Is Hearthstone a successful esport now, or will it fade?

[Ryme]

Needs more cards to keep the meta shifting between more than a handful of decks, it's getting there though.

[Deleted]

It's main strength is it appeals to every casual person and anyone can play it.

[Jackielope]

Once the Observer mode goes into place I expect the tournaments will be better and it'll get more views.

As far as it being a sport goes... Unsure. It's certainly a fun and interesting game to a significant enough number of people that they're doing serious tournaments, so based on that I'd say it's going to be successful and stay that way for a while. How long that'll keep up will likely be decided on the expansions and other new things Blizzard can bring to the game.

[Deleted]

Because people would rather the outcome of as many matches as possible to be as within their control as possible.

Then go play CS or Quake. Card games are nothing without the luck of the draw and there is no point in discussing this. Having the whole deck in your hand at once would make the game stupid- the top decks now already are constructed in a way that make you very good at every turn which reduces the amount of RNG greatly.

For every match you got obliterated by your opponent because your draw was shit you can rest assured you did the same to others. That's what RNG is all about and it balances itself out in the long run.

[fangless]

Biggest thing that turns me off on the "tournament" scene for Hearthstone is the lack of official support. It's a bunch of random streams I've never heard of with a variety of rules and visual layouts. When I want to watch MTG tournaments, it's Starcitygames or official WotC, I know what I'm gonna get in terms of formats and stream layouts.

[Jackielope]

Biggest thing that turns me off on the "tournament" scene for Hearthstone is the lack of official support. It's a bunch of random streams I've never heard of with a variety of rules and visual layouts. When I want to watch MTG tournaments, it's Starcitygames or official WotC, I know what I'm gonna get in terms of formats and stream layouts.

Blizzard admitted it didn't foresee Hearthstone becoming such a big thing, so they didn't make the tools needed to let it truly be one (like observer mode and such) nor did they make any effort to pull together an official event beyond Blizzcon stuff.

I suppose streaming companies ought to try and work more closely with Blizz so they can both help the game and stream community grow.

[Deleted]

Blizzard admitted it didn't foresee Hearthstone becoming such a big thing, so they didn't make the tools needed to let it truly be one (like observer mode and such) nor did they make any effort to pull together an official event beyond Blizzcon stuff.

I suppose streaming companies ought to try and work more closely with Blizz so they can both help the game and stream community grow.

Observer mode is in the works actually. They have told as that much, but yeah, Blizzard never intended this to be an e-sports, so they obviously never made any features for it. The fact that the game lacks such things and is still, despite that, being pushed as an e-sports is all on us I'm afraid.

[muto]

A lot of people watch it to see the chaos that can ensure because of RNG and top decks.

Played against a murloc deck today that had deathwing in it. I had ysera, baine, senjin, and armorsmith on board. I have the worst luck in hearthstone.

[Pabzi]

The game is picking up popularity. The new expansion set will make the game even more popular.

[BenBos]

The game is picking up popularity. The new expansion set will make the game even more popular.

It depends. With each new expansion you make it more difficult for new players to catch up...

I hope Blizzard can find a way to solve this eternal dilemma of CCG's. Because in the end you risk to have a very hardcore playing field.

But of course, Hearthstone can be named THE new game in E-Sports of 2014. It is even too much hardcore pvp for such a game that was destined to play on the loo for a few minutes.

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And as I said: I like watching matches more than even playing it. Viewing Kolento play in the latest EU tournament ... is like watching a football match on TV.

[Deleted]

My overall feel is there isn't enough class-specific (i.e. non-neutral) cards, which makes the number of combinations much less. Imagine if the ratio of class-specific to neutral cards was 1:1, it would be a completely different game.

Also, I still feel that HS has a less serious atmosphere when compared to some other popular e-games, though that is a subjective call.