In case you’re unfamiliar with the world of esports, allow me to stress one major fact. It’s free to consume every esports event in the entire industry. This isn’t like traditional sports, where you need a subscription service or a specific plan or purchase to watch a major pay-per-view event. It’s all free, all of the time.
That’s why folks found themselves confused recently by Capcom opting to push for a pay-per-view model for the Capcom Cup 12 tournament and Street Fighter League World Championship Finals. It’s the kind of move that has you second-guessing Capcom’s intentions, and it’s not something that went down well with fans.
Who Wants to Pay for Free Content?
Capcom revealed that the tournament finals being played across March 14 and 15 will be paid-only broadcasts, and the footage will stay behind a VOD paywall until March 23. Not only that, but there is to be no co-streaming or clipping. It’s being kept under firm lock and key, and it’s one of the more inane concepts we’ve ever seen in esports.
Esports events simply aren’t paywalled. If they are, they’re given a raised eyebrow and ignored by the masses, because that’s just not how things work in this business. It’s one of the biggest hurdles to profitability, as while money changes hands for broadcast rights, paying to consume the subsequent broadcast just isn’t part of the esports operating model.
For years, Capcom understood this, but this latest pivot has fans up in arms.
It’s a decision that feels fundamentally skewed and at odds with everything we know about the esports business and how fans digest their content.
What we don’t fully understand is why the decision was made. Perhaps on-site ticket sales were strong enough to make the paywall move financially viable, forgoing ad revenue and on-air commercial spots. Maybe this is some intense experiment by Capcom to gauge future acceptance of esports pay-per-views.
How would Riot Games fare if the League of Legends World Championship became a pay-per-view event? How might The International do if Valve paywalled the tournament?
This isn’t a small tournament, either. The Capcom Cup 12 boasts a $1.2 million prize pool and features the talents of 48 players. The FGC scene welcomes enormous events with staggering rosters and a vast array of titles, but this move from Capcom feels way more restrictive than fans have ever been used to.
We’ll inevitably see how the numbers stack up in the coming days compared to past events.
What do you think? Do you believe Capcom is making a shrewd move by locking down these tournaments? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that League of Legends voice chat has been confirmed
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
They had multiple flops Path Of The Goddess, Dead Rising Remake, Exoprimal, Dragons Dogma 2, and Monster Hunter Wilds. They also raised to prize money so add that all up they need to make up for losses. They probably didn’t get the number they wanted given the crybaby 40 year olds and dropping the price. Just sell the company to Saudi Arabia.