Let me say first that I am a huge fan of Esports. Now I don't like every game from a spectator point of view but I understand what some of these professionals have to go through on a daily basis. It may seem like a nice and easy life, but there is struggle within it. That is part of the reason I have respect for each and everyone of them. Even the CoD players. I know i know I said that.
These pros stream constantly to work on their craft and to just have some fun while making some money to hep support themselves. Now I know it is not just me but I love to see gamers especially professional ones play games they are not so pro at. To me it just shows gamers will be gamers. With all of this in mind I just have to say one thing.
WTF RIOT?
Now why you ask? Well Riot the creators of League of Legends has told made the players who compete in the Legends Championship Series(LCS) that they cannot stream not only competing games but some games which make absolute sense. Basically if a LoL player says streams World of Warcraft they are considered in breach of contract, because it makes so much sense to ban MOBA players from playing MMOs.
You see I can understand DOTA2 or even Starcraft II these would be their main competitors but why all these other games, and why all Blizzard games in particular? Is Riot afraid? They relate it to say hockey players sponsored by Nike wearing Reebok shoes. To me this is bullshit since that would be telling a Hockey player they cannot play basketball in if a camera ends up filming them.
To me Riot wants to make sure by forcing their players to only play their game. No pro gamer is going to play a game not on stream because that is how they make their income. I just think this is going to backfire on them and these players are going to end up leaving and going to something with more freedom. After all if you are not happy in your job you look for a new one.
Am I wrong thinking this is wrong of them to do such a thing? Should they be happy they are getting paid by Riot and suck it up? What do you all think?
If you are interested in reading the article about the whole thing you can see it here or you can watch Totalbiscuit's rant about it in the video below.
It is their league they can do whatever they want but doesn't make it right at all. Only time will show them their mistakes
ReplyDeleteSponsorships almost always required exclusivity, why should this be any different? If players are getting paid then those doing the paying have every right to limit their exposure however they feel is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteI just think the problem is it isn't with the competition being banned that makes sense issue is with completely non competing games and why isn't TF2 banned?
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