B/R Weekly Rushdown: MLB Working with League of Legends, Nintendo Switch Rumors
Esports may be redefined with the news in this week's Rushdown. A new console is launching, with rumors indicating a potentially major push for esports from one of video games' most iconic companies, and one of the industry's biggest players is possibly looking to redefine how esports does business.
Those are two mammoth stories, so there is no need to waste any more time! Here's your weekly rushdown of esports news.
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MLB Advanced Media Set to Acquire Rights to Broadcast League of Legends?
The competitive League of Legends scene is in an awkward place right now, but publisher Riot Games is still moving full steam ahead. Its next step may be one of its biggest ones yet, too, as it is reportedly in talks with Major League Baseball Advanced Media over broadcasting rights for its title.
Here's the news, per esports journalist Richard Lewis:
According to Lewis, MLBAM is working alongside Riot to deliver a streaming app specifically for its esports content, which could be subscription-based. While that may sound like an odd pairing, MLBAM has quietly been behind a number of major subscription-based streaming services, including HBO Now, the WWE Network and WatchESPN.
That could provide Riot with some beaucoup bucks, too, as Sports Business Daily reported "one source said it could be worth $90 [million] annually, though that could not be independently confirmed."
Of course, there are many moving parts here between teams, players, sponsors and other stakeholders. What's more, in an esports environment where reach has been prioritized over traditional monetization methods, a paywall could also alienate a huge portion of the fanbase which relies on streaming services like YouTube and Twitch for content.
Ultimately, however, this could shake out to be one of the most important esports stories of 2016 (and/or 2017). Riot could very well be poised to reinvent gaming media distribution as we know it.
2016 Esports Industry Awards Results
The 2016 edition of the Esports Industry Awards went down Monday night. The full list of categories, nominees and winners can be found on its website, but here are some of the highlights:
- PC Player of the Year: CS:GO Player Marcelo "Coldzera" David
- Console Player of the Year: Call of Duty Player Seth "Scump" Abner
- Team of the Year: EnVyUs
- New Esports Game of the Year: Overwatch
- Game of the Year: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Live Event of the Year: Dota 2's The International 2016
Agree? Disagree? Discuss in the comments!
Nintendo Switch Release Date, Launch Titles, Other Rumors
With the Nintendo Switch's release approaching surprisingly quickly, more details on the mysterious console's launch are coming to light. In particular, game journalist Laura Kate Dale, who has been the source of several Switch-related leaks, posted a possible release date for the console, as well as a list of titles to be released at launch and in its immediate aftermath.
Here's her tweet:
From an esports perspective, two major things stand out.
First and foremost? A potentially packaged-in Splatoon. The kid- and squid-friendly team-based shooter has become one of Nintendo's most promising IPs since its launch in 2015, and it's the one title that Nintendo is actually promoting as a competitive title.
The debut trailer for the Switch prominently featured Splatoon in a competitive setting, and giving the game away for free (more or less) would give it the foundation to grow as an esport.
Also of note is, of course, Super Smash Bros.
The Smash Bros. series has been Nintendo's sole success in the esports arena (not that it can take any credit for it), and while the WiiU installment hasn't touched the success of Melee, it has both a high ceiling and an established player base to draw from. Porting it early on in the Switch's life cycle is key if Nintendo is going to make esports a selling point of the console, and while it's a bit disappointing that a new Smash title is likely off the table for the foreseeable future, putting Smash 4 front and center early on is a wise move.
Obviously, exact dates will be specified as the speculated March 17 launch date approaches. Nintendo fans ought to be excited, though.
More Overwatch Changes Incoming
Fans are still trying to figure out what to make of Sombra, the newest addition to the Overwatch roster, but things aren't settling down yet, with a major shakeup to the meta inbound and even more wackiness coming down the pipe.
First, a major retooling to support/builder character Symmetra will be available in public testing shortly, and will likely drop just days later.
It's a welcome change, too. Symmetra has long been regarded as the single worst character in Overwatch due to her incredibly niche place in the meta, alongside the fact that she's simply not fun to play. Her ultimate skill, a teleporter that warps people from her team's spawn to a place of her choosing, was exclusively useful in early-game-defense situations.
The new Symmetra will still have the option of building a teleporter, but will also have the option of deploying a shield generator, a construct that gives shields to all allies in an AOE around the unit. On top of that, Symmetra's laser turrets will have a more dynamic cooldown, allowing her to set up a perimeter more quickly as the game advances.
In the long term, there has been an uptick in chatter about another mysterious figure in Overwatch's lore, Doomfist.
Much like Sombra, Doomfist is subtly acknowledged in-game, particularly in the Numbani level. Banners and posters of thickly muscled men donning oversized prosthetic arms can be seen, and eventually the titular fist of doom itself can be found encased on the map's payload.
Naturally, with Sombra finally available, players are now clamoring for Doomfist to be added to the game. But while that's not unexpected, something that came (relatively) out of the blue was actor Terry Crews angling to play the character on social media (warning: NSFW language). Crews is on record as an avid fan of the shooter, and he's just a metal arm away from fitting the character perfectly.
Of course, any excitement over Doomfist joining the cast needs to be reeled in hard at this point. Blizzard has given no hints that they are working on any new characters, and the Overwatch team will likely be busy smoothing out Sombra and the new Symmetra for a good while.
Still, it's easy to like the idea of the loud, possibly unstable man from the Old Spice commercials exchanging banter with some of the other characters.
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