Valve

Quote from MtnTripp :

One can only marvel in awe of the pure brilliance that shines upon us.

Quote from IPT : dont think DOTA2 is making valve any real $$ from the skins. Also with the $$ they pour into DOTA's servers and what not, i don't see the return for them but they dont carea bout it anyway lol, more people play DOTA = more people use steam = more people buy steam sales = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

if riot can make millions off League of Legends, valve can make millions off DOTA2. Same concept free to play with microtransactions.

might not be making money today but once beta is done, i'm sure they will.

Quote from dayv : if riot can make millions off League of Legends, valve can make millions off DOTA2. Same concept free to play with microtransactions. might not be making money today but once beta is done, i'm sure they will.

thats if valve wants to sink so much $$ into LoL
the real reason LoL is so successful is riot sinks a lot of $$ into the esports scene, making it popular.

The amount of $$ Riot puts as tourney winnings is ridiculous
then again, when you're backed by a multi billion dollar chinese company, you can do it =D

Quote from IPT : thats if valve wants to sink so much $$ into LoL the real reason LoL is so successful is riot sinks a lot of $$ into the esports scene, making it popular. The amount of $$ Riot puts as tourney winnings is ridiculous then again, when you're backed by a multi billion dollar chinese company, you can do it =D

Which is also a big part of what Valve has been doing. The last International was the biggest tourney in terms of payout and production value outside of Starcraft.

Quote from thermoelectron : Which is also a big part of what Valve has been doing. The last International was the biggest tourney in terms of payout and production value outside of Starcraft.

SC's payout are actually small compared to LoL
i don't think DOTA's passed LoL's 5 million dollar prize pool, but i could be wrong.

And this is coming from a SC fan where we look down on LoL lol

Quote from IPT : SC's payout are actually small compared to LoL i don't think DOTA's passed LoL's 5 million dollar prize pool, but i could be wrong. And this is coming from a SC fan where we look down on LoL lol

It didn't but IIRC LOL's $5million prize pool is spread out over multiple tourneys whereas the International was one single tourney ($3 million). Not just that though, but the production values for the International were insane. Not only were you able to spectate in client but they also hired a TV production company to setup their livestream.

Quote from IPT : thats if valve wants to sink so much $$ into LoL the real reason LoL is so successful is riot sinks a lot of $$ into the esports scene, making it popular. The amount of $$ Riot puts as tourney winnings is ridiculous then again, when you're backed by a multi billion dollar chinese company, you can do it =D

you do realize sponsors pay for part of that... like Ben-Q and Intel.

every week they release either a skin or a new character. (not to mention IP boosts and character packs).

I would say easily 10% of the people buy skins. I couldn't guess if people buy characters with RP or Ip. they have a player base of soemthing like 20 milion people. if a fraction of those people make 1 transaction a month, riot makes a killing.

i don't think esports is what makes the game successful. i heard about it from a friend that was searching for free to play games. i play, like most, because it is fun, not because i want to go pro. i think what makes it really siccessful is the diversity of characters/roles and the fact it is free. you can spend as little as you want or as much as you want.

Quote from dayv : you do realize sponsors pay for part of that... like Ben-Q and Intel. every week they release either a skin or a new character. (not to mention IP boosts and character packs). I would say easily 10% of the people buy skins. I couldn't guess if people buy characters with RP or Ip. they have a player base of soemthing like 20 milion people. if a fraction of those people make 1 transaction a month, riot makes a killing. i don't think esports is what makes the game successful. i heard about it from a friend that was searching for free to play games. i play, like most, because it is fun, not because i want to go pro. i think what makes it really siccessful is the diversity of characters/roles and the fact it is free. you can spend as little as you want or as much as you want.

if you look at twitch.tv's page, LoL consistently has over 50k viewers spread out over all their channels.

Like right now at 12:36PM EST, there's 65k+ people watching people stream LoL on Twitch

DOTA isn't shabby either, with 36.9K viewers right now.
compared to SC2 with WOL streaming at 8k, and HOTS at 4.1k, you can see how I mean about SC not being the premier popular esport anymore.

Im not arguing that LoL isn't successful, if you look at LoL's history with their tournaments, they basically muscled their way into the esports scene and dumped a shitload of $$ into it.
Majority of the $$ in the tourney is provided by Riot, sponsors don't give that much $$ into tournaments. At least thats the understanding I have from the Starcraft Scene.

Like NASL hosting the NASL hosting a new Season, majority of the $$ is supported by NASL directly. Now NASL is supported by a few sponsors, sure.
But they are still pretty much in the RED every season since they began, according to Mr. Bitter who's one of the main person at NASL.

Quote from IPT : if you look at twitch.tv's page, LoL consistently has over 50k viewers spread out over all their channels. Like right now at 12:36PM EST, there's 65k+ people watching people stream LoL on Twitch DOTA isn't shabby either, with 36.9K viewers right now. compared to SC2 with WOL streaming at 8k, and HOTS at 4.1k, you can see how I mean about SC not being the premier popular esport anymore. Im not arguing that LoL isn't successful, if you look at LoL's history with their tournaments, they basically muscled their way into the esports scene and dumped a shitload of $$ into it. Majority of the $$ in the tourney is provided by Riot, sponsors don't give that much $$ into tournaments. At least thats the understanding I have from the Starcraft Scene. Like NASL hosting the NASL hosting a new Season, majority of the $$ is supported by NASL directly. Now NASL is supported by a few sponsors, sure. But they are still pretty much in the RED every season since they began, according to Mr. Bitter who's one of the main person at NASL.

all i'm saying is esports didn;t make the game popular or successful. if it isn;t a good game, people won't follow it or play it.

If blizzard dumped money into wow or sc2 for tourneys, i don't think it would be as successful. it is a result fo the game model and the actual gameplay.

if anything the tourneys are just a way for them to advertise. which blizzard/ea/etc do.

Quote from dayv : all i'm saying is esports didn;t make the game popular or successful. if it isn;t a good game, people won't follow it or play it. If blizzard dumped money into wow or sc2 for tourneys, i don't think it would be as successful. it is a result fo the game model and the actual gameplay. if anything the tourneys are just a way for them to advertise. which blizzard/ea/etc do.

i agree the esports tourneys are basically advertising, but im pretty sure someone tuning into one of those tourneys who never played the game will want to get in on the game.

I disagree btw with the SC2 side, there was an increase in players since blizzard hosted that WCS last year that was championship in China.
And with HoTS releasing with new progression reward system, who knows.
But i do honestly think LoL's popularity is due to Riot's full support and massive tournament scene.

Just look at HON, why isn't HON as popular as LoL? They both released relatively the same time, similar gameplay, one just has more publicity, more "glamor" than the other imo.

Btw DOTA2 is the better game out of all the 3 main MOBAs out on the market (LoL/HoN/DOTA2).
But its not as popular, probably because of the ease of play that LoL has compared to DOTA/HoN. Oh and i suck at DOTA2, but im moderately decent at LoL with an ADC.

And i suck even more at SC2 lol.

HON was less popular because it had a higher barrier to entry thanks to the game itself and the fact that it wasn't free to play. That and it didn't try to grow its community but rather cater to the hardest of hardcore MOBA players.

DOTA2 is trying to make the game more accessible but unlike LoL it's doing so without using its game mechanics. In game guides, coaching, tutorials...etc...Most of which not implemented yet but you can start to see them all come together.

Quote from IPT : i agree the esports tourneys are basically advertising, but im pretty sure someone tuning into one of those tourneys who never played the game will want to get in on the game. I disagree btw with the SC2 side, there was an increase in players since blizzard hosted that WCS last year that was championship in China. And with HoTS releasing with new progression reward system, who knows. But i do honestly think LoL's popularity is due to Riot's full support and massive tournament scene. Just look at HON, why isn't HON as popular as LoL? They both released relatively the same time, similar gameplay, one just has more publicity, more "glamor" than the other imo. Btw DOTA2 is the better game out of all the 3 main MOBAs out on the market (LoL/HoN/DOTA2). But its not as popular, probably because of the ease of play that LoL has compared to DOTA/HoN. Oh and i suck at DOTA2, but im moderately decent at LoL with an ADC. And i suck even more at SC2 lol.

I don't think tourneys draw people in like you think they do. If you play LoL you will know when a tourney happens. If you are a gamer you might see an ad for the tourney or a banner. but if you aren't a gamer you won't even know it is happening. i'm not sure the reach and draw brings in the masses you think it does. i think it is all about word of mouth.

if anything i would say the tourneys help keep the community together and in terest in the game. I think it was setup like SC2 to generate a following. I guess my issue is i can't see myself saying, i'm going to play this game because there is a tourney. i don't think a tourney would be anymore or less effective than emailing me a link to an article and the demo/download.

HON was just bad and so was Rise of the immortals.

I struggle with DOTA 2. i find the shop confusing and frustrating. and learning 50 more characters to be rough. it also feels like once you die the game is over. if a single player gets just a little fed, they snowball. Not to mention the price for death is higher, lose gold.

when it comes to LoL, it depends on the toon i get. i play only all random all mid or blind 5 all mid. jayce and lux are the 2 easiest i can carry with. i used to main as singed on summoners rift but i haven't been there in months.