enjoyebooks Chapter 215 Media
Chapter 215 Media
10:00 AM, inside an ESPN broadcast van.
Director Kate sat in front of the monitor, a row of screens displaying footage from different camera angles: a panoramic view of the stage, close-ups of the contestants, audience reactions, and the commentary booth. She wore headphones, her right hand resting on the switcher.
"Camera number one, zoom in, give that Korean athlete a close-up," she said. "Yes, hand gestures. Okay, hold."
The producer's voice came through the earpiece: "Kate, the ratings jumped 0.3 points just now, now it's 0.8."
"Keep pushing," Kate said. "Which two are the next key matches?"
"Fifteen minutes later, 'Boxer' will face 'Grrrr'. Two favorites to win the championship."
"Have you done any pre-match interviews?"
"It's done, a two-minute VCR, ready to be inserted anytime."
"Okay, we'll release them after this match is over."
Kate switched the camera to the audience. The camera panned across the young people, who were looking up at the big screen. Some had their mouths slightly open, while others were unconsciously tapping their fingers on their knees, mimicking keyboard operation.
"Get a few audience reactions on camera number three," Kate said. "Make sure they're excited."
Camera three was pointed at a boy wearing a baseball cap, who was nervously biting his fingers. Suddenly, his friend next to him jumped up and shouted "Yes!" The boy jumped in surprise, then laughed.
Kate cuts back to a panoramic view of the stage.
Her assistant handed her a fax from headquarters in New York. Kate glanced at it quickly: ratings were continuing to rise, and the GG department requested a 30-second segment featuring sponsor GG, to be inserted during the next break.
"Reply 'agree,'" Kate said, "but don't let it affect the course of the game."
"clear."
At 10:30, the news interview area of KNTV television station was set up in the outer corridor of the exhibition hall.
Reporter Lisa held a microphone and faced the camera:
"...We are now at the San Jose Convention Center, where the highest-paying video game tournament in history—the StarCraft Championship—is taking place. As you can see, hundreds of enthusiastic spectators have gathered here, and the competition has only just begun."
She turned around, signaling the cameraman to follow her and film:
"Let's interview some audience members."
She walked over to a couple sitting in the back row of the audience. They were both in their early twenties and wearing matching t-shirts with the StarCraft logo.
"Hello, may I bother you for a moment?"
The couple turned around, saw the camera, and became a little nervous.
"Did you come here specifically to watch the game?" Lisa handed over the microphone.
The boy nodded: "We drove here from Los Angeles. It took us six hours."
Why would someone be willing to spend so much time watching a game competition?
"Because it's StarCraft!" the boy's eyes lit up. "And the prize money is $100,000. I've never heard of a game tournament giving out that much money. We want to see how the top players play."
The girl added, "My boyfriend practiced for two months, but unfortunately he wasn't selected, so we came here to learn."
"What does the competition mean to you?"
The boy thought for a moment: "It proves that games aren't just for fun. They require strategy, reaction time, and practice, just like sports."
Lisa smiled and said, "Thank you."
She walked back to the interview area and, facing the camera, summarized:
"As we've seen, video games are creating a whole new competitive culture. High prize money, professional players, and live audiences—these elements used to belong only to traditional sports, but now it's happening here. This is KNTV, and Lisa is reporting from the San Jose Convention Center."
The cameraman turned off the camera.
Lisa breathed a sigh of relief, took out a throat lozenge from her pocket, and popped one in her mouth. Her producer walked over:
"That last segment was good. Headquarters called; they want to extend tonight's news to three minutes and request more live footage."
"Was the audience's reaction sufficient?"
"That's enough, but we need some data background. Blizzard provided sales figures: three weeks after the game's release, global sales exceeded 800,000 copies. What percentage of that was from the StarCraft system version?"
"100% certainty, currently only the Starry Sky version is available."
"Just mention that. Also, contact that company, Xingchen Technology, and see if we can do a brief phone interview."
"I'll give it a try."
Lisa took out her phone and scrolled through her contacts.
Meanwhile, TechTV's film crew was shooting in the experience zone.
They don't film the competition; they film the hardware. The camera is pointed at the alien computer and Spark keyboard and mouse on the display stand, and the host is demonstrating with the mouse.
"...As viewers can see, this optical mouse has an extremely fast response time and does not suffer from the 'frame skipping' problem of traditional ball mice. This is crucial for real-time strategy games that require precise controls."
He clicked the mouse, and the cursor on the screen moved quickly.
"We understand that both the mouse and keyboard were manufactured by Xinghuo Electronics, a subsidiary of Xingchen Technology. Furthermore, the computers used in the competition all run the Xingchen operating system. Does this mean that the integration of hardware and software is playing a role in the gaming industry?"
He turned to the camera:
"TechTV will continue to follow this trend. This is Kevin reporting from San Jose."
After the shoot, Kevin walked to the checkout counter to observe the purchasing. There was still a line of about ten people in front of the counter. The middle-aged man at the front was paying; he bought a mouse and a keyboard and asked:
"Is this computer for sale?"
The staff member replied, "The demo unit isn't for sale, but you can pre-order it. It's an Alienware brand unit, part of the Star System, and configurations can be customized. Here's the order form."
The middle-aged man took the form and filled it out with a pen.
Kevin watched for a while, then walked over to his producer: "I think we could do two features, one about how games drive hardware sales, and the other about the future of the esports market."
"Oh? You think computer game competitions have a promising future?" The producer asked with some doubt.
"Yes, it has a bright future, especially competitive games like this. It will definitely become like a sporting event in the future," Kevin said with certainty.
"Is it really that exaggerated?" The producer didn't believe it at all.
"As long as a game is highly competitive and can attract a large number of players, it will attract a lot of capital investment. Basketball, football, tennis and other events will naturally have a variety of supporting industries as long as they have a large audience."
The same applies to competitive games. If StarCraft has tens of millions of players, this kind of competition is guaranteed to be profitable. Kevin had no doubt that this event could make money.
"Do you have the sales figures yet?" the producer asked the staff member next to him.
An employee opened a notebook: "People at Xinghuo Internet Cafe privately revealed that mouse and keyboard sales last week increased by 400% compared to the previous week. Inquiries about Alienware computers increased by 200%."
"Contact Star Technology to schedule an interview."
"We've already made an appointment, but their CEO doesn't seem to be in Silicon Valley today."
"Let's continue the appointment."