Real-time Strategy

Real-time strategy games are war games where a player controls a variety of units and resources.  A typical real-time strategy game (RTS) consists of a player gathering resources, building a base, then raising an army to defeat his opponent.  In an RTS game players do not wait for incremental turns to take place but both players play simultaneously.  RTS games became popular with the introduction of a game called Dune II.  This game was the first wildly popular RTS.  It popularized the use of an interface as well as gathering resources.  Dune II was released in 1992.  Since then many other RTS games have come forward.  Warcraft, Company of Hero’s, Warhammer 40,000, and Command and Conquer are just a few of the more famous titles.  Each game brings something unique to the table and each game had its own following.  But none of these games have come close to the superpower of RTS games that is Starcraft.



 
Starcraft was released in early 1998.  Starcraft is a real-time science-fiction strategy game by Blizzard Entertainment, Starcraft practically gave birth to large scale competitive video game play.  It has been designated a “cultural phenomena” in Korea, where professional video game players are more celebrated than soccer stars (Bremen 2007).  In a decade the game had sold over 9.5 million copies.  Most of these copies were sold in Asian countries, namely South Korea.  Starcraft is the most televised sport in South Korea, with two major TV stations, Ongamenet and MBCGame, dedicated to Starcraft.  Starcraft is a major part of the South Korean economy.  The gaming market is expected to be worth $5.5 billion this year with a 17 percent growth rate, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).  Starcraft fills stadiums with avid fans, which in turn attracts major advertisements and prize pools.  Major companies like Samsung, SK Telecom, and Korean Air.


 
Starcraft is still a growing e-sport even though its release was over a decade ago, and with the new release of its sequel, it is expected to gain even more world wide popularity.  The game was release only two months ago and already tournaments have been played giving gamers thousands of dollars in prize money.  But with the sequel, Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of Starcraft have held on to the broadcasting rights.  They understand the potential their game has to create money even after its release.  They are selling the rights to companies in Korea to broadcast Starcraft II.

 


References
1. Bremen. (2007). Game Over? - Commodification of MMORPGs. Retrieved from http://benjamin-haller.eu/projects/mscThesis/mscThesisBenjaminHaller.pdf.

2. KeSPA. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.e-sports.or.kr/KeSPA07Eng.kea#rank

3. Stout. (2010).  StarCraft II shakes up S. Korea's 'national sport'.  Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/07/27/south.korea.starcraft/index.html