StarCraft 2 - The New Era

Written by Aman Parmar

StarCraft II e-Sports Transition Celebration: “New Era” was one mind boggling event. The deadlock that had plagued the e-Sports community for so long and all the players who were behind this political yet business situation were about to create history at the COEX Intercontinental Hotel. In a completely unexpected move, the boss of the bosses – Blizzard Entertainment decided to end its tussle over the Intellectual Property rights with the Korean giant KeSPA (Korean eSports Players Association) and the outcome was an alliance between OnGameNet, Blizzard, GomTV and KeSPA! The organizations announced they are now willing to work with each other and promote Starcraft 2 as an e-Sport in Korea. Not only that, but a lot of Starcraft leagues would now be able to exchange players and the tv networks would be able to broadcast content by paying an annual license fee to Blizzard.

The History

Starcraft was in the right place at the right time. After the ban on Japanese consoles after the war, the Korean PC industry witnessed a boom. Starcraft went on to become the national sport of a video game crazy nation that put baangs in almost every corner to enjoy their favorite game. One cannot take away anything from what it was and what it transitioned into over the course of its 11 year run. This evolution brought about financial prosperity which had Blizzard Entertainment, the creator of Starcraft locking horns with the Korean e-Sports Players Association aka KeSPA with Starcraft 2 stuck in between. Reason? Starcraft II is the intellectual property of Blizzard and the battle was all about the copyrights to the game which included all the SC2 leagues, broadcasts and player unions.

KeSPA was and still is the entity behind all the Korean e-sports. Players have to obtain a player’s license from KeSPA which helps the Korean e-Sports giant control the activities of KeSPA licensed players on television Networks. How? KeSPA functioned within the boundaries of two broadcasting networks: OGN (OnGameNet) and MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation). Both had and still have representatives within the KeSPA ruling body and are the sources of Starcraft broadcasts to the entire nation. Since Blizzard lost all control over StarCraft, they tried to take their piece of the cake. They tried to control and collect Starcraft 2’s royalties from every possible future application of StarCraft II, which included promotions, players, tournaments, leagues and broadcasts.

KeSPA on the other hand was hell-bent on keeping things the way they were. After all, it was that one organization which made Starcraft so huge in South Korea and controlled everything that surrounded it. KeSPA had worked really hard to make Starcraft and countless other games other than the ones under Blizzard’s sphere of influence reach heights of success witnessed never before. KeSPA was also responsible for creating similar organizations in Japan and United Kingdom. Blizzard smelled money and so went to GOM network with all the licensing frills and tried to hijack StarCraft II from KeSPA by approaching GOM, thereby avoiding any possible collaboration with its competitor (KeSPA). KeSPA decided to flex its muscles too and threatened that it would rate StarCraft II Adult 18+ in Korea, which meant a lot of red tape in terms of content to be shown for any broadcaster, a huge decrease in the viewership and a slump in sales in Korea, China and the entire Asian region. Blizzard felt being blackmailed but KeSPA had all the support it wanted. Blizzard drew first blood by denying the broadcast of their games on ESWC Cheonan. KeSPA replied with e-Stars Seoul StarCraft II show-matches broadcast ban. China watched and then stepped in to label the game as too violent. This was a stalemate and Blizzard was not happy. So it attempted to deal with MBC and OGN directly by totally avoiding KeSPA. Korean government's response on a copyright infringement claim in Blizzard vs. KeSPA case stated the following:

“As KeSPA is the official Korean e-sports coordinator, a ruling body similar to European auto sport FIA, all the decisions must go through them.”

This really put a dent in Blizzard’s agenda and even though nobody won, the odds were in the favor of KeSPA as the Korean government clearly chose the torch bearer. While this resulted in a deadlock, the tournaments in US, Europe and Korea continued to thrive. 2011 was an important year for Starcraft 2 as many tournaments took place with both Korean, American and European players representing their flags under one roof.

The e-Sports Vision

The back and forth between Blizzard and KeSPA remained under the radar for quite some time. Both had the same goals though – autocratic control and cashing the cow. As per this new ‘e-Sports Vision’, KeSPA and OnGameNet now have the right to produce and broadcast Starcraft II leagues/tournaments. This agreement between the four parties was surprising given their bitter history. However, the agreement was reached only very recently, and the involved parties are yet to work out the specifics of this newly formed alliance. These details are hazy at best but there are a few definitive (more or less) things which have been doing the rounds.

KeSPA

• Starcraft II has been officially recognized as a KeSPA game.
• SK Planet Proleague Season II, which begins this month, will have both Starcraft II and Brood War.
• The Proleague season after SK Planet Season II, which begins this October, will focus solely on Starcraft II.
• The fate and participation of GSTL and GomTV teams is unknown at the moment.
• KeSPA’s goal is to spread Korean e-Sports around the world and several negotiations have been going on with various international organizations to achieve the same.

OnGameNet

• OGN plans to hold an individual level Starcraft II league in July. They would like to make it as open as possible so that anyone can compete, whether they are KeSPA, GomTV, and even amateur players. How successful will this peacekeeping mission be cannot be said before July.
• OnGameNet also plans to broadcast to foreign audiences (EU & US) and given their League of Legends experience, it is quite possible.

GomTV

• GomTV has made it clear that it would welcome the Brood War professionals to compete against GSL players in tournaments or show matches, whenever the players wished for it to happen.

What does this partnership mean?

KeSPA, Blizzard Entertainment, GomTV and OnGameNet held a “united Starcraft II e-Sports vision ceremony” at the COEX Intercontinental Hotel on May 2nd, announcing that the four parties had formed an alliance for the future of Korean e-Sports. As a result of this partnership, KeSPA now has the license to hold team level Starcraft II leagues, while OGN has been given the license to hold and broadcast individual level Starcraft II leagues. Starcraft II was made an officially recognized KeSPA title too.

Consequently, GomTV will continue doing its thing with GSL and GSTL leagues included in the four Starcraft II leagues that will now run in Korea. The leagues will be broadcast to viewers through cable television or the internet. As per this agreement, the various Starcraft II e-Sports leagues will now be able to exchange players. This could be a huge relief for Starcraft fans who were stuck between this tussle for control over the huge Starcraft 2 demographic that now spans continents and not just countries. More details will be available regarding the process behind the player exchanges in the near future.

Blizzard’s Press Release

On May 2, Blizzard, KeSPA, GOM, and OnGameNet held a press conference at the COEX Intercontinental hotel harmony ballroom in Seoul, with Paul Sams, COO of Blizzard Entertainment, Baek-Young-Jae, CEO of Blizzard Korea, Lee-Young-Hee, President of KeSPA, Bae-In-Sik, CEO of Gretech, and Hwang-Hyung-Jun, Chief Director of OnGameNet in attendance along with coaches and players from the various pro-gaming teams.

“Blizzard is devoted to the future of Korean e-Sports. Korea has been a world leader in developing the e-Sports industry, and we are very happy that we will be able to see more televised games between the best players in the world, Korean Starcraft II players” said Blizzard Entertainment COO Paul Sams. “We think that it is very important that we formed a cooperative relationship with GomTV, OnGameNet, and KeSPA, who share a vision for the future of e-Sports in Korea.”

GomTV representative Bae In Sik said “GomTV will continue to uphold its ideal of e-Sports as something that is open to the entire world, and we will cooperate with e-Sports companies in and out of Koreafor the balanced growth of Starcraft II not just in Korea, but in the entire world.”

CJ E&M (OGN’s Parent Company) representative Kim Seong Soo said “OnGameNet has been a pioneer in the new market called e-Sports for the last ten years. It's now time for Korean e-Sports to make a second leap, and make its way into the global market. This four party cooperation is an opportunity to affirm the love of e-Sports fans around the world, and we believe it will be a key impetus in the globalization of e-Sports."

Korean Players e-Sports association chairman Lee Hyung Hee said “KeSPA stood at the center of development of Starcraft e-Sports, and contributed greatly to laying the foundation for the Korean e-Sports industry. Starcraft II, which will be implemented in the SK Planet Proleague Season 2, is a great game that has been acclaimed around the world, and we await its role in elevating the e-Sports market to another level. KeSPA, Blizzard, OGN, and Gretech's cooperation is the starting point for Korean e-Sports to rise again.”

Original Korean Article: http://sports.media.daum.net/general/news/e-Sports/breaking/view.html?cateid=1079&newsid=20120426123408646

Conclusion

With one of the bitterest battles over Intellectual Property rights in the history of e-Sports coming to an end, a lot would still depend on how the four involved parties go about achieving this projected vision. Even though the dispute has finally been settled and Starcraft 2 has now been recognized as KeSPA’s game, it remains to be seen whether a cold war would continue to ensue. Blizzard might have had to swallow their pride here but as long as the licensing fee doesn’t give rise to further disputes among the involved parties, it is safe to assume that 2012 will be a very busy year for all four entities.

The TV channels will now be officially licensed by Blizzard to broadcast StarCraft matches by paying the Anaheim company an annual license fee. The fee of course is unknown at the moment. Blizzard and KeSPA will be signing a license contract shortly and the scheduled court date for the ongoing dispute has been delayed in the wake of the involved parties OGN, MBC and Blizzard coming to an agreement. This partnership has surely given new wings to Ongament, and MBCgame as they will be at liberty to produce and sell Starcraft content and hold open leagues. Both the networks have agreed to give exposure to blizzard with the logo, and the license fee will be given to Blizzard each year. Once again, the intricate details will only be known when the time comes and the concerned parties deem it fit for the general public.

A lot more will be known in October, when the ProLeague season begins focusing only on Starcraft 2. Since the announcement Team Liquid has  interviewed Paul Sams COO of Blizzard. The interview can be found here on the Team Liquid site.