[HotS] The American Viewership Crisis
June 19th, 2019 22:06 GMT
Viewership Crisis
Rebooting HotS Esports in NA
Written by: Koznarov
After the HGC breakdown, each region has tried to cope with the situation in its own way. China kept things going with the Gold Series Heroes League and allowed foreign players to join. South Korea went for a huge goodbye tournament which gathered almost every former HGC player. The Eastern major regions took diverging paths, but the teams in the West bonded together to create two major competitions: Division S hosted by HeroesLounge (partnering with Nexus Gaming Series in North America); and the HeroesHype Premier Series, a series of cups organized by HeroesHype.
However, once things began to roll, we witnessed two diametrically opposed receptions. The European Division S games always gathered more than a thousand viewers, but the North American ones struggled to get a hundred, and the conflict of whether a league or a cup system is better was again renewed.
A Grieving Region
There are two main reasons for this huge difference in terms of viewership. First, Europe has kept much of the HGC casting talent including Khaldor and Malganyr. In North America, only JHow maintains a solid involvement with the competitive scene, but even that has been limited to small projects like HeroesHearth Fight Night. In his stead, Gravesville and Bahamut, who you may know from the Tespa Collegiate Series, have stepped up to fill the "premier caster" niche.
The second difference is the player profiles. Despite having a similar amount of former HGC players, Europe has been consistently streaming their Division S games and enlarging the total viewership. In addition, many of the non-HGC players made a name for themselves in the Open Division or Nexus Contest. But in North America, most of the Division S players aren't streamers and come directly from the amateur scene.
But that's changing. Some former pros have started to join the HeroesHype cups. Keenan, flex player for Close To Death in Division S, thinks that this comeback was just a matter of time once the HGC wound starts to heal.
"People were very upset about the sudden cancellation of HGC, and they needed time to separate themselves. Once they were able to define themselves without Heroes of the Storm, they were able to enjoy the game again."
The Format Debate
Perhaps the format has something to do with former pro players' decision to come back. Each cup has its own prize pool, so players don't need to wait until the whole competition is over to see any money (though HeroesHype has an extra prize pool for its playoff). Those in Europe have to wait a little longer for their money, though. Keenan gave his take on this format disparity.
"Both formats are fun, but we prefer a regular league because of the consistent schedule. Videogames are not a full-time job for my team, so it is hard to make the time, especially during the work-week."
He points out that the cups are much more intense—every match is crucial—but on the other hand, the stability of a league grants you much more room to improve. He also thinks that the coexistence of both formats is overall a good thing for the region.
"Both formats are a great fit because different players have different schedules. A regular season is better for NA though because we need stability and consistency to keep followers entertained."
Tomster is one of the HGC players coming back for HeroesHype cups, playing for Subscribe w/ Twitch Prime. As an old-school contender, he prefers these individual cups which give them a calmer week between competition to relax and to train.
"I feel overall that cups are probably better for Heroes overall. To me at least, it fits the theme of the game itself being a quick-paced 'hero brawler'. It feels way better as a player to train for a bit than play your heart out in one day, moreso than to play one set a week. Playing once a week seems more like a job than a game, and in my opinion, takes away from the initial spirit of the game."
Despite the format debate, the viewership rise in North America with HeroesHype cups is a fact. While still nowhere in the region of Europe's numbers, competitions have begun to top 200 viewers and start to close the gap. Maybe the mourning has finally ended and the post-HGC era can truly begin.
If you're still following HotS esports or you're finally ready to stop grieving too, you can follow the action from HeroesHype, Heroes Lounge, and Nexus Gaming Series! Get out there and support the players, let's rebuild this scene!
If you enjoyed this piece, check out our latest articles:
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Writer(s): Koznarov
Art Credit: Blizzard
Profile Joined February 2011
United States1018 Posts
Thanks for the article. I like HotS, and I'm sad to hear NA hasn't really rebounded.
Caster duos should compliment each others' strengths. "You look very handsome today, Tasteless."
karazax
Profile Joined May 2010
I preface this by saying I haven't watched any pro HOTS in any region since HGC was canceled, but I would expect that the talent level and motivation to practice as a full time job has decreased significantly compared to HGC.
NA was already the weakest region as a whole over the past few years, so watching an even less talented version of that is a hard sell for many viewers regardless of format. If I am wrong about the current talent level though, I am willing to give it a chance.
JuggernautJason 96
PiLiPiLi 1