Doing some browsing, I came across an interview today between Sujoy Roy and Hexus.net. For those old skool players out there that remember the classic Quakeworld battles between the US and EU, I’m sure you’ll remeber ole Sujoy. Check it out HERE.
N: Why is it that some games go on to the pro gaming “scene” despite being naff? (Painkiller being an example)
S: It’s all about money at the end of the day. Who’s got the money? The publishers have… they’re the ones who can invest in the gaming market as that’s what they do. It’s down to them which games will be played in tournaments as they’ll pay for the prizes to be won playing their game. Painkiller is CPL’s game of choice as CPL wanted an exclusive license, so Painkiller is what they got. DreamCatcher are willing to put money behind it and push it as the CPL official game, which in turn makes people buy it to then be able to compete… That’s how it’s going to be in the future. The hardware sponsors will provide the kit to play on, but the actual prize money is going to come more and more from publishers. Look at how huge EA are, they can afford to spend money purely on prize pots for competitions.