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South Korean StarCraft championships video leaves me ... well, speechless
World Famous03.24.08 - 12:59 PM 42 comments

Oh the pageantry of two nerds sitting at a computer surrounded by adoring crowds, bright lights and the pressure of being the best ... simply the best. Color me weird, but I always found the way professional gaming was handled and appreciated overseas to be fascinating and this video is a perfect example of why. Any chance we could ever see a spectacle like this in the U.S.? I doubt it.


MORE IN OUR StarCraft SECTION

Latest comment by bahamutrm |view all 42 comments
apm doesnt really determine too much in sc, i been playin since the north american release and these guys must be using some kind of hacked korean version or somethin lol cuz i have never seen "r......



CRA's Avatar
CRA at 03/24/2007 13:01

Awesome
icarus's Avatar
icarus at 03/24/2007 13:09

Hahahah...that was epic, even though I didn;t know hell was happening.
maximum0v3rdriv3's Avatar
maximum0v3rdriv3 at 03/24/2007 13:21

kekekekekekeke
Wanderr's Avatar
Wanderr at 03/24/2007 13:30

rofl i love how they flip out when the factory lands
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 03/24/2007 13:36

This is how I feel about The Iron Chef!
ZealousD's Avatar
ZealousD at 03/24/2007 13:36

"rofl i love how they flip out when the factory lands"

I think they were concerned that the overlord was gonna see it land before the guy could perform that vulture rush. I think they were going crazy because it was so close to spotting it. :o
Agent's Avatar
Agent at 03/24/2007 13:41

Damnit, why cant we have video game olympics here?
Robbis's Avatar
Robbis at 03/24/2007 13:45

I approve.
electroplankton's Avatar
electroplankton at 03/24/2007 13:45

I actually wrote my sociology paper on this topic. In the east, Video game competitions are viewed as a skill, one that plays on strategy. It's like the young man's chess.

The west will never see competitions like this because we identify sport and athletics as skill and strategy. For us video games do not fall inside those categories. It's only viewed as pure entertainment.
scottoid's Avatar
scottoid at 03/24/2007 13:55

StarCraft those were the days
velcroman's Avatar
velcroman at 03/24/2007 13:55

i could pwn those n00bs.
Joseph Leray's Avatar
Joseph Leray at 03/24/2007 13:58

@electroplankton -- exactly why chess isn't a big deal either.
William Haley's Avatar
William Haley at 03/24/2007 14:00

I recently did an article on pro-gaming and researched the differences between our pro-gaming culture and Koreas. Needless to say, they are quite different...

In Korea, Starcraft tournaments are broadcast on no less than 5 channels at any given time. Kids and adults alike emulate and look up to pro champions. Whereas Fatal1ty is known by just a few hardcore gamers, the bigtime pros in Korea make Matt Damon look like Ben Affleck. They often require bodyguards, have their faces plastered all over billboards and cereal boxes, and get to date actresses, supermodels, and singers. Seriously.

Gaming is much more of a mainstream lifestyle in Korea, and Starcraft might as well be their national sport. I don't think it will ever reach that level of insanity elsewhere (ie. the real world), but gaming continues to grow more and more popular by the minute. So its actually entirely probable that someday soon my gamerscore will allow me to meet Adriana Lima and make little nerd babies with her. I'm going to name the first one "Yanier Gonzalez II", even if its a girl.
Philonious's Avatar
Philonious at 03/24/2007 14:02

If the U.S. of A. can muster up excitement for the WWE and American Gladiators I'm sure there is a market for this kind of stuff. I mean, it seemed like there was potential for it in the Wizard (starring Fred Savage). Granted you guys don't get hockey so clearly you lack taste in spectator sports. Football is fine, but baseball? Seriously. Watching guys play videogames is more fun than baseball.
Buster's Avatar
Buster at 03/24/2007 14:20

better than watching people play hockey too
Pangloss's Avatar
Pangloss at 03/24/2007 14:34

In order for hockey to be a good spectator sport, they pretty much need to fight every three or four minutes.
generaldane's Avatar
generaldane at 03/24/2007 14:36

noob pwning is for noobs
deiga-the-semivaliant's Avatar
deiga-the-semivaliant at 03/24/2007 14:47

There was a video game competition show at one time, wasn't there? The Arena or something? It was boring as hell.
HawtPawkitHero's Avatar
HawtPawkitHero at 03/24/2007 15:00

If curling can be in the Olympics, than why can't gaming?
zaqu's Avatar
zaqu at 03/24/2007 15:04

....EPIC starcraft ftw
PatrickL's Avatar
PatrickL at 03/24/2007 15:19

i like the nascar-ish jackets
xtofuconsumerx's Avatar
xtofuconsumerx at 03/24/2007 15:51

Fila sponsor haha.
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 03/24/2007 16:15

Dear Blizzard,

Look at this! An entire country completely dedicated to your game! And yet, you refuse to release a sequel! Hell, even Starcraft: Ghost got canceled! Don't you realize that, even if it bombed everywhere else in the world (highly unlikely), Korea would eat this up?

So get off your asses and release Starcraft 2 so that this country can start holding tournaments that don't focus on a 10-year old game!
Husky Hog's Avatar
Husky Hog at 03/24/2007 16:22

Wow that was.... I couldn't imagine going to that lol
jimjo's Avatar
jimjo at 03/24/2007 16:34

Lee Hyun-Seok for the victory music!!! Korea rocks!!!
Lezbro's Avatar
Lezbro at 03/24/2007 16:48

I loves me some Starcraft, but that was some of the most boring-ass shit I have ever seen committed to video. Sure, you can put two nerds in a booth (or cage) and flood the room with lasers, fog, and a thumping beat, but in the end it's just two skinny mouthbreathers working a keyboard.

Boring.

I'd much rather see two grannies in a cage, done up all Mad Max style, lots of leather, screaming mutants banging on the bars and Ethel and Lois going head-to-head at Scrabble.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 03/24/2007 16:53

This makes G4's Arena look like a total bitch.
GuitarAtomik's Avatar
GuitarAtomik at 03/24/2007 17:02

I always find it amazing that Starcraft of all games is the one they sit in an arena to watch. The only way competitive gaming could get that big in the U.S. is if it was a deathmatch type game or a fighter. I could see Halo, Street Fighter, or Lost Planet (if balanced a little better) being exciting to watch if the players were really good.

Another condition would be that video gaming in general would have to become even more mainstream. Way more than today even.
twentythoughts's Avatar
twentythoughts at 03/24/2007 17:15

I swear I could hear him say "Zerg rush" at one point.
ttaylor's Avatar
ttaylor at 03/24/2007 18:29

Gotta love Starcraft.. Wish I knew how to speak Korean..
Trowble's Avatar
Trowble at 03/24/2007 19:42

If they had something like that here would Americans then be Asianized?
HawtPawkitHero's Avatar
HawtPawkitHero at 03/24/2007 19:48

Oh my god boba you make me yearn for LAN parties.
Heavy_Kevy's Avatar
Heavy_Kevy at 03/24/2007 20:43

man, I wanna go dig up my copy now. that game used to be so much fun (even though I sucked).
Crunshii's Avatar
Crunshii at 03/25/2007 00:21

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

Wow that was funny lol. But I must admit, quick fight, didnt know that cheap trick with the robobikes was so usefull... IF the Zerg user would have mounted up on a super zerg launch that prob would have killed the terran one.
waly666's Avatar
waly666 at 03/25/2007 09:46

i wont see the end of the video , as im (right now) taking my stuff to a friend house for a LAN u have just organized...
Beautox's Avatar
Beautox at 03/25/2007 11:19

feeling the Saosin in the background.
nerpin's Avatar
nerpin at 03/25/2007 16:41

Competition isn't worth watching unless there's a chance someone is going to bleed or get hurt very severely.

But that's just me.
ConsummateK's Avatar
ConsummateK at 03/26/2007 09:47

Kekekekeke indeed.

I second the SC2 call.
TheRob91's Avatar
TheRob91 at 03/26/2007 12:49

I actually like watching RTS games, as much as I suck at them, and really don't enjoy playing them that much anymore. I'm a very odd person. Its like watching a war, its awesome. Especially JulyZerg(Zerg Starcraft player) 400 Actions Per Minute ftw!
bahamutrm's Avatar
bahamutrm at 04/25/2007 21:52

apm doesnt really determine too much in sc, i been playin since the north american release and these guys must be using some kind of hacked korean version or somethin lol cuz i have never seen "ramps" that were like 20 frames long, they get everything over there, and btw i'd pwn these newbs.

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