SC2: withstanding the test of Hype

A history in Numbers:

Below is a chart detailing the payout for first place in the SC2 championship as well as two other popular video games. Remember that SC2 is a 1v1 game where the other two (Counter Strike, and League of Legends) have 5 players on each team.

Year of Championship - Game

Prize for First Place

2012 - SC2

$100,000 (PartinG from South Korea)

2012 - LOL

$1,000,000 (Taipei Assassins)

2012 - CS (1.6)

$50,000 IEM Season 5 WC (ESC Gaming)

2013 - SC2

$100,000 (sOs South Korea)

2013 - LOL

$1,000,000 (SK Telecom T1)

2013 - CS (GO)

$100,000 (Fnatic)

2014 - SC2

$100,000 (Life South Korea)

2014 - LOL

$1,000,000 (Samsung Galaxy White)

2014 - CS (GO)

$100,000 ESL One: Katowice(Team LDLC.com)

2015 - SC2

$100,000 (sOs Korea)

2015 - LOL

$1,000,000 (SK Telecom T1)

2015 - CS (GO)

$100,000 MLG Columbus (EnVyUs)

StarCraft the Machiavelli of video games:

As you can see from the tournament data Starcraft existed as an international competitive game beyond 2013. That was the year that the internet reported that it was dead.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/11m21k/starcraft_2_will_be_dead_before_legacy_of_the/
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/closed-threads/449807-starcraft-2-ded-game

For Starcraft there is life after death and it is very much a live game. The current out look for the 2016 season is a revamped bracket system and the biggest prize pool yet. Once again Starcraft has sold a million copies of its newest expansion which has improved the game play as well. Seems like there is a lot of movement in the community I'm not sure what compels people to say it is dead. It game seems to be on the rise.

2016 - StarCraft 2 World Championships - 1st place $200,000
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/2016_WCS_Global_Playoffs_and_Finals

Carving out a Niche:

Starcraft is not dying but it is aging. It takes two steps forward and one step back. Starcraft clearly has a solid following and healthy competitive scene. Its the only game in its genre that has its level of success, and there is no competition in sight. Always a game that looks great and uses quality graphics. Its not a game for the masses. There is no free to play mode, simple play or low graphics threshold. Its a quality game, that has a high skill threshold and ceiling and has great visuals. It costs a little but gives a lot back. Golf is not the most popular sport but it is a game that takes skill and focus. Golf did not die when basketball started getting popular and StarCraft is not dead because CS:GO is becoming popular. Its nice that there are options and the StarCraft community applauds the success of all competitive video games. Its not just about money, StarCraft is not a fiat community. It's about GGs.