Blizzard has been gunning for a piece of the eSports pie for some time now. It's inarguably achieved it with the release of Hearthstone, which despite being a turn based collectible card game is doing incredibly well and is drawing in thousands of fans for big tournament viewings. However comparatively, World of Warcraft isn't doing anywhere near as well when it comes to pro-gaming and according to Blizzard it's because it's just not that fun to watch.
"I can definitely say that WoW 3v3 Arena right now is kind of hard to watch, in the form that it is," Blizzard eSports head Kim Phan said in a chat with PCGamesN. "And so there are things that we want to evaluate."
The difference between games like Hearthstone and WoW he said, was that WoW was created before viewers needed to be taken into consideration. There was no Twitch or any real concrete eSports scene, especially for MMOs, way back in 2005. Hearthstone on the other hand, was built to be exciting to watch as well as play.
The plan Blizzard has now, is to try and craft some PvP experiences in WoW that are exciting for fans to watch, as well as for players to take part in and that's no easy task.
However it may not be PvP that Blizzard eventually settles on as an entertainment medium:
"Ideas have been brought up like Battlegrounds. People enjoy watching live raids at BlizzCon. What makes something an eSport really depends on what people want to see. We are taking a close look into how we can better support eSports."
What are some aspects of WoW or other games that you guys think would make for good viewing?
