brownbear

Agree. My focus is, regardless of intent, skill level + prize pool can't rescue poor production, lack of storylines, etc. 1/

And, in reverse, excellent production + good storylines can drive engagement even if high-level gameplay not the focus. 2/

In terms of their intent, from experience it's hard to gauge intent of Chinese companies. So much of what they do 3/

doesn't make sense from a Western perspective, only makes sense given local culture, or just doesn't make sense period. 4/end

Last thing which probably requires longer form than Twitter, trying to figure out how much skill level drives engagement at all

I'm of the belief that it has little effect on viewership, unless its used as a marketing strategy.

MANY in SC2 would disagree though I think. Hence the hatred for region lock.

it's an interesting discussion. I'll write up my thoughts this afternoon and post em.