Tokyo Video Game Tycoon.

WCG also offered very attractive prize money.

Previously, the prize money for e-sports projects hosted by Yusei Electronic Entertainment was capped at 100 million yen, or one million US dollars.

The winner will receive 70 percent of the million dollars.

Because WCG was supported by several South Korean conglomerates, they generously offered a cash prize of two million US dollars to the winners of each project in the first WCG in order to expand its influence.

The two million will go entirely to the winner, while the runner-up and third-place winner will receive five hundred thousand and one hundred thousand US dollars, respectively.

This prize money alone immediately drew everyone's attention to South Korea.

Gamers in the United States, Japan, and other regions suddenly went crazy.

Anyone who thought they had some ability was itching to join the competition.

A cash prize of two million US dollars for the champion.

This is definitely not comparable to the athletes in traditional sports events, especially major sports like football, basketball, and American basketball.

These are even less comparable.

However, for ordinary people, video games offer a great sense of participation.

Anyone would feel that they have a chance to win.

Aside from StarCraft, which hasn't been announced yet, fans of the other three games are very confident.

Players began to gather in groups, participating in the esports competition in their own ways.

Snapped!

"This is a complete joke. How is this any different from gambling?"

Inside a professional sports organization, a middle-aged man in a suit angrily slammed a newspaper onto the table.

The cigar beside him still had lingering smoke, and the expensive watch gleamed as he tossed the newspaper.

"Isn't esports just a bunch of decadent teenagers messing around? How can this stuff be brought into the mainstream? Isn't this an insult to us?"

"Um, boss, please calm down. Actually, I think this thing has a lot of potential. Young people like this stuff. If we invest some money to start an e-sports club and attract some internet addicts, we might become a popular choice among young people."

"What a load of rubbish! I disagree with this stuff; it's just lowering our own standards!"

Chapter 368 The E-sports Era in South Korea

Of course, not everyone in the world can like video games.

Even if this thing really looks harmless.

These were once four commercial television stations in Japan.

There are also Japanese baseball players.

They all hate video games and resent that they take away a portion of their benefits.

What they were thinking at the time was: if there were no video games, we might be able to gain more profits, and our market wouldn't be taken away.

The owner of this sports organization is in a similar situation.

As more and more young people become fond of video games, this seemingly unprofitable activity is gradually eroding their profits and diverting user attention from what should have been theirs.

As a result, he received less money, so how could he be happy?

Within the organization, he angrily rejected the suggestions from his subordinates.

He believes that video games are just a waste of electricity and can't bring any benefits at all, so why should so many people be interested in them?

He simply couldn't understand it.

Although he occasionally plays computer card and board games, he doesn't think they are the same. He believes that card and board games should at least be considered educational products, not games.

At least that's what he thought, thus excluding computer board games from the category of video games.

When I got home in the evening, my wife wasn't there; she must have had a social engagement that day.

My wife is also a senior executive at a company, so naturally she can't be educating the children every day.

At that moment, the child was upstairs in the house and had not come down.

He was already in a bad mood, and seeing that his child seemed to have stayed indoors all day made him feel even worse.

When he entered the child's bedroom, he could faintly hear the iconic music of video games.

He was already angry about video games during the day, and now hearing the children's music made him even angrier.

So he barged in without hesitation and started arguing with the child.

The meeting ended badly with a verbal battle between the two sides.

The child doesn't care about his father's interests; he cares more about things that make him happy.

Since my parents both have their own careers to pursue and never thought about spending time with me, what's wrong with me finding something to make myself happy?

This made the sports organization owner hate video games even more.

No, I have to do something, no matter what. I have to crack down on video games, otherwise I'll probably earn less and less money.

Having made his decision, he plans to contact some people tomorrow to try and figure out how to develop a video game.

Anyway, this thing has no foundation and won't touch the cake of any existing forces; it's just a bunch of young people having fun.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, demo versions of StarCraft races have already been provided to several newly established video game clubs.

These clubs were all founded by different South Korean conglomerates.

With the lure of money, finding a group of gaming teenagers is no problem at all.

The next step is to train these young gamers according to the esports club system that Japan has gradually matured.

Real esports is not just about being able to play games.

Being able to play games only makes you a player at best.

The real hardship faced by esports players is not much easier than that faced by traditional athletes.

Every day you have to play your favorite game day and night, just to win the number one spot that countless others strive for.

Even your favorite video game can become so addictive that you might get tired of it and even be forced to the point where you never want to play it again.

Only the champion will receive all the honors.

In fact, esports is quite cruel.

But the sense of accomplishment that comes with victory is also unparalleled.

In South Korea, some online gaming venues have begun to hold small-scale StarCraft qualifiers.

Many young people with dreams of gaming have flocked to the world of video games.

The rise of esports in South Korea has also fostered a generation of decadent young people.

However, even without Bamboo Star, this is an inevitable trend, and Bamboo Star cannot change anything.

So instead of doing that, why not join in?

"Look, this is the latest video game called StarCraft. Several large companies have issued bounties, offering 20 million won for the top spot in a region."

A prize of 20 million Korean won is roughly equivalent to 15,000 US dollars.

This is obviously very tempting for young people.

However, only the first place in each region will receive the prize money; other places will not receive any rewards.

"Li Yongli, aren't you good at video games? How about giving it a try? You're going to play anyway, so why not take this opportunity to make some money?"

"Kim Sung-min, you're the best gamer among us. Come on, let's play a round, maybe we can win the first prize!"

……

In just one week, young people in South Korea have become immersed in e-sports.

Of course, most of these people are just runners-up. There can only be one winner in each region, and only the winner can be selected by the conglomerate. This is not only an opportunity to win a prize, but also an opportunity to advance in social class through video games.

Driven by the efforts of a single country, the attention given to esports has risen rapidly. Even before StarCraft was released, esports had already taken center stage, making StarCraft a hot topic of conversation.

Now, whether they are players or not, they all know that something that was just for fun is becoming formalized.

However, most of the people who pay attention to this are young people, while those who are over thirty and have a stable family and career tend to scoff at it.

They didn't think video games would make a big splash; they saw it as just a small celebration for a group of young people who would lose interest once they matured.

Even if one country were to push it, it wouldn't make a difference; this kind of thing is inherently unacceptable.

On one hand, there was a group of older people who looked down on it.

On the other hand, many young people have gathered in various online business venues, looking at those young people who have made outstanding achievements with expressions of admiration.

At this moment, most of their admiration stemmed from envy that these people might win the 20 million won prize. As for how the game was going, they weren't really that invested in it yet.

Chapter 369 Esports Preparations Before Release

Li Mingzhe is a StarCraft player in the qualifiers.

Because StarCraft hasn't been officially released yet.

The Zerg, Protoss, and Terran factions only offer a few basic units and buildings.

There are only two maps.

In addition, this game is a completely new genre, and many people are unfamiliar with it. Some of them, even if they participate in StarCraft competitions, are quickly eliminated due to their poor skills, and then they turn to more established video games, such as Street Fighter.

Li Mingzhe is a very talented person in StarCraft.

While many people only had a superficial understanding of the rules of StarCraft, he had already learned to be meticulous about time management.

Although he hasn't reached the level of a StarCraft player like Zhu Youxing in his previous life, where he could calculate the rhythm perfectly every second, he has a general plan for time management.

This skill immediately made him stand out in the StarCraft selection process.

However, there are actually quite a few players who share similar thoughts, but they just haven't met each other yet.

Two days before the official release of StarCraft, Li Mingzhe had already become the winner of his region.

Then, under the envious gazes of countless people, he personally accepted the huge check for 20 million Korean won.