They need to be convinced of putting the ”same sorts of investments” into eSports as others, with Blizzard happy with StarCraft 2’s eSports - but there’s an ”additional tip that can happen.”
What better way than to exploit the eSports scene and the viewing public than a reality show approach? It needs something along the lines of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’.
”Ultimately what needs to happen from my perspective for eSports to take that next step or hit the tipping point is the realisation by advertisers that it does have the viability of other sports, that it’s worth putting the same sorts of investments they do into other sports into this,” said the StarCraft 2 design production chief.
“I feel we’ve been extremely close. It’s done much better than I had hoped with StarCraft 2 but there’s still an additional tip that can happen.” ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ focuses on MMA fighters living together as they compete for a chance at being signed with UFC. It helps raise awareness to the sport tremendously and could ignite eSports.
”Getting these fighters together in a house and watching them learning their martial arts and trials they have to go through to get to their fight, to make it to number one, that sort of programming, people would eat it up about a pro-gamer and StarCraft 2 or whatever. That I think ultimately would be where we would see the really significant tip.”
StarCraft 2 will be getting more eSports competition this March 12th as Heart of the Swarm releases.