IGN cancels IPL6 eSports tournament
IGN ProLeague 6 canceled with less than a month's notice, sources tell GameSpot.
The IGN ProLeague 6 event scheduled for March 28 through 31 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas will be canceled, multiple sources close to the situation have told GameSpot.
The event was to feature headlining competitions in Blizzard's Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty and upcoming expansion Heart of the Swarm, Riot Games' League of Legends, and Ubisoft's ShootMania Storm.
Sponsors of the IGN ProLeague event have told GameSpot the products they sent over for sponsorship are being returned to them. Korean-based league OnGameNet said yesterday that the IPL6 League of Legends Korean qualifiers have been canceled due to change in management policies and financial difficulties.
The IPL website has also removed links on the front page to reserve hotel rooms for the weekend.
Professional teams, players, casters, media, and fans from around the globe have already bought plane tickets and hotel reservations to IPL6. Executives from several teams have told GameSpot they have already paid for plane tickets for their players to play through the open bracket.
Players who have qualified online to the main event would have had their accommodations taken care of.
"Generally speaking, such flights cannot be refunded," Axiom Gaming Head of Marketing John "Totalbiscuit" Bain told GameSpot. "Flexible tickets are far more expensive and so eSports teams do not usually purchase them. In our case, were IPL6 not to go ahead, we are able to get the majority of the flight money back due to the choice of airline."
"Some other teams may not be so fortunate since most airlines do not refund those tickets," added Bain. "So, essentially, those who were bringing players to the open bracket are probably going to take the hit. It will be a non-issue for those who qualified since they were not paying for it to begin with."
Major League Gaming CEO Sundance DiGiovanni has already offered discounted tickets to the MLG Dallas event to those who purchased spectator passes for IPL6.
IPL6's expected cancellation comes shortly after the announcement of Ziff Davis parent company J2 Global's purchase of IGN. An internal memo by Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah, posted on Polygon, said the company was looking for active buyers of IPL. "IGN's role going forward will be to broadcast and cover a variety of eSports events," said Shah.
Potential buyers for the IPL brand are said to have reached a wide range of options, from other leagues to game publishers and developers.
Both IPL and IGN declined to comment when approached by GameSpot.
84 comments
J2 Global owns IGN now. It is publicly traded company and the 1st quarter financials have not come out yet. I would bet they are waiting to announced IPL canceled until after the quarter review to make sure their stocks don't plummet.
For the Guy Who thinks there is not a life for Gamers. http://www.youtube.com/embed/BhuOzBS_O-M"
1 Like Ever since the new management has come in, they have been cleaning house left-and-right. I'm still salty about them letting Ryan Clements go. >:[
yes its sad news. but gamespot should really be a little nicer to ign. no need for all these storys against ign
1 Like "The IPL website has also removed links on the front page to reserve hotel rooms for the weekend."
Has anyone noticed that this is not true? And that official statements by IPL or IGN have not occurred?
Also noting near the bottom: "IPL6?s EXPECTED cancellation".
Cool your jets and wait for official notices before you release a story like this, gamespot... And at least fact check the IPL website. The links ARE still up to reserve hotel rooms.
1 Like Why buy a company if you're going to just screw over everything they stand for? This pretty much ends any chance of IGN having any pro-gaming affiliations in the future; no one will participate now. I can understand if they decided not to do an IPL7, but to cancel something that was already scheduled is a good way to screw over their fans and their participants. Whoever's running the show now has horrible business sense.
And this from someone who doesn't care about "professional" gaming.
1 Like Alot of the Starcraft 2 players in china are considered celebrities/athletes. They have their own fanbase, groupies and everything.
How come somebody shooting a bow can be considered a pro athlete yet a gamer can not? Whats the difference? Is it becouse one is standing? You must be a very shallow person if everything is so black and white to you.
A wise man once said:
''Only A Sith Deals In Absolutes'' - Obi-Wan
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@Suikogaiden Except that it is, people have made MILLIONS off of eSports and their sponsers, and its not even main stream. For being good at video games while 18-25ish, you can have enough money to set you up the rest of your life without having to work if you wanted to.
I'd call that success. I'd also call that a real sport. Our national sports work much the same way (get rich, retire young with lots of money). Just because you are jealous or don't like eSports doesn't validate your point at all.
@Suikogaiden I don't agree with this statement. Check out what this CEO says about gamers. He gives the example of top raids in WOW. But I think top team in league are not different. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhuOzBS_O-M
@Suikogaiden I don't agree. You should take a look at this video. Top CEO would rather hirer a gamer than a Harvard Business School Graduate. He explains why. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhuOzBS_O-M
4 Like @Suikogaiden It depends who you're talking about. Many old school PC gamers have been aware of these types of e-sport environments since the late 90s and we do care about how they succeed in the industry. With Professional Gamers League, Cyberathlete Professional League, and all kinds of ladders (Case's Ladder) and leagues (Iron Glove and OGL early on), this kind of competition succeeds any kind of competitive accomplishment found in games because it brings players together in person. People want to know who is the best is, and to beat the best is a major accomplishment.
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1 Like @Suikogaiden Ever heard of chess masters like Bobby Fisher? You wouldn't call them athletes, and you wouldn't call chess a sport. So maybe the words are what you have a problem with. Professional competition happens wherever there's a groundswell in popularity and money to be made.
@Suikogaiden Except that some people have, and considering only more and more money has been put into esports year after year, I see no reason why pro gamers won't be able to continue living off of gaming. People had the same views about extreme sports back when they first started gaining momentum, and now look at them.
@Suikogaiden However many have with LOL which seems to be the future right now with pro gaming.
18 Like Well, if the funding is there, and the spectators are there, and the sponsors are there, then I see no reason why someone sufficiently talented could not make a decent living off of professional gaming. In that case, it would be their "job" to play video games. Feeling a little envious? I know I am.
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@Suikogaiden
Fair enough. Besides, I think if pro gaming became more widespread, then we would have more generic games overall. After all, many game developers focus on keeping the combat too balanced, which makes everything feel generic. Sometimes you've gotta have some glitches or broken characters to give a game some competitive flavor.
3 Like hopefully more of these eSports events do this. I love the smell of silly "pro gamers" losing lots of money on plane tickets and reservations.
@WCK619 Must be sad to be so jaded in life.
I'd pity you if you were not so clearly bitter and jealous.
@WCK619 I really feel sorry for you, just because you can't play games at a professional level doesn't mean others can't.
P.S. Infiltration (a pro player in SSF4) won about $80k and a car last year from tournaments. So yeah, feel sorry for them.
@mlcarter815 @SamehH99 Do taxes apply to a korean player? plus the car alone was worth like 30K.
First gamespy gets shut down which had some of the most interesting articles ive red in the past few years (gaming related), now just after i started watching IPL for LoL they shut that down too. Come on, son!
Oh and some of you should really be ashamed of yourself for posting such pathetic things like ''back to their basement they go'' Why dont you go spew your hate elsewhere you illiterate waste of space losers!
1 Like I didn't like that IGN was so connected to a gaming league anyways. Seems like the press should not be too involved with something like that.
1 Like I think IPL is pretty much done now. Their new owners don't care about it, and just want them to cover esports in general for more marketing dollars. Why spend all that money on running tournaments? Businessmen only care about easy money.
HAHAHA cause your new boss said so, thats why! Cmon, we dont PLAY games, we just write about them! ROFLL wtf......whatever ZD its your money.....
1 Like Well this must be embarrassing for the folks at IGN. Strangely I don't see this story on their site...
IGN may not have been the best place for gaming coverage, but as a brand, they were rich with content and experimental projects like IPL. The Ziff-Davis buyout seems like it's wholesale dismantling the brand, if it's only going to be an e-sports venture going forward.
Is it safe to say that everything that Ziff-Davis touches dies?
I stopped watched IPL on Spike TV / PPV long time ago (3 years ago). It used to be on G4-TechTV. We're not talking X-games (real sport) or Chess GrandMaster here, we're talking videogames. I mean they don't even show a Tetris Grandmaster tournament anywhere televised. If TV don't show Tetris tourny, then TV not show IPL niether!
3 Like The comments started out well, everyone on topic, then finishes with a couple of people stereotyping - shame.
On Topic: It's a real shame, especially for all those planning on attending (with flights booked etc) and for eSports in general!
Oh well, back to their parents basements they go. Yes I believe it is a hobby not a job or sport. It is what I do sometime when I get home from a 9 hr work day. But that is just me. To each their own.
1 Like @Triton so you sometimes spend time in your parents basement playing games after working a 9 hr work day? Didn't think so. Most people have their own housing unless they aren't adults. Your logic, there is none.
6 Like @Triton You sure have a lot of assumptions about what kinds of people play video games as a competition. Just because YOU don't classify it as a sport doesn't mean anything, its purely your opinion and I'm sure there's a lot of hobbies in your life that other people might say are lame. So why make a negative judgment about something you clearly aren't into? Have fun clocking back into work, I have a job where I don't need to clock in and make lots of money working for myself. Oh, did I upset you because I 'hit close to home' on that one? How did that make YOU feel? Lol. Have a good weekend.
You are correct I just don't get it, and one day when you get older you will understand. Until then have fun playing games in your spare time after work and try to get out and enjoy life more. Its a big world with lots of things to see and do, trust me. -Sorry I voiced my thoughts and disagreed with you, love your passion. Cheers.
These pro gamers get paid a monthly salary(contract based) to play their "hobby". Some koreans even made half a million within 3 yrs. (Google "Jang Jae Ho")
Sure beats clocking in your precious lunch breaks :)
No, actually I am 44 and guess I have been playing games when you were just a baby, which is why I now that I own a house and have worked in the same industry for 26 years and married, I find it hard to believe young kids think this is a career. Lets here your story.- That is if you have one. Sorry if I offend, but I am old school, you will understand one of these days when you grow up. Good day. fellow gamer.
PS, how much do you pay to go to one of these "sporting" events anyway? I really have no clue.
@Triton @LuShinju Your ignorance is impressive. There is an entire industry focused around esports. Just because you don't game as a career doesn't invalidate anyone else that does. You're a simpleton and shouldn't be allowed to breed.
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