[qrybam]

Sad state of affairs in gaming. My memories of a number of high profile "pro-gaming" organisations is almost entirely tainted by broken promises of paying out prize money to the winners of their competitions (delays, partial payouts, not paying out at all). With the GGL buying ClanBase in 2004 it was - unfortunately - only a matter of time before something like this happened.

I've often wondered why so many big name organizers have gone bust - why they end up with such bad reputations - why it's so hard to build a sustainable business out it. Of course with so many naive kids participating it must be very tempting for even remotely crooked people to take the money and run.

Two organisations which have been running for a while and which I still have respect for are ESWC and WCG. Would be interesting to hear from someone in the know about the economics about these operations.

So many good memories, gone. RIP CB.

-- Source: ex Quake3 player

[seanalex]

It's a tough business. I'm sure things might be different today, but 10 years back it was very hard for companies and sponsors to run a sustainable (and growable) business in professional gaming. People like Angel Munoz and Ted Owen tried to make it more mainstream, and they had some great ideas on how to accomplish it... but ultimately badly timed and wrongly executed on the whole thing.

Fond memories of Clanbase though and sad it worked out like this.

[bdickason]

I worked for a few of these organizations (CPL, WSVG) and have always been sad to see what's happened to esports/gaming.

As you mentioned, GGL was a particularly sketchy organization.

To be honest I'm happy to even see a fellow former Q3 player here :) Most of my gaming buddies and clan mates moved on to other fields. Who did you play for?

[qrybam]

I'm sure there are many ex gamers lurking around on HN! I played clan games in the early days for a euro team called GZD.

What happened to the CPL was interesting to watch from a distance. Before I became good enough to compete at any level, I remember wanting to compete at CPL events. That, and legendary Doom tournaments, were a driving force for me to practice and get good.

What was your experience like working there? I can imagine it was awesome <sarcasm>until the discussion about money came up.</sarcasm>

[seanalex]

There are definitely plenty of ex-gamers lurking on HN. I played under the nickname Daler in the United States. Mostly played Quake and Doom tournaments, but have competed on a variety of other games.

Unfortunately during the time I competed, there were many companies that would spring up and run tournaments with prizes that they ultimately could not pay out on. Or at best, the money would eventually get paid out months/years later. It was very hard for companies to make return on investment when running these gaming sites and tournaments. Overall, it was the work done by volunteers and "teenagers" that made the best events/sites/tournaments...

I always found it very unfortunate that the gaming scene was full of exploitation for these companies. What happened to the GGL (similarly the CPL), comes at no surprise.

[kayoone]

Seems like the only ones who built a really sustainable business out of it is Turtle Entertainment (ESL). The Intel Extreme Masters stuff is huge!