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  1. #1

    Question What is "Going Pro"?

    Ill do my best to keep this concise and to the point, please aim to do the same with your responses. I've been curious for a while now how exactly someone "goes pro". I know it obviously involves alot of effort and time, but aside from the raw requirements, how does it happen? What steps do you have to take before, during or after you begin your attempt. I've been curios for a long time, i figured someone here might know a little more then i've learned just watching day9. That's not to say im specifically talking about SCII. I know the process is probably different for each type of game, but tell me what you think overall, and or what you know about any specific games

    SIDE NOTE
    -what games do you think are good candidates for "going pro", in terms of popularity, ease of access, whatever. (I like alot of different games, im not just trying to find and excuse to call my self a pro, im just wondering if any of the games i already play are possibilities)

    Thanks for reading and your replies.
    Last edited by engrave; 2012-12-01 at 04:32 AM. Reason: grammar, spelling, forgotten points.

  2. #2
    well, first thing you have to decide is what game you want to go pro in, and then you have to decide the method. Note that when I say pro, and I assume you, I mean to get to a state at which you are financially successful from playing the game, which does not always mean being the best. For example, some people make money produces guides and videos of them playing games but are not necessarily the best at it (they are often extremely talented or provide excellent information at a very fast pace, though.) The other, more popular (yet even more difficult) route is to get sponsored and make money through tournaments or sponsorship deals. This is only an option in a very limited number of games, and first requires proving a consistent capability to achieve some of the best and most visible performances in the games history.

  3. #3
    thanks, i hadn't even thought about producing videos, despite the amount of time i spend watching things like lets plays and guides.

  4. #4
    If you have to ask, I don't think you should go pro. Lurk for a while around places, understand the communities, figure it out; you'd need all that before you could even feasibly try to go pro.

    And for your second question, SC2 + LoL + Dota 2 pop to mind. I'm sure there are more, but those 3 are (probably) the most profitable.
    Why am I back here, I don't even play these games anymore

    The problem with the internet is parallel to its greatest achievement: it has given the little man an outlet where he can be heard. Most of the time however, the little man is a little man because he is not worth hearing.

  5. #5
    Play the game. Excessively. Read forums. Ask questions. Play against people who outskill you. Watch your own replays - and not only your wins. Analyze them. Improve. I would personally class League of Legends as one of the easiest games to "go pro". SC2 is one of the more difficult ones.

    edit: "going pro" means getting paid to play. This usually does not include revenue from streaming/casting/making videos/et cetera.
    Last edited by Longview; 2012-12-01 at 04:44 AM.

  6. #6
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional

    This would mean that if you get paid for your services then you are a professional.

    The term pro is being incorrectly used when it comes to video games in my opinion.
    In sports, a professional is someone who receives monetary compensation for participating. The opposite is an amateur, meaning a person who does not receive monetary compensation. The term "professional" is commonly used incorrectly when referring to sports, as the distinction simply refers to how the athlete is funded, and not necessarily competitions or achievements.
    Is the term that people seems to be using which is faulty.

    Going pro in a field is simply making a living from it.

    ---------- Post added 2012-12-01 at 08:14 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Longview View Post
    This usually does not include revenue from streaming/casting/making videos/et cetera.
    Cannot agree with you here. If a person makes money from streams / youtube / castinc etc then the person is a professional.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Lillpapps View Post
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional

    This would mean that if you get paid for your services then you are a professional.

    The term pro is being incorrectly used when it comes to video games in my opinion.

    Is the term that people seems to be using which is faulty.

    Going pro in a field is simply making a living from it.

    ---------- Post added 2012-12-01 at 08:14 AM ----------


    Cannot agree with you here. If a person makes money from streams / youtube / castinc etc then the person is a professional.
    Professional gamer

  8. #8
    You can either go pro as a player or as an entertainer. There are some LoL pros on twitch.tv for example that are in no professional team. Takes a few months often more and actually being entertaining/likable to get above 1k+ viewers = get paid. Streaming goes nicely with youtube, not that popular with LoL, but other games. As for what games are popular streaming targets just open twitch.tv or own3d.tv and see for yourself. On youtube I imagine it's more generic range of games, more single player stuff, maybe tutorials I dunno.

    Becoming a pro player depends on whether it's team game or solo. In team games you need to either make a team or build up a reputation that you will get scouted. Either way I don't think you can live off just price money.

    My part in this story has been decided. And I will play it well.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Longview View Post
    Professional gamer
    And? So people who uploads clips and stuff arent gamers? Professional doesnt mean what you think it means.

  10. #10
    The Lightbringer Lora's Avatar
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    Pro = short for professional. Professional means you make money and a living off of whatever you do. You could be a pro athelete, musician, actor, etcetc. You are not pro unless you get paid for what you are doing. Just because you have videos does not mean you are pro. Unless you are sponsored and paid to play, even entering tournaments does not make you pro. End of discussion.

    Quote Originally Posted by Uggorthaholy View Post
    Thanks but no thanks, Lora, for making me question everything in existence forever.

  11. #11
    Choose a game with a huge player base, no replacement for the forseeable future, and that has a well established eSports scene (SC2 or LoL are both good candidates).

    Then all you have to do is be one of the best in the world - which means practicing 8 hours + a day (in most cases).

  12. #12
    Deleted
    Going "pro" or professional would mean that you get paid for for what your doing.
    in this case being paid to play computer games. There are very very few people who actually get paid to play computer games for a living, By which I do not mean development side where people are internally bug testing and play testing the games. I mean people who go out, buy the retail game then make a living out of it.

    Sure there are competitions where you can win money, but this is not a profession, more of an E-sport with prizes, its not like you turn up, play, and get paid. The vast majority of "Professional" players do not actually get paid to play the game, they are paid from the videos they produce and get advertising revenue from adverts prior to the video in question. There are however a very few people who actually stream what there doing and can generate enough viewers to make money from the adverts that the hosting company plays from time to time, quite often (if not all the time) these people have video guides etc on the likes of you tube which also helps towards the income that is generated, you will also find that the people that make the most money from this profession (looks at the likes of athene, towelliee etc) whilst good playing the game often have larger than life personalities and are an entertainer more than a player.

    I am not saying you should not "Go pro" but you should be aware that very very few people are actually able to make it in such away that they can live off the proceeds.

  13. #13
    Titan PizzaSHARK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lora View Post
    Pro = short for professional. Professional means you make money and a living off of whatever you do. You could be a pro athelete, musician, actor, etcetc. You are not pro unless you get paid for what you are doing. Just because you have videos does not mean you are pro. Unless you are sponsored and paid to play, even entering tournaments does not make you pro. End of discussion.
    Ding ding.

    Playing games professionally - as in, making enough money from it to actually live a normal life off of - means you aren't playing the game for fun anymore, it's a job.

    You will be practicing day in and day out for several hours a day, just like how professional athletes train for their sport. And just like the professional athletes, it amounts to nothing if you aren't signing contracts (usually with a sponsor or team in the eSports world); and keeping those contracts will require a certain level of performance.

    You can't just play games for a couple hours a day and expect to make a living off of it. I can also guarantee you that professional Starcraft players aren't even having fun anymore during their daily practice, not really. I guess it's still entertaining to an extent, but they're playing because they HAVE to play, not necessarily because they WANT to play.
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/PizzaSHARK
    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan Cailan Ebonheart View Post
    I also do landscaping on weekends with some mexican kid that I "hired". He's real good because he's 100% obedient to me and does everything I say while never complaining. He knows that I am the man in the relationship and is completely submissive towards me as he should be.
    Quote Originally Posted by SUH View Post
    Crissi the goddess of MMO, if i may. ./bow

  14. #14
    I'm trying to wrap my head around this concept of being paid to play a video game. I could understand if it was your job as a QA guy, for example, at a game development studio. But to just get paid because you are good at playing video games... people actually do this for a living???

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Tabbycat View Post
    I'm trying to wrap my head around this concept of being paid to play a video game. I could understand if it was your job as a QA guy, for example, at a game development studio. But to just get paid because you are good at playing video games... people actually do this for a living???
    Yes. Hell, in South Korea they're treated as celebs (low star celebs at least). This sums it up pretty well: http://www.cracked.com/article_18763...nal-sport.html
    Why am I back here, I don't even play these games anymore

    The problem with the internet is parallel to its greatest achievement: it has given the little man an outlet where he can be heard. Most of the time however, the little man is a little man because he is not worth hearing.

  16. #16
    Titan PizzaSHARK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tabbycat View Post
    I'm trying to wrap my head around this concept of being paid to play a video game. I could understand if it was your job as a QA guy, for example, at a game development studio. But to just get paid because you are good at playing video games... people actually do this for a living???
    It's not really much different from minor league baseball players, really. If you're good enough to sign a contract with a decent team and then add in tournament winnings and ad revenue from streaming, it's a pretty easy way of living. If you're good enough or play a game with a low enough skill ceiling like League of Legends, anyway.

    Code S players in Starcraft II are reputed to earn six figures when you factor in tournament winnings on top of their salary.
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/PizzaSHARK
    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan Cailan Ebonheart View Post
    I also do landscaping on weekends with some mexican kid that I "hired". He's real good because he's 100% obedient to me and does everything I say while never complaining. He knows that I am the man in the relationship and is completely submissive towards me as he should be.
    Quote Originally Posted by SUH View Post
    Crissi the goddess of MMO, if i may. ./bow

  17. #17
    if you want to go pro at a game but cant decide which, i would suggest going over and watching tournaments on twitch and TL, and pick what you find interesting. going pro is an equivalent to getting a job, but you will play more than 8 hours a day and will only get paid on tournaments.

  18. #18
    Titan PizzaSHARK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by klaps_05 View Post
    if you want to go pro at a game but cant decide which, i would suggest going over and watching tournaments on twitch and TL, and pick what you find interesting. going pro is an equivalent to getting a job, but you will play more than 8 hours a day and will only get paid on tournaments.
    You pick what's easiest to go pro in, not what you're interested in playing. By time you're playing the game 60 hours a week, you honestly won't care.
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/PizzaSHARK
    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan Cailan Ebonheart View Post
    I also do landscaping on weekends with some mexican kid that I "hired". He's real good because he's 100% obedient to me and does everything I say while never complaining. He knows that I am the man in the relationship and is completely submissive towards me as he should be.
    Quote Originally Posted by SUH View Post
    Crissi the goddess of MMO, if i may. ./bow

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by PizzaSHARK View Post
    You pick what's easiest to go pro in, not what you're interested in playing. By time you're playing the game 60 hours a week, you honestly won't care.
    That's like saying what job you pick does not matter because you do it all the time thus it must be boring. It very much does matter.

    My part in this story has been decided. And I will play it well.

  20. #20
    I distance myself from MLG and IPL for the most part. I'll be attending more IPL events due to their signing of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012 though.

    I've actually been almost thrown out of an MLG event because I was getting hype for an MK match. I find it borderline impossible to be quiet when watching fighting games. They are my life.

    I don't consider myself a professional gamer, but I do attend a lot of fighting game tournaments. I'm mad that I couldn't make it to NEC, which is shaping up to be one of the most ridiculous tournaments I've ever seen.

    EDIT

    List of most popular fighting games:
    Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
    Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
    King of Fighters XIII

    A few more that are popular, but draw not NEAR as many people:
    Super Street Fighter II Turbo
    Mortal Kombat 9
    Tekken Tag Tournament 2
    Dead or Alive 5
    Persona 4 Arena
    Soul Calibur V
    Skullgirls
    BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II Extend
    Last edited by Kankuri; 2012-12-01 at 08:35 PM.
    I mostly play fighting games these days.

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