Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Developers Comment On League Of Legends Streaming Prohibition
Earlier this week, we reported that Riot Games' contract with sponsored players includes some new prohibitions on streaming. The agreement includes a long list of titles that League players aren't allowed to broadcast, including Blizzard games, competing MOBAs, and even Sony's Fat Princess. Now, two of the developers appearing on that list are reacting to the news.
"We are disappointed to see Riot impose restrictions on the spare time of it's LoL Championship Series players", said Awesomenauts creator Jasper Koning in a comment to OnGamers. "It's understandable Riot as a company wants to protect its interests, but the way they're doing it now is decidedly unsportsmanlike, anti-competitive and it sets a bad precedent."
The anti-competitive sentiment was echoed later by Marc DeForest of S2 Games (Heroes of Newerth) in a comment to OnGamers. "We do not view [eSports] as a leveraging tool for anti-competitive and monopolistic practices," DeForest says. "S2 Games will continue to support the eSports idea as a whole, not just our own specific interests in it."
[Source: OnGamers]
Our Take
The varying views on the nature of eSports expose the genre's ongoing maturity as a competitive phenomenon. Viewership is rising, and the competitors are transitioning into a more traditional sports role.
League of Legends and its biggest competitors are big business, and that means the developers behind the titles need to find ways to protect their market share. Riot continues to suggest that it isn't looking to regulate off-screen play, and is just asking players to recognize they are paid to represent Riot's game.
Rival developers see this as draconian and monopolistic. This issue will likely continue to be a significant one as eSports walks the path from niche pastime to formal athletic endeavor.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
