The Korean eSports organization has been beset by a number of problems lately, including huge betting scandals. StarCraft 2 and Blizzard’s request for more control must appear extremely threatening. It’s even rumored that StarCraft 2’s over 18 age rating might have been influenced by KeSPA. Despite that, Blizzard will seek out a different partner for the future Korean endeavors.
Here’s a translation of various interesting points taken from Korean news source Yonhap News:
An example of KeSPA’s use of Blizzard’s IP can be seen the Starleague commercials we’ve reported on, here.
Morhaime said “We’ve been negotiating with the association about intellectual property rights for the last three years, and we’ve made no progress at all… …We’re going to stop negotiating with them and look for a new partner.” He also mentioned “Blizzard obviously has the IP rights to the Starcraft series, but those rights aren’t being respected, and we can’t keep having these fruitless negotiations with the release of Starcraft II at hand.”
In a worst case scenario, all Korean Starcraft tournaments that run through KeSPA may be forced to stop."
Do you think Blizzard is in the right to request becoming a larger part of the Korean eSports League, Ranters? Or is this simply and Activision-style business move? I’m hoping there are no drastic repercussions for StarCraft fans in Korea.
Source: Yonhap News via Team Liquid
