«Previous post | Next post»

As the E-sports industry picks up, bigger companies with an online presence will start to come in.

On 9^th December, Twitch announced that they had acquired Goodgame(GG), the esports agency on their blog, with a press release on Business Wire. No details on the amount that Twitch paid for Goodgame, nor any details of compensation were released.

iNcontroL weighs in on a future-defining event, not only for GG, but for everyone involved in esports.

In a video blog, Geoff “iNcontroL” Robinson expressed that the deal was beneficial to all parties, stating that the players are “getting a really nice chunk of change” and the contracts are “overwhelmingly beneficial” for the players.

Pushing forward, Evil Geniuses, Alliance and all subsidiaries of GG will remain true to their cause, with no major changes, only much more resources.

E-sports hinges on the talents that play the games, and the scene should reflect that importance.

It certainly looks similar to the original Twitch acquisition; it will be business as usual for GG. Financial security, resources that allow for greater growth for GG will surely make them a greater presence in e-sports, much more than before.

The reality is that GG is on the road to becoming an industry leader, and this will only accelerate the process.

GG has well-known personalities, streamers and teams under their wing.

Dota 2: Evil Geniuses (3^rd place Ti 4) and Alliance (1^st place Ti2), Ayesee(caster)

Starcraft 2: EG.Jaedong, EG.Suppy, EG.iNcontroL, EG.ThorZaIN, EG.Xenocider, EG.DeMusliM

Ultra Street Fighter 4/Marvel vs Capcom 3: EG.Justin Wong, EG.K-brad, EG.Ricky Ortiz amongst many others

This is simply a possible beginning for the development of E-sports. GG is a talent agency with multiple e-sports personalities under them, kind of like a hub for E-sports talents to connect with sponsors.

Gone are the days of dodgy talent management in entertainment industries – GG is fully transparent and clean in their management as we can see up till today, 10 years and counting.

With Amazon in the scene of E-sports, it will only continue to enjoy stable growth.

It is very encouraging to see more and more companies valuing E-sports as an avenue to reach out to people, especially now that it is the stories of players and teams that draw viewers in, a kind of following that doesn’t simply die off at the end of a season.

“Ten years later,” as Alex Garfield, CEO of Goodgame states in his open letter, “I’m still not sure I know exactly what I’m doing, but it seems to be going okay.” E-sports as a whole is a very nebulous industry. The ambiguity surrounding this buy over serves to paint a picture that in the E-sports industry, the numbers are not the main thing.

The story behind the success is what matters, not the finances that allow it. Sure, you can be realistic and focus on the money since that is what talents need to survive, but that’s what GG is here for: to allow the talent to thrive.

I support proper management for players rather than making players manage and learn for themselves the hard way. If the E-sports scene is to become more professional, we have to think about the players first, rather than about the profit margins.

From Business Wire.com:

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Twitch, the leading video platform for gamers, today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire GoodGame, the world’s first full-service agency dedicated to the esports and live video game broadcasting communities.

Since its inception nearly a decade ago, GoodGame has grown into one of the gaming industry’s most progressive talent and content companies.

The acquisition will allow Twitch to harness GoodGame’s unique service package, as well as its staff’s industry expertise and community leadership, in order to offer an even broader array of support and monetization opportunities to the greater Twitch community.

As esports and live video game broadcasting continue to grow at an explosive pace, advertisers have struggled to understand how to most effectively engage and reach this massive audience.

GoodGame has helped solve this problem with an arsenal of fresh, non-traditional engagement methods uniquely suited to the ever-evolving digital media audience.

This, coupled with its efforts to establish clear standards for reporting and communication of value to sponsors, has allowed GoodGame to succeed at welcoming major sponsors and advertisers into the community.

Under the leadership of its CEO, Alexander Garfield, the company has created a model that keeps players and content creators focused on what they do well while monetizing their work more effectively via advertisements, sponsorships, and merchandising.

With GoodGame’s specialized skill set added to Twitch’s already industry-leading partner program, Twitch streamers will soon have even more ways to build their careers as content creators.

“GoodGame has an amazing reputation in the industry for its expertise in both sponsorship sales and talent support. Their passion for helping content creators and pro players achieve success has elevated the entire industry in the minds of brands worldwide,” said Kevin Lin, COO of Twitch.

“GoodGame was a natural fit for Twitch because of our shared experience in creating compelling monetization opportunities for content partners and helping sponsors get the most out of their investments.

We have worked with GoodGame CEO Alexander Garfield for several years, and there is a clear opportunity for him to bring his skills and experiences to many more of our partners.”

“We view GoodGame as a conduit,” said Alexander Garfield, CEO of GoodGame. “Its purpose is to help support as many players and broadcasters as possible by channeling revenue into our community, and making sure it stays here.

I can think of no better way to accomplish that goal than by working hand-in-hand with the very same platform whose passionate audience has essentially built our company. We wouldn’t have made it to where we are today without Twitch and its users – we’re excited to give back.”

About GoodGame

GoodGame is an all-in-one talent and content company focused on gaming and esports. Over the past decade, its staff of industry veterans has worked with teams, represented players, managed tournaments, created content, and brought numerous marquee advertisers into the gaming space.

GoodGame prides itself on being community-focused with the goal of supporting as many players and teams as possible by providing new and compelling monetization opportunities. For more information about GoodGame, visit www.goodgame.gg.

About Twitch

Twitch is the world’s leading live video platform and community for gamers where more than 60 million gather every month to watch and talk about video games with more than 1.1 million broadcasters.

Twitch’s video platform is the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution for the entire video game ecosystem.

This includes game developers, publishers, media outlets, events, user-generated content, and the entire esports scene.

In February 2014, Twitch was ranked the 4th largest website in terms of peak internet traffic in the U.S., fortifying the brand as an entertainment industry leader and the epicenter of social video for gamers. For more information visit: www.twitch.tv.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations.

These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims,

fulfillment and data center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud.

More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings

Chen Yiji
The Gaming Ground