B/R Weekly Rushdown: Nintendo Switch's Future in Esports, Overwatch Pro League
Outside the League World Championship continuing steadily onward, there weren't many major esports happenings. However, a few interesting things are popping up on the horizon.
So let's get right to it, then. Here's your weekly rushdown of news.
Nintendo Switch Reveal Trailer Hints at Its Esports Future?
The biggest bit of video game news this week, both in and out of the realm of esports, was the reveal trailer for the Nintendo Switch. Long known as the Nintendo NX, details of the console were kept secret for years. As a result, it became a factory for rumors among the rabid Nintendo fanbase.
On Thursday, Nintendo finally pulled the sheet off the console with an interesting, three-and-a-half-minute trailer, which can be found above.
Nintendo continued its post-GameCube tradition of building its hardware around gimmicky features, which isn't a bad thing, per se. Most notably, the Switch blurs the line between a home console and a controller-based mobile platform.
At home, it can be plugged into a stand and played on a television like its Xbox and PlayStation counterparts. On the road, gamers can take out the "guts" of the console—which conveniently feature a tablet-sized screen—and play it like a big PSP with optionally detachable controls.
It's an interesting concept, to be sure. But it also begs the question as to whether or not the kind of technical power befitting a modern console can be packed into such a small piece of hardware. But how does this directly relate to esports?
First of all, it's worth noting that the trailer features a segment highlighting a professional Splatoon game. The objective-based team shooter is functionally a kid-friendly alternative to Overwatch or Team Fortress 2 and is one of Nintendo's best titles from a competitive gaming perspective.
It's interesting that Nintendo would dedicate part of such a critical piece of media to esports. The gaming giant has historically taken a confrontational stance toward the competitive communities surrounding their IPs, so heavily featuring esports in a crucial reveal for its next major hardware release could suggest a proverbial new leaf is being turned over.
That said, the hardware itself is a downright nightmare for tournament organizers. On top of the fact that a four-on-four game like Splatoon would require eight consoles per match, legacy controller support seems unlikely at this time, which could be a hangup for major events.
While he didn't delve into those specifics, Evo Championship Series head honcho Joey Cuellar, expressed his concerns over the Switch:
What the future holds for Nintendo, the Switch and their respective places in esports remains to be seen, but that will be a major story heading into 2017.
Overwatch Pro League Casually Revealed by Activision Blizzard CEO
Activision Blizzard is a massive hydra of a company, so it shouldn't be a huge surprise when one of its heads goes off-message and lets something slip. Still, company CEO Bobby Kotick let a big story slip out in an interview with The Street, the story being that Activision Blizzard is working on building a league for its white-hot title Overwatch.
Here's what he had to say:
"What we're doing is creating professional content. So we're organizing around teams and leagues. You will have the Overwatch League which will have a certain number of teams. Those teams will be a combination of professional sports teams as owners and endemic sports teams as owners.
"
This is a big story delivered in a hilariously casual way.
Overwatch is one of the most exciting titles in both esports and gaming as a whole. The team-focused, objective-based, first-person shooter has become an esports powerhouse the world over, and creating a league around it a la the League of Legends Pro League is a brilliant move for the title.
While information on any sort of Overwatch Pro League is limited to an off-handed mention by the CEO, it's hard not to start getting excited.
ELEAGUE Season 2 Kicks Off
ELEAGUE is back! Sure, it hasn't been gone that long, given the Overwatch Open wrapped up just a few weeks ago, but it's hard to complain about having more compelling esports content on television.
The season kicked off on Friday with group stages action between Brazil's Immortals, Scandinavia's FaZe Clan, America's Cloud9 and Europe's mousesports, with FaZe and mouseports coming out on top of the group.
As per usual, ELEAGUE can be seen on Friday nights on TBS, or Tuesday through Thursday on Twitch.TV. Check your local listings.
Competitive 'Civilization VI'?
Sid Meier's Civilization VI just launched a few days back, but the game's competitive scene is already starting to take shape. The greatest sign of this came on Friday, when Team Liquid announced that they were beginning to put together a competitive Civ team. Here's what Liquid founder Steve Arhancet stated in his blog post on the team's site:
"Today Team Liquid is proud to announce the creation of our Civilization Team and an initiative to launch Civilization VI into the world of competitive esports. We are also excited to introduce our newest addition to the Liquid family, legendary strategy gamer Stephen "MrGameTheory" Takowsky who will serve as the team's captain. ...
When Civ V came out I was too focused on building the foundation of what would become Team Liquid to participate as actively in the multiplayer community. However, with the release of Civ VI and after spending hours watching twitch streams, looking at the various game modes, mod features, and the hints to the resources, and noticing the new focus on FFA multiplayer, I'm once again excited.
"
As detailed by PVP Live, Takowsky is a renowned Civ player who dominated the multiplayer scene in Civ IV before finding success in Civ V's early days. While the latest installment in the long-running series is still in its infancy, he stands as the most accomplished competitor in the game on his reputation alone.
Liquid will be moving forward with starting their own Civ VI tournaments, and it will be quite fun to see if the turn-based strategy game can gain legs.
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