MLG in 10 Years?

[Spazzo]

I certainly have my own ideas of what I'd like to see MLG evolve into, what future games they might have and the business direction they might go.

Will there even be an MLG in 10 years? Will it pass the audience and participation level of other Professional Leagues? Will Pros have status and endorsements as high as athletes in today's society?

Thoughts?

[chris_cr33p]

yes, no, no, and we already have seen that, red bull sponsors travis pastrana, redbull also sponsors SQ

[HEA7]

maybe in 50 years....

[RagingChickens]

yes, no, no, and we already have seen that, red bull sponsors travis pastrana, redbull also sponsors SQ

But not nearly the level sponsorships that most athletes get.

maybe in 50 years....

MLG has been around for 9 years and look what it has accomplished. If anything, I think 10 years is a little bit long for this to happen. MLG is going to explode and become huge very soon.

[Gruntly]

I'd like to see MLG on TV again...but live, not rebroadcasts. As far as passing other leagues in audience count...maybe Cricket. I think there will more sponsors than there are now, but not as much as other sports. There will be more players seen as pros than just the top 8-12 teams.

[pt ogre]

As far as passing other leagues in audience count...maybe Cricket

lolwut?

162 million viewers watched the first 40 matches of this year's cricket world cup.. 17 million alone were using their online streams to watch

methinks you underestimate the popularity of the sport

[WobblyJackMcFruit]

MLG will continue to grow in the short to medium term but they'll eventually hit the upper ceiling of a commercially-driven society. In order for a sport to grow in general popularity it needs some element of stability and consistency to allow the casual observer to gain an initial interest, identify with the sport, it's players and team and finally become a fan. However, in order to retain the support of the industry that it ultimately represents, MLG need to rotate the games on the circuit every few years at least which doesn't really allow this gradual acceptance to happen. This is a consequence of the consumer-driven culture of the countries in which MLG operates and at the moment that's limited to the US and Canada. I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing, just stating a fact.

This means that MLG will need to look beyond North America for its long-term future and that'll probably mean Asia since Western Europe would present many of the same problems as the US. Starcraft is practically the national sport in South Korea and I'd be surprised if MLG's inclusion of Starcraft 2 on the circuit doesn't mean they have at least one eye on the Asian market (probably both).

Look at it this way: MLG is currently dependent on the popularity of the Halo franchise. That's a precarious platform to build a business on and it makes complete sense for them to start to de-emphasise the Halo side of the circuit and start to look for more long-term sources of income. They need to do thins while not alienating their fan/customer base which is why some of their recent investments and acquisitions have been kept under the radar but it looks to me as though MLG may ultimately try to take control of their own destiny and become a games development themselves (or at least buy into a development studio).

So yes, MLG will grow but not in the way you might expect. In my opinion of course.

Gruntly, you know that cricket is almost a religion in some parts of the world (India, Pakistan, Australia), right?

[Cheeky]

MLG will be around in 10 years....I will make sure it does!
- It will not pass the audience of Basketball, football, and baseball. But we can sure as hell come close!
- I Introduce MLG to basically anyone who talks to me. If you don't know about it before you meet me....You will definitely want to watch the next up coming event after talking to me!
- Pros will most likely never have as high as a pay as other pro atheletes nowadays, but it doesn't mean we can't come close. - In about 10 years I see average pro players making at least 50,000 - 60,000 a year if not more in a salary kind of standard. If see contracts coming back, and I see more and more sponsors signing on as long as MLG doesn't milk them..

[Fir3]

No halo

[mrkillboy]

There isn't going to be an MLG in 10 years. Calling it right now.