e-Sports
Federation (IeSF) to conduct the e-sports competition
as the counterpart to International Governing Body for
e-sports during the 4th AIMAG in coordination with
the Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee
(IAGOC).
News | 2013. 1. 17
Reference: http://www.ocasia.org/Sports/SportsFed.aspx?
OeTnMRbrMwh+TrOsKKnv3Z8keHpbUYds
As taking this responsibility, IeSF has designed and
approved rules & regulations for Technical Handbook
for e-sports discipline.
On 23 November 2012, the Chefs de Mission Seminar
was successfully held. During the Chefs de Mission
Seminar, IAGOC provided the “Technical
Handbooks”.
The entry application system is operated through total
of 3 phases: Entry by Sport, Entry by Number and
Entry by Name (Final Entry).
IAGOC have just completed receiving the Entry by
Sport. The result of Entry by Sport is as shown in the
box below, and the feature of the actual Entry will be
more specifically surfaced, and may be changed by the
time of due for Entry by Number and Name, which are
15 March and 15 May of 2013.
The Secretary General of IeSF, Mr. Won Suk Oh
emphasized, “Filing e-Sports into the customized
sports world is very important mission, which will
allow to expand general scene of e-sports by
distributing its content to the public all over the world.
Also, it will positively influence on the current scene
of sports to be transformed to a certain direction for
our future generation.
This is just first step as collaborating with international
sports governing body in Asia region, but we will
sooner or later contact other continents’ Olympic
Committees such as European Olympic Committee
(EOC) or Pan America Sports Organization (PASO)
and start negotiating for inserting e-sport as an official
sports discipline for their mega sports event, which is
in line with our most desirable mission, Sport Accord
Affiliation.” We will keep updating the news for the
progress of 4th AIMAG’s e-sports event preparation.
15
OPINION
ESPORTS & GAMES
The Deprived Gamer
The deprived gamer. The isolated passionate young man who hopes and
dreams of making it once to E3, MLG, and events are equivalent to
these. The closest he has gotten so far is the Expo by local
telecommunications company Orange, an annual get together for
mostly ICT Enthusiasts in the country with 3 consoles on display,
playstation 2, playstation 3 and a Nintendo Wii provided by a local
gamers` arcade known as ‘Games 4 U’, to the third world gamer this is
not enough. More is supposed to be done and by done he needs a
thorough change.
I am that third world gamer and this is the story of i practice, play and
attempt to stay up to date with the latest game releases and forums on
the international platform. The only way to do this is through here, the
internet. I have multiple accounts with Video Games and Computer
Entertainment social sites such as Gamespot.com, IGN.com and
Eurogamer and all these highlight exactly what’s going on in their
regions, in the end the above does not help that much as they don’t and
will never address the situation on ground, and thats when deprivation
sets in though it’s just the beginning.
Hamza, a good friend of mine who lives uptown and is one of the lucky
few within my circles tells me about the excitement of online gameplay,
he owns an xbox console and once in a while goes online and plays
games but not with the local gamers coz we have none on the servers.
It leaves me curious and frustrated about this awful situation in my
country, sometimes I try to blame it on the major companies in the
game including Microsoft, SONY and maybe Nintendo I feel ignored
and not because of the fact that we are far from the action, no rather
because we are in a deprived region, we are poor, politically incorrect
and socially backward and with that they will all assume that there are
literally no gamers at all here, which to some extent is true but how will
there be gamers when we lack the basic necessities of gaming, an up to
date system and all that.
Someone once told me that am a gone case, a loss to the popular culture
of video games and am so obsessed with this simply as a hobby, I gave
them a cold smile and said what if I can change all that and midway this
article I can’t help but feel like am doing my best to change that. I am
trying to put it out there to probably the concerned parties if by any
chance they happen to see it and probably react. You never know, but I
am sure it’s what goes through the minds of fellow bloggers when
writing one, right?
I once told an acquaintance on our first meeting that i was a
professional gamer and he begged for my pardon, "Professional what?"
I said "Gamer" with a grin and he said "ok...", well I had clearly
anticipated this and me too. I felt it was a bluff to a certain extent,
because there is no such thing as a professional gamer in my country,
video games are for young children, that’s the general belief and my
family helped me so much in realizing it because for every time i was
found playing Gran Turismo on a borrowed Playstation 2 console, my
dad will be like, "at this age (18) you still play those things, when will
you grow up?"
Earlier this year, I got my PC Versions of Call of Duty Modern Warfare
3 and I remember my auntie looking at me and saying "Shame upon
you", I smiled off the comment and proceeded with Captain Price.
There is a lot to be done here, I am personally doing my level best, that
I know, but it’s still a very long way that I am fully aware of and the
government is both inaccessible and reluctant to find out about the
issue. The gamers are deprived, the culture is growing but not in a
manner it should be maintained, we lack class and where there is class
it’s reserved for the classy and wealthier gamers which once again is a
deprivation of basic gamer rights.
I know someone else is out there thinking why bother with a society so
deprived of this sector, I mean even the western world faces problems
of corporate greed from the big companies in the sector and my reply
will be simple, I feel deprived, so I will do what I have to for the
situation to change or just put that outside for the world to see.
By Joe Kratos /
Kampala, Uganda /
Sales Executive at
Cybernet Computer
Systems
Potential and Opportunity of e-sport as a formal sport
By Jong Sung Kim /
Manager of Korea eSports Association
News | 2013. 1. 17
In Asia, new frame of e-sports has been started, which is hosted by the
International Sports Governing Body. With the purpose of developing
“New Sports” for people in Asian region, Olympic Council of Asia
(OCA) selected e-sports as the official event of “Asian Indoor and
Martial Arts Games (AIMAG)”, sorting it as a part of ‘Mind Sports’
with Chess and Baduk (Go). Also, the officials of OCA keep showing
interest on e-sports.
This movement of OCA implies huge significance to International eSports Federation (IeSF) and its member nations, and requires new
dimension of correspondence and efforts for all these parties. Main
purposes of international sports governing bodies are provision of
exchange and harmony through sports events, and each nation’s sports
authority, which is National Olympic Committee (NOC), takes part in
this movement. Thus, in order to position ‘e-sports’ into the mega
sports event hosted by these international sports governing bodies as
one formal sports discipline recognized by customized sport sector, it is
necessary that IeSF and its member national federations expand its
realm of exchange with each NOC.
On Last December, 4th AIMAG finalized its 1st entry, and 15 nations
have submitted it. It shows the fact that each NOC’s perception and
intention of participation have been expanded. Based on this
international attention toward e-sports, it is certainly a great opportunity
for IeSF’s Asian member national federations to strengthen their
foothold as sole and representative national e-sports governing bodies
through actively cooperating with their NOC for selecting capable
events to participate, selecting national representative players, deriving
governmental support, and etc.
Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) is also expanding its exchange
with Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) with this chance, and is
practically operating preparation of e-sports events within 4th AIMAG
as being authorized by IeSF.
Certainly, 4th AIMAG is one good opportunity and procedure for esports to jump over the border of the customized sports sector, and to
grow in long term period. The process of participating in this event
must be other opportunity not only for IeSF’s Asian members to form
and expand exchange route with its NOC, but for other members in
European, African and American continents to seize the reference to
persuade continental sports governing bodies to perceive e-sports as
potential new sports discipline for their mega sport events in the future.
Furthermore, the process of this event’s preparation can be a chance to
provide vision of e-sports as formal sport to the 3rd parties in this
market, such as publishers and developers of e-sports titles and
suppliers, and persuade them for the necessity of long term partnership.
For both successful hosting of 4th AIMAG and positioning e-sports as
official discipline of 5th AIMAG 2017 (host country: Turkmenistan)
once again, there should be active participation and support of IeSF’s
member nations and other parties in e-sports and game market.
* Olympic Council of Asia (OCA): International Sports Governing
Body representing Sports of Asia hosting Asian Mega Sports Events
and supporting Olympic for Asian region.
* Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games (AIMAG): A mega sport events
hosted by OCA with the purpose of developing new sports genres and
disciplines preferred by public, but not official disciplines of Olympic
Games.
16