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It's A Korea Move |
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Playing StarCraft in South Korea is serious business. So serious in fact that competitions offer lucrative sponsorships, substantial prize money and celebrity status to the winners. Could this be the best job in the world? |
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Imagine 100,000 spectators crammed into the MCG to watch a bout of Modern Warfare 2 being played online by a handful of players. The idea seems a little far-fetched right?
In South Korea it is a reality. In fact, the competing players are media personalities and are respected in the same way that Australian soccer fans regard Harry Kewel or football fans admire the skill of St Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt.
In a measure of the medium’s popularity, South Korea even has three dedicated video game television stations that broadcast competitive matches live.
There is, however, one title in particular that has captured the Asian nation’s imagination above all others – StarCraft.
Blizzard Entertainment’s sci-fi real-time strategy (RTS) was released in March 1998. The company, already thoroughly experienced in the RTS genre, had cut its teeth on the successful Warcraft: Orcs and Humans long before the popularity of Warcraft had converted to the online adventure-based WOW behemoth that it has become.
Turning their creative attention to an RTS with a sci-fi setting, StarCraft featured three unique factions with a compelling plotline.
It was critically well received by journalists and gamers alike upon its release. As the ‘90s drew to a close, the South Korean government recognised the importance and future relevance of the world wide web and invested heavily in a broadband infrastructure that, over a decade later, remains the fastest in the world.
The Internet quickly became a South Korean national obsession and small business owners, keen to exploit this cyber avidity, opened Internet cafés – or as they’re known in the country, PC Bangs – to accommodate the population’s insatiable desire to be “connected”.
PC Bangs sprung up everywhere and sitting in an Internet café playing online games became an essential part of day to day life in South Korean cities.
In this frenzied environment, Blizzard released StarCraft. The game shipped, armed with a trump card up its sleeve: Battle.net. This ready-made multiplayer service had it all – ladder rankings, level matching, and above all else, it was free.
StarCraft’s popularity rapidly increased in South Korea and by 2000, the capital Seoul hosted the World Cyber Games, an international eSports event offering cash prizes to the winners, and a professional gaming league was introduced to chart the success of competitors.
Over the next ten years, StarCraft competitions and players have attracted huge sponsorship deals and prize money from the likes of technology giant Samsung.
Champions of the game are elevated to rockstar status and held in reverence right across the country.
In May of this year, sixteen “cyber athletes” were placed under investigation for match fixing, it became headline news in South Korea.
StarCraft accounts for over 70 percent of all online gaming in South Korea and has been driving major video game competitions there for an incredible twelve years.
It has been ported to Mac and the Nintendo 64, yet surprisingly, its popularity hasn’t been dented by the lack of content; only one expansion pack exists for the original title.
When StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty launches on July 27 after so many development delays, South Korea will undoubtedly spawn a whole new generation of eSports heroes.
Discover the world of StarCraft at JB Hi-Fi » |
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