:o

awesome prize actually :)

nice going

US only?

can't send imess, so the link is :

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs12/i/2006/294/e/...by_cme.jpg

thx

All of North America, Canada and South America

Can anyone play these cups? Or only a specific division?

That´s huge. How´s the ping difference between someone playing from north Canada vs someone from south Chile? Or maybe New York vs Lima? Or even Mexico vs Brazil? Is that even playable?

No.

anyone can play

wrong

He meant there is no required skill level. The cup is open to anyone who wishes to participate.

Cool, nice idea for prizes.

I often wonder if the European community is aware just how short on players we are in the Americas these days...

This is a chance to start turning it around. Thanks, steve! :d

Every little bit helps. :)

Thursday January 20 - Get signed up! http://www.nationalesl.com/us/quakelive/1on1/getprocup1/

will receive a PRO key for 3 months courtesy of id software.

How typical! 7 duel cups sure sound good but what good is a "prize" that the winner cannot keep?

it's still 21 people that don't need to care about subscriptions. it's a good tryout of the "full" game, if nothing else.

so what would you say if the prize were a two-week, all expenses paid trip to the Carribeans?

;)

I'd say give that to me on id software's letterhead.

but you couldn't keep the prize :(((((

to be fair nobody would force him to return home though

tourist visas don't last forever, so at least it would depend on which part of the Carribeans you are visiting.

I'll keep the letterhead! :P

Basically, this is not exactly a giveaway coz they're taking it back.

no, they are not.

You had your playtime and get to keep recorded demos, memories, whatever. They can't take that back.
They can throw you out of a hotel after two weeks, but they can't take back the experiences you had in the two weeks before.


I mean, yes, those aren't the most awesomest prices in the history of the world, but you make it sound like letting someone do something for free instead of charging is nothing at all.


Maybe free entrance to a cinema for 3 months would have been a better example?

Memories and experiences are not tangible. I don't play a game for memories and experiences but because of its replay value, its community and support. Recordings and demos are dated, even though the fun they deliver is not. And that is exactly my point. Why'd you limit a good experience to 3 months? Wouldn't you want to give more to someone, specifically if it's a reward for his/her hard work and a well deserved win?

Simply put, a product code giveaway needs to be more along the lines of how Steam did it @ Christmas sale. The MMO's on sale had a 1 year FREE subscription. No monthly crap. ESL gives away its premium keys every now and then. Would you rather that 21 ppl receive an account, play for 3 months and then never get the chance to play a pro again? Yeah, let's go hug our demos! I'd rather reduce the number to 10-15, but make sure they get 1 year FREE at least.

so you don't go to the cinema?

Seriously, you can't say "never get the chance to play a pro again", they do. They just have to pay like everyone else.
Yes, it is clear that you don't like the prices for yourself, which is your choice, and you don't like a subscription based pay system in general, even though that discussion belongs somewhere else.

But complaining that you cannot "keep" a prize still makes no sense.

Your hypothetical example about carribean trips and cinema halls cannot compare to the situation at hand. Why do you think headsets, mice, mousemats, keyboards and other hardware are given away as prizes? They're tangible and they're gaming products. Plus, even if it's about accommodating 21 people, hardware is doable as a giveaway. Compare that to sending 21 people off to a carribean cruise! *facepalm moment & fail example*

India doesn't have a QL server, so I don't even have a reason to attack the payment model. All I'm saying is, it's not exactly a "prize" if you have to pay for it, irrespective of the duration involved.

I don't think you understood the logic behind the examples I gave. Especially, since you now compare them to hardware products ...


If you get a free trip somewhere or a free day at the cinema, what happens?

You go there, take part in it and then eventually it is over and you can't take it home. All you have left are you memories and maybe pictures you took on the trip, or souvenirs or whatever.

But you can't go there and say, "Well, I won this last year and the trip was fun. Let's go again, without me paying." Your 'facepalm' also hints that you do think a free trip has a certain value, even though you cannot 'keep' it.

So, all you seem to be doing is applying different standards.



Btw. I once won a mouse (mx300) at a LAN. I gave it away to a friend cause I already had a mouse (3.0). I used it to win the mouse...

You don't have to pay for it. You get 3 months of pro membership. This is hardly a novel idea, it'¨s something done quite often. Like Kaspersky who give away free years of their service to people at Dreamhack. Or ESL who give away premium memberships to their streams. You don't honestly think those are lifelong commitments they give away are you?

Just like headphones and other tournament prices. Sponsors give away merchandize for the simple reason of it being good business. When headphones get worn out, what do you do? You probably buy a new pair from the same manufacturer you used to have because hopefully you liked the ones you had. If not, it's a cheap way for the businesses that sell them to show their brands and support to potential buyers.

I know they're not life-long commitments. Taking the example of 50 premium ESL keys which were given in Aug 2010 (global gamescom) to people on TL so that they could watch the IEM Semis and Finals. These were handed by Carmac as a gesture of solidarity to TL for supporting IEM without any contests/matches to win. You simply had to be an early bird to win it.

All I'm saying is that the effort these players will put in to win these QL keys is/will not be in the same league as winning the annual subscription of PC Gamer or Game Informer by just waking up early and writing 'hi' on their facebook page or something.

This said, it is more than NationalESL has been able to offer in the past, and they want to be able to offer more. This is a first step in that direction.

Complaining about it is tantamount to stomping ESL|steve's efforts to bring incentives to the table into the dirt.

Give them a break. :)

Basically, this is not exactly a giveaway coz they're taking it back.

Economics 101: The difference between goods vs. services.

what is a "pro key" as in a pro ql account?

there's a "redeem token" link on the page

so this cup is for unknown players that aren't top tier..s ounds fun!

No, it's for anyone who wants to play.

so anyone who can be bothered to win a free pro account for 3months... sounds amazing! really worth the effort of the top tiered players :o)

Oh, sorry. forgot people have the attentionspan of a goldfish, if Rapha isn't playing it's not worth to watch, amirite?

Quake Live need lower tier tournaments too.

I agree.

The Quake community isn't just made up of 20 people who are really good, there are several thousand people who play. Sure some of them are absolutely awful, but there are still several hundred players who like to compete around the world.

The last thing we need to do is tell those people they aren't wanted, because then they won't play, and soon we wouldn't have anything to do.

If you don't want to see it, then don't watch the stream. If you don't want to play, then fuck off. It's this kind of elitist prick attitude that is turning the community to shit anyway.

Sorry, it's just the truth. You act like an asshole long enough and you drive all the new kids away, and the old boys don't hang around forever.

Nothing personal, it's just getting tiresome.

The Top 3 from winners from each Quake Live Cup will receive a PRO key for 3 months courtesy of id software.

awesome.

might as well offer some antivirus trial version lol

i heard kapersky is quite good

I got the kapersky key, for one year. :P

It's quite nice, but so far I don't see me paying another $50 to renew it (if that's what they'll charge).

We shouldn't just replicate other sports. We shouldn't emulate them. We should make our own way... be original, that's how we can defeat the other sports in this very competitive market-place. Things are boring here, because it's just a bunch of dumb news like you see everywhere else, and systems as standard and boring as you find everywhere else.

We need to be better than the rest, not be the rest. And your mom.

fuck yes, i will finally have pro.

Hopefully all that playing 20 hours a day pays off for you lo. If it doesn't - /wrists

Let me add something since I've been getting questions about it. Europeans can play in these cups as long as they play on American servers and can deal with the time difference.

ESL|steve