Written transcript of iRip interview with Mathew Peterson

The transcript below is taken from Broadcast #4 – interview with Mathew Peterson of iRip. The audio quality in the original interview was less than perfect, and so I made a text version. It was written in a hurry, so do excuse the spelling mistakes:

PR.com Hello and welcome everybody to the 4th Polygonrevue.com, I am Sebastian Sjoberg. Today we are doing things differently – as today’s guest is Mathew Peterson, a representative of iRip. That’s a company we should all be familiar with these days. Hello, Mathew, how are we doing today?

iRip Hello Sebastian, I’m doing very well, thank you.

PR.com It sounds like you’re based in Australia, is that correct?

iRip That’s correct, a bit rainy but otherwise it’s a good day

PR.com Glad to hear it, it’s strangely similar in Sweden right now. The reason I asked you to come on the show is of course that iRip is next to the efforts of HDStarcraft and Husky the strongest contributor behind the popular HD Invitational Tournament that took place during the Beta and featured all the big names in Starcraft 2. iRip was generous enough to donate a significant amount of money to the prize pool. How much was it again?

iRip I’m not exactly sure, I think it was around $4000 USD.

PR.com That’s quite a lot for a Starcraft 2 prize pool, but perhaps not so much for the marketing budget of a serious company – which is the topic of this interview, how well-guided corporate sponsorship can contribute to the growth of the eSports scene. Because as a form of entertainment, electronic sports are being more and more embraced by the so-called mainstream Internet user every day. iRip took the budding Starcraft 2 scene with a storm through its sponsorship, but what made you decide – as a company – to dedicate resources to this course, which is a very original one in terms of marketing?

iRip That’s an interesting story, actually. A lot of my friends got me into Starcraft 2, I wasn’t a big RTS players. I got a Beta key, started playing some games, found it to be a good game. I started looking around for something interesting to watch, not casts to sponsor, and I found HDStarcraft and Husky’s channel. The thing that got me into it was TLO versus Nony on Metalopolis – a 40 minute nuke fest, that was my introduction to Starcraft 2 shoutcasting.

PR.com That’s how many of us got into it. Of course, you took it further than that – did you contact Husky and HD about working together or how did that come about?

iRip I never intended to do advertising, I more intended to do something for the community. I loved what Husky and HD were doing with their shoutcasting and I was watching it every single day, and it struck me at one point that I were to be watching this on TV I would be paying for it in some way shape or form. I wasn’t paying for this content, and I was primarily watching Husky’s channel – I didn’t know that he and HD were working together – and so I send Husky a donation. He was totally over the moon as he always is when people are being generous towards him and then I considered to sponsor the tournament he was hosting. I contacted him and it all moved on from there.

Originally, I think that I insisted upon NOT having a sponsor, as I was doing this for personal entertainment reasons but Husky insisted back that the tournament should have a sponsor – you couldn’t have a Starcraft tournament without it, he said. It went from there.

PR.com It certainly did, it snowballed from there. I imagine that, considering that HD and Husky plugged iRip really hard during the Invitational in a good and constructive way, you must gotten quite a lot of exposure and increased Google rankings from that. Looking at the state of the scene right since the release of the Starcraft 2 Beta a couple of months ago, the most popular Youtube channels – such as Husky, HD and Day[9] on blip.tv, that provide relevant material are now generating millions of Youtube views every month, something that can only be expected to increase with the retail release of the game.

You say that you initially got involved out of “Love for the Game” rather than from a marketing perspective, but still – from a corporate perspective you could definitely see this growing scene as a genuine gold mine of potential because if this was TV the advertising costs to reach 10 million viewers would be quite significant. However, in this field of “Youtube TV” there’s very little precedence and arguably a very low cost to place ads in sponsored content. Is this something that iRip has a clear strategy of continuing into the future? Has the time come for when Big Money enters eSports?

iRip Yes, I definitely think the time has come. At least, the first few months after the release of the game (27th July) will show if it has. When I started sponsoring the HDH Invitational I wasn’t expecting to receive any return on my investment, I didn’t expect the finals to receive 250,000 views by themselves. So, in terms of marketing, I had no expectations. Now, I can see that the HDH videos have received over 2 million views in a week, it seems like an excellent opportunity for companies. As you have seen with the Day[9] vs Tasteless show match, we decided to do some more sponsored games.

In terms of the very big money, and comparing to the existing Korean scene, I think that the Euro-American scene will probably be secluded from Korea. I’m obviously very new to the scene, but I think that Europe and America will form one “game area” and Korea another. Clans will start to appear, we’re already seeing it, and we have clan fights. Show matches are good, they’re a lot of fun for everyone, but I think team rivalry is the thing that big sponsors really like and demand before investing big money. Just look at World Cup and their teams, they got their rivalries and sponsors and producers love that.

PR.com Yeah, I imagine that’s already happening. I know a lot of people who’s been in the community for a while that are now continuing on from trying to become progamers to be admins or future admins of professional Starcraft 2 teams. There’s a lot of things going on right now in this No-Beta period, and I think we will see a whole lot of different teams suddenly springing up once the game is released. The team rivalry factor should be there, and in Korea they have certainly managed to create that entire spectrum – sadly also including cheating (sAviOr).

These are interesting times, definitely. However, looking at the current debate among Starcraft fans out there, many are positive towards the increased corporate involvement in the scene as it provided the financial opportunity to create bigger and better events – and possibly even sustainable income for professional players. Others say that with more money the “innocence is lost”, so to speak. What would you, as a representative of a company and an individual with a personal eSport interest, respond to the latter view?

iRip I certainly hope that it doesn’t become corrupted. In terms of “innocence lost”, you have to look at players like Day[9] and Tasteless who are devoted fans and love everything about the game, and they want to have more commercial interest involved in the scene. They actively look for it. To me, it that type of veteran representatives of Starcraft want it, then it is valid. One would have to take the group that disagrees into account, but I do feel that in terms of companies like iRip we bring value to viewers. There were no big banners covering the screen in the HDH Invitational, Husky and HD mentioned it once or twice in every video and we didn’t push it hard – and people responded very well.

If it became to corporate, though, like if there were ads everywhere and there were ad breaks every 10 minutes in every game, then, yes – the innocence would definitely be lost. If companies stay on good terms with the community and listen to what people want, then everyone can stay on good terms. I think we proved in the HDH that you can achieve good results even with slight advertising and that the community enjoyed the event.

PR.com I agree that the sponsorship of the HDH Invitational was done with flair and without being obstructive to the content. It seemed to have worked out well for everybody and I don’t think that people mind sponsorship as long as it provides the means to create a really good event. Today, many people in the community – myself very much included – wish to see eSports with Starcraft 2 at the forefront became an integrated entertainment form in mainstream circles. Eventually that would mean, as I see it, professionally broadcasted leagues on TV and an infrastructure comparable to the one that already exists in Korea and to what already exists in conventional sports such as soccer and football. We are still far away from achieving that, but would you say, with one leg in the corporate world, that such a development is at all realistically possible – and if so, what would it take?

iRip The current way that people watch Starcraft I think works very well in the United States and Europe, because in those regions people enjoy their entertainment much more via On Demand and not a fixed schedule. That’s clear by watching Husky’s and HD’s content, they may receive 10,000 views on their live streams but 50,000 views on Youtube from people who want to watch it on their own time when it suits them. If the community is built that way, for professional gaming, tanned you don’t have to think in terms of localised content, then it will work very well if a professional industry embraces the On Demand functionality. Basing it on the traditional TV medium would be risky for corporate interests, I think.

What HD and Husky are doing right now is a very nice Video On Demand service, if it was to expand naturally from there, then I think that would be the best thing for the community as it stands right now. At the moment, they are the only two individuals in the Starcraft 2 community that can speak directly with the big shots in terms of getting serious sponsorships. So yeah, Video On Demand and professional gaming I think could work very well together in the United States and Europe for Starcraft 2.

PR.com Yeah, there are lots of interesting Video On Demand services already existing out there. I personally don’t own any gaming console, but I know that it is very possible to stream whatever you want in terms of movies or tv series onto your tv set that way without too much effort. Maybe the next step is to get Starcraft 2 content on there, enabling people to watch it on larger scale.

iRip Yes, and I just want to say – as I’m very much a part of the Apple community – I have to think a lot in terms of where Apple is pushing the world, and the iPhones and the iPad are very much about streaming videos to portable devices. As I own an iPad…

PR.com Lucky you!

iRip Yes, lucky me It has basically surpassed my TV, there’s something very special about the fact that you can hold it and interact with the device, and I have been streaming a lot of Husky’s and HD’s videos on my iPad and it is so much better than watching it on my computer or TV because I can do it whenever and wherever I want. If people are trying to force this type of content onto TV and that old school infrastructure, then I think that they’re doing a mistake because they will be excluding iPhone- and iPad-users who very much prefer to enjoy content based on personal preferences. It’s really great, watching Starcraft 2 on your iPad, everyone needs to experience it.

PR.com Well, we’ll definitely have to look into that in the future, I can definitely see how many less-than-hardcore-nerds would certainly enjoy this type of content a lot more if it was available through the more modern and sexy platforms that are now available to people. It would be very convenient, and convenience is absolutely key in the current consumer culture, I believe. It could be the way forward, absolutely.

iRip Exactly, last week I went to my family’s place and on my iPad I showed my brother and his girlfriend the game where Husky, myself and TheLittleOne and another friend were playing a 4v4 Mass Queens game. I wanted to show them because I find Husky’s commentary very entertaining, and the interesting thing was that especially my brother found the game incredibly enjoyable because Husky was putting in so much emotion and personality into the cast from start to finish. It brought a lot of laughs to them and they are not even Starcraft 2 players, and that was really interesting to me, because for being effectively non-gamers they found his content very sharp and very entertaining. I told Husky about it and got very happy.

I know there some parts of the community who don’t appreciate this development and who don’t want the “riffraff” in Starcraft 2, but I feel that we can create entertainment that everyone has access to and the hardcore players don’t judge the newcomers then together the scene can grow and provide the viewer figures that advertisers want to see. The community at large and especially professional players can only benefit from it. You can just see it with HD and Husky, they have really appealed to the mainstream, including myself as I’m not a hardcore players, and it has made a very great difference. They are without ego, they are in tune with what the community wants and all the players like it as well. So that was my little rant

PR.com I think that what you’re saying is a good projecting of things right now, and I would agree that there is an old school sentiment of exclusivity about the Starcraft community, Brood War and The Sequel. It has been there since the beginning, because it has always been a very difficult thing to play and, to a lesser degree but still much so, to watch and understand as a viewer. In recent days, Husky and HD – even though they are not the most veteran of Starcraft casters – the biggest names alongside Day[9] among people who make the game and the scene more accessible. Some people like, many do, but not everybody.

I think that Starcraft is just a lot of fun – that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing, and if people can make it more inclusive then more people will enjoy it, and within the community there can still be many different layers. There is enough room for hardcore-minded gamers to hold their view, whilst allowing for more casually interested newcomers to exist alongside in a good manner. We don’t all have to get along under the same roof, but we can all get along within the same title, I believe. The larger community can only benefit from good inclusive content becoming popular, and if benevolent sponsors such as iRip can work in unison with talented producers like Husky and HD then that’s good for everybody.

iRip Yes, as you said – I really do believe that sponsors need to be benevolent, I can’t stress enough how sponsors must listen and be attentive to the community if they want advertising to work in this scene, that’s just how it has to work these days.

PR.com Speaking of advertising, it strikes me that we haven’t actually mentioned to people what iRip is and what it does. As it has been a very generous sponsor to the Starcraft 2 community, tell us what the iRip software is and where people can find it and what we can expect in the future?

iRip Okay, iRip allows you to transfer any of your media, movies, music off your iPod or iPhone to your computer – or anyone else’s computer if you want to be slightly illegal. We basically designed as a recovery tool, for when your computer dies and you want to get your music that’s stored on your iPod back. That’s why I wrote it, seven years ago, because it was a product that I really needed at one time.

In terms of what’s coming up from us in the future, none of it is really linked to what is going in the community, but we got software that allows you to stream digital media portable devices like your iPhone more easily. What we’re trying to achieve is to enable consumers to consume content how they want, whenever they want with greater ease.

PR.com “On Demand” seem the be the two key words, these days, don’t they?

iRip Yeah, I find a lot that when, say, me and my girlfriend are at home and we want to watch a movie in bed or if she’s on the exercise bike, using a laptop watch content is not convenient. The iPad really is, it just allows you to enjoy your media in a new way.

PR.com It certainly does. Is it likely that we’ll see iRip or any other related software play a significant role in any upcoming Starcraft 2 events, then?

iRip I really want to remain involved in the Starcraft 2 community, especially when it comes to tournament. I can’t, however, be involved in the next HDH Tournament, because they are just so big now that they’re out of my budget.

PR.com Well, that’s progress

iRip Indeed it is. I was very, very lucky to approach Husky and HD first. Husky is right now talking to a very big sponsor who is now involved so that’s going to be very, very exciting. I hoping that I can stay involved in little things surrounding individual players and show matches, in the coming weekend (Sunday the 27th June) there’s featured 2v2 match coming out. Artosis and QXC are on the American team and Jinro and TheLittleOne represent Europe. I’m really looking forward to that because we haven’t seen any professional 2v2’s in Starcraft 2 yet. Another of our apps is the sponsor for that, Tagalicious, and will remain so for another couple of games. Day[9] and Tasteless mentioned in their series that want to do another show match at the beginning of retail Starcraft 2, and I’m very happy to work with them on that. I would also be happy to join a pool of sponsors for future events, but we just can’t do anything more with the HDH, Husky and HD are too big.

PR.com Well, maybe iRip will catch up with HD and Husky and come back strong. It is very encouraging to hear, however, that things are going so well for all parties involved, because I believe that corporate involvement in eSports is a good thing – especially when companies such as yours not just throw money at the scene, but invest it. Taking time and interest to understand what’s going on, and putting value into it, not just money. It has been exciting and very enlightening to have you on the show and think that many out there will agree with that – and I think that everybody would agree that the the HDH Invitational and the show matches were excellent fun, and that can’t be bad. On behalf of the community, thank you so much contributing to making that happen.

iRip You’re very welcome, and the simple fact is that we enjoyed the show matches and the HDH and we will enjoy the 2v2 series just like everyone else. We’re not in it just for the advertising, we think it’s a lot of fun, and that’s the truth. We get to interact with a lot of fantastic people, from HD and Husky and now I’m friends with TLO and I’ve been talking with Day[9] and Tasteless a lot of other great people in the community. It is a fantastic community, even Idra is a friendly guy even though he may be a bad mannered player We just enjoy being involved, as people are so friendly. To me it’s a lot similar to what the Mac community was five years ago.

PR.com The community is very glad to have iRip in it, and it’s very good to hear these things and see that there’s a promising future ahead. It proves that sound investment and genuine fun can go hand in hand together in Starcraft 2. Before we round this off, Mathew, do you have announcements or shout-outs you’d like to make?

iRip I do like to thank HD and Husky for absolutely fantastic in terms of working with us. And of course, you should all go and watch Day[9]’s casts – he’s an amazing player and his knowledge is second to none.

PR.com He’s the man.

iRip Yeah, he is. Basically, everyone in the community who wants to form strong teams, get in there and do it – the scene needs lots of teams, not just a few big ones centred around the big sites, that’s what competition is all about and that’s what will make the scene grow. So get in there and play it, who knows what could happen in a year or two…

PR.com Well, I have a few ideas, we’ll see what happens. Thank you so much, Mathew, and thanks to iRip once again for everything you’re doing – keep doing it, one way or another. I hope it has stopped raining in Sydney.

iRip Thank you, it has been a pleasure.

PR.com GG and out, for now

Tagged as: hdstarcraft, huskystarcraft, Starcraft 2 Broadcast