4 ms·

Who considers Starcraft II, of all games, the first esport? Was it ever even considered as competitive as the original Starcraft?

htag 4y ago
Yeah, Starcraft II is as competitive or more than the original Starcraft. The introduction of the ladder means more players play SCII competitively, and the pro scene is just as good, if not better. Here's the commentary for the final match of the last in person tournament in SC2 [0]. Starcraft II did a lot of things to make controlling the game easier (Reassignable hotkeys, being able to select larger armies, screen position hotkeys). This made it easier for new players to get into the game, but the pro players were just able to find new ways to use their precious attention and keyboard presses and the skill ceiling remains as high as brood war. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WbXgaLr_eA&list=PLoBxKk9n0UWc8-5eHtZXvg4Y5wRwFavnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WbXgaLr_eA&list=PLoBxKk9n0U...
rollcat 4y ago
I think OP confused the role / status of 1 & 2; SC1 was almost immediately huge in Korea, had its own TV channel(s), kids would play nothing else in the Internet cafes, etc. Casual LAN was also huge: you needed only one CD key to host a local game with up to 8 players (although TCP/IP was only added a bit later, with a patch). Even if you disagree that SC1 created esports, it is definitely the one game that drove esports' early popularity like no other game could. Then in 2010 Blizzard released SC2, and in an effort to promote it, tried to undermine SC1's success, since it saw its continued popularity as SC2's competition. SC2 was never as popular, other (often more casual) e-sports started getting popular... and a couple of scandals among very high-profile players (match fixing) drove the nail into the coffin. Both SC1&2 scenes are still remarkably healthy (for a 24&12 year old game, respectively), there are premier tournaments with cash prizes, games continue receiving balance tweaks (although SC1 mostly through map design), etc. I play competitive SC2 casually and I can usually find a 1v1 match in less than 10 seconds (or about 1min for team games). It's never too late to get into it ;) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft_in_esports https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft_in_esports
- Macha 4y ago
  I think it's fair to say SC1 did introduce esports to Korea, but it was SC2 that introduced them to the west in a big way. And certainly in the west SC2 was larger than BW, probably even once you include the korean brood war scene. I think you're diminishing SC2 a bit _too_ much in your effort to point out the contribution of SC1.

htag 4y ago

Yeah, Starcraft II is as competitive or more than the original Starcraft. The introduction of the ladder means more players play SCII competitively, and the pro scene is just as good, if not better. Here's the commentary for the final match of the last in person tournament in SC2 [0]. Starcraft II did a lot of things to make controlling the game easier (Reassignable hotkeys, being able to select larger armies, screen position hotkeys). This made it easier for new players to get into the game, but the pro players were just able to find new ways to use their precious attention and keyboard presses and the skill ceiling remains as high as brood war. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WbXgaLr_eA&list=PLoBxKk9n0UWc8-5eHtZXvg4Y5wRwFavnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WbXgaLr_eA&list=PLoBxKk9n0U...

rollcat 4y ago

I think OP confused the role / status of 1 & 2; SC1 was almost immediately huge in Korea, had its own TV channel(s), kids would play nothing else in the Internet cafes, etc. Casual LAN was also huge: you needed only one CD key to host a local game with up to 8 players (although TCP/IP was only added a bit later, with a patch). Even if you disagree that SC1 created esports, it is definitely the one game that drove esports' early popularity like no other game could. Then in 2010 Blizzard released SC2, and in an effort to promote it, tried to undermine SC1's success, since it saw its continued popularity as SC2's competition. SC2 was never as popular, other (often more casual) e-sports started getting popular... and a couple of scandals among very high-profile players (match fixing) drove the nail into the coffin. Both SC1&2 scenes are still remarkably healthy (for a 24&12 year old game, respectively), there are premier tournaments with cash prizes, games continue receiving balance tweaks (although SC1 mostly through map design), etc. I play competitive SC2 casually and I can usually find a 1v1 match in less than 10 seconds (or about 1min for team games). It's never too late to get into it ;) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft_in_esports https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft_in_esports

Macha 4y ago
I think it's fair to say SC1 did introduce esports to Korea, but it was SC2 that introduced them to the west in a big way. And certainly in the west SC2 was larger than BW, probably even once you include the korean brood war scene. I think you're diminishing SC2 a bit _too_ much in your effort to point out the contribution of SC1.