As you may have heard today Evil Geniuses announced the peripheral sponsorship of Razer. This of course came after the sponsorship of Steelseries came to an end. You can read about it here: RAZER
This is a huge change obviously as SS and Razer are basically the two big dogs in the competitive gaming world when it comes to PC peripherals. I felt compelled to speak about this because I am fairly well known for being a vocal supporter of one product or another and have "starred" in videos/interviews etc.. where I speak about products.
Let me start off by saying while SS was a business relationship with team Evil Geniuses I personally came to be good friends with Kim Rom, Stu and others as we were partnered and I have the utmost respect for them and will always appreciate the time I spent with them in that capacity. When a team switches sponsorship very rarely is it because behind closed doors a table was flipped, someone's mom was insulted or what have you.. that is no different here. You will not be hearing mean spirited words from me or you will not sniff out any drama from EG on this subject.. it is a pretty standard situation that happens in sports as well as eSports: For one reason or another two parties can agree/disagree to continue to work together.
With SS leaving this means a few things:
1. I was not being dishonest when I recommended their gear. You can say what you want, I've been called/read it all: I only liked them because of money etc etc.
The bottom line is I think their stuff is great. I came to know them because they stepped forward and supported EG in a big way. Through their sponsorship I worked with their staff/gear and I genuinely enjoyed what I found.
2. I now cannot use their products because I am sponsored by a competitor and that is fine. When EG is sponsored by a peripheral company we try and get them as much exposure as possible so we can achieve the value we are known for. There is no angst here. There is no bitterness.. just business.
With being sponsored by Razer this means a few things:
1. I am excited to try out new gear. Way back in the day I used a Razer Diamondback, Lachesis and mousepads. They were my first "competitive" gaming gear provider. I wasn't sponsored by them or anything I just thought they looked cool (I was 12).
This point is especially important to me. YES I am sponsored by them. YES that means my company receives money from them. YES I can understand why you may read that as some kind of problem given my previous sponsorship by SS. But to me, it is a normal occurrence in business where I now get to explore the other side of the fence. If you see me speaking positively about a Razer mouse/keyboard.. chances are I am doing that because I genuinely enjoy what I have found. So let me break it down again because to me this is the biggest issue: Sponsorship dictates what product I use. My thoughts on said product are almost never scripted (that is me being scientific, I can't think of a time I actually was handed a script for SS) and that often results in support from me and positive language on said product. Remember: I was one of the people that said blackswitch 6gv2's aren't the best... red switch was awesome though etc.
2. EG is as big as it is because of how well we serve our sponsors. In the past I have asked you to support EG/our sponsors by buying their products.. here I will do the same. When EG gets picked up by Razer like we have.. if we can bring in business for Razer that means ONLY good things for EG. So I fully understand.. those of you that have tweeted at me or EG saying "I bought X SS product to support EG" I and all of EG THANK YOU but you will be hearing us switch those pleas to Razer and hopefully that makes sense to you. If you need a new mouse / keyboard etc.. and you still want to do something to support EG the same applies! Pick up a Razer product and tweet at them just like you have in the past.
It really is that simple. This part also makes me uncomfortable because I know on some level this concept will not be understood or appreciated by folk and I carry that burden as one of the most vocal people that supports their sponsors.
To finish...
I know this was long winded. I know a lot of you simply don't care or are not interested.. I am expressing this because it's important to me. I speak out a LOT and I support those that support me so on this particular issue I feel it has some gravity on me as a person. I wanted a chance to explain my thought process and hopefully give you all an opportunity to comment on my thoughts/situation without purely speculating.
TLDR: Had a great time with SS. Excited to work with Razer and use their products. I will be supportive of Razer and that's ok. I like you guys and want you to know what I think
Well said. I owned a 6gv2 in the past, and though it was my first mechanical keyboard and i loved it, i moved on to a red cherry filco which is a lot better imo. Razer has always made solid mice (deathadder esp) but their keyboards are a little shitty. Im interested to see what your opinion of their products is.
When a team switches sponsorship very rarely is it because behind closed doors a table was flipped, someone's mom was insulted or what have you.. that is no different here.
This sentence made me laugh out loud.
It makes sense that you would use and advertise the gear of your sponsor. That is part of a business partnership like that. When I watch a commercial or hear you guys promote or speak out for a product I am fully aware that you are in a business relationship with them. That is something else than the recommendation by an 'independent' party (pretty much impossible to find). You don't hide the fact that you are sponsored by Steelseries or now Razer so I don't feel like I am being deluded. I also don't think it is selling out. It is simply part of the business and part of your job. Nothing to get to heated about in my opinion. The fact that you spoke out about this particular change of sponsors will hopefully take some of that heat from the situation.
I find it interesting that you felt the need to explain this situation and your approach to sponsors. It tells a lot about how important integrity and honesty is to you and how little people seem to know about sponsorships. Thanks for sharing your thought-process and thanks for continuous honesty and the fact that you address things like that in a very inclusive manner (even though you shouldn't have to).
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
yep.
I woke up to someone tweeting me "motherfucker" and I read reddit/TL and see myself being called a hypocrite, leechcontrol etc etc... really hurtful stuff.
It's expected.. I am "the face" or spokesperson or w/e in many situations so I get that flak. Just needed to try and get my thoughts out there and hopefully make a difference.
I'm kinda confused,have no idea what made you type up this blog but do people really not understand the concept of sponsorship?Oo Feel like your getting trolled by someone idk lol
I am thoroughly upset to hear that no tables were flipped in the procession of this sponsorship change I already have a razer keyboard and mouse, so I'll just say I saw this comin.
I have not always liked EG for various reasons (that's me being diplomatic...) But god knows I really envy your teams ability to really put the spotlight on your sponsors and doing - as it seems to us on the outside - EVERYTHING in your power to fulfill the sponsors wishes. Nobody should or can take that away from you, certainly not before and in my mind certainly not now either.
Man, sometimes the drama in this scene is just so petty. I don't bash GSL for going from a Coca-Cola sponsorship to Pepsi to Hot6.
It's a shame you had lost the support of SS, and I'm unaware of the circumstances. Did Razer outbid SS? Did something happen elsewhere? Who knows. Either way, I don't think its really anyone's business except for the team and their backers.
I don't get why someone would be actually upset with you over this. I know I made a joke about looking forward to hearing how Razer is now the greatest from EG crew but it's all in good fun. I prefaced my joke with the opinion that if you take sponsored personalities word for products they're sponsored for, you're generally, a fool.
There is nothing wrong with peddling products because they pay your bills, you just become a corporate shill whose opinion on such products means nothing. Again that isn't bad, it's just the reality.
I can't say I'm surprised people were actually upset giving how the community functions but that's pretty sad. Funny? Ironic? Sure, but to be actually MAD? Weird as fuck.
On February 05 2013 05:23 CaucasianAsian wrote: Man, sometimes the drama in this scene is just so petty. I don't bash GSL for going from a Coca-Cola sponsorship to Pepsi to Hot6.
It's a shame you had lost the support of SS, and I'm unaware of the circumstances. Did Razer outbid SS? Did something happen elsewhere? Who knows. Either way, I don't think its really anyone's business except for the team and their backers
I believe SteelSeries actually has opted to move away from the "razer model" where you partially sponsor everything in sight so that everybody is a fan of ONE of your players/teams, and more towards the tt-esports model where they are their own team brand. This is kinda just rumours, but SteelSeries has dropped multiple teams and word is they are going to essentially solo-sponsor some teams in the near future. Essentially, if you are a fan of (player X) you are a fan of SteelSeries, not of EG who is then sponsored by SteelSeries. That is the plan
I never buy gear based solely on sponsorship (of teams I like, not me, of course)... but I do use sponsorship as a "tie-breaker" when multiple types of gear are both suitable. It amazes me that people don't realize that most mice are based on the similar (if not exactly the same) sensors, technologies, etc. Of course there are both good steelseries & razer products (and Mionix, hup hup).
That said, EG does a fantastic job of raising their sponsors to the top tier of that "tie-breaker." And I truly do value what pro gamers have to say (in a non-scripted way) about their gear. I rarely recommend heatsets rather than headphones+mic, for example, but when I did I often recommended the Steelseries Siberia based on EG players' evaluation of its comfort (especially from Machine & regarding a certain Mr. Robinson's very big head). Perhaps with this new sponsorship I will learn more about comfy Razer headphones. Perhaps something else.
Long story short, good blog, have fun with the Razer gear, and I'll recommend products that sponsor EG - on a tie-breaker basis.
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
yep.
I woke up to someone tweeting me "motherfucker" and I read reddit/TL and see myself being called a hypocrite, leechcontrol etc etc... really hurtful stuff.
It's expected.. I am "the face" or spokesperson or w/e in many situations so I get that flak. Just needed to try and get my thoughts out there and hopefully make a difference.
I think most of the hate comes from this interview at mlg months ago when you thanked razer for making products that were worse than steelseries, also thanking amd for being worse than intel... ect. ect. They weren't bad things to say back then, but now you are sponsored by razer and plugging their products after saying those things, and it comes off as a bit hypocritical.
I'm honestly surprised that video hasn't been pulled yet, as it has you pretty much hating on you're new sponsor.
Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Geoff, it's just that people in general don't like people who's opinion depends on who pays them most. But being professional you sometimes just have to do that.
And since you are a very vocal person, stuff like that can sometimes backlash, don't take it too personal mate.
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
Wait, are people actually this dumb as to call you a hypocrite and whatnot because of a business deal between your team and another company? Do people not actually know what sponsorship means? They pay you in return for advertising and using their product. It is as simple as that.
You did an amazing job representing Steelseries products, Geoff, and I imagine you will do just as good a job with Razer. Keep up the good work!
Edit: Wait, people are actually MAD about this? Wow... This community can be so fickle. That is embarrassing. Don't people have better things to do than harass people about team business deals. You know they could perhaps, instead play some type of computer game, maybe of the strategy variety, and has Star in the first part of the name. You know, if some of these people spent half the time they spend worrying about SC2 drama instead actually playing SC2 then they would probably be a lot better.
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
????
You mean the interview where I talk about taking over the world with monster shooting robots and our CEO's sole drive being to own a gold car?
You are going to cite that as an opinion piece from me? No. No.. no no no no no no.
If you can find an interview where I am NOT joking around and I say "Razer sucks" or w/e FINE use that against me. But if you want to use an interview where almost literally everything I say is untrue and a joke.. COME ON.
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
Well if he is like any other professional (not just esports) he has to be 'trusted' or the marketing doesn't 'work'. You think Anderson Silva really thinks Burger King is the best restaurant? Or that George St. Pierre really thinks Gatorade is a super healthy must have for any workout? Nope, not at all.
As consumers we have to be smart enough to not blindly follow our beloved personalities who are paid by the items they're expected to promote. We congratulate our personalities on making some money and we go and research products for ourselves. Or we can just be sheep and buy whatever incontrol or whoever tells us. Or we can purposefully buy suboptimal products as an effort to 'support' their brand, which is fine, do whatever you want.
Nobody sponsored by a corporation can give you their honest opinion on the products except in the case they really feel it's the best product. Even in this scenario they might not be 'correct' so you should still research for yourself. In a situation like this even if incontrol thinks SS is way better after testing out all the Razer stuff, you will never hear him say, 'yep razer really is bad quality, I wish I could use my SS gear again'. So despite his pleas to be trusted you really should never, ever, ever for things like this. This doesn't mean incontrol is a scummy liar and you cannot trust him. He's just sold out to a corporation and has to paint certain products in a certain light. This isn't bad or good, moral or immoral, he's just a marketing tool and will be used accordingly by the companies that pay for him.
So EG got a new sponsorship and it turns out it works like a... sponsorship? What a shocker. You'd think this wouldn't need explaining. If anything the interesting thing I guess is:
On February 05 2013 04:48 iNcontroL wrote: If you see me speaking positively about a Razer mouse/keyboard.. chances are I am doing that because I genuinely enjoy what I have found.
That's good to hear.
You get a lot of undeserved flak (and some deserved, at least in the past. But mostly undeserved.), hopefully you can ignore the haters. It doesn't really matter what some random guy on the internet says about you unless there is something you can actually learn from it (includes me I suppose). In any case you shouldn't have to defend yourself when you've done nothing wrong.
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
????
You mean the interview where I talk about taking over the world with monster shooting robots and our CEO's sole drive being to own a gold car?
You are going to cite that as an opinion piece from me? No. No.. no no no no no no.
If you can find an interview where I am NOT joking around and I say "Razer sucks" or w/e FINE use that against me. But if you want to use an interview where almost literally everything I say is untrue and a joke.. COME ON.
It's not too hard to believe you're opinion when it's not an uncommon opinion, even if the rest of the interview was a joke.
But there is a fine line. We had a very left wing anti capitalism opinion guy in the Netherland, who always appeared in talk shows, giving his opinion about how he hated bankers getting richer while screwing the poor etc. But a while later he was walking around in commercials of our biggest bank, promoting them. That was just weird
If you are just a player you can swap around sponsors as much as you want, but Geoff is not just a player, he is also a caster/talkshow host with an opinion about a lot of things. And because of that his opinion matters to this community.
And I think people now have a bit of aversion since they think that opinion can be bought. Will blow over soon though, people just need their daily drama.
"if you're being shaven don't move" is a thing all celebrities have to learn when they see the shit thrown at them in gossip glossies, isnt it, comes with being famous
We like you too Geoff, don't get too caught up on the people who are going to come in here and poke at you because they know they can get you riled up!
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
????
You mean the interview where I talk about taking over the world with monster shooting robots and our CEO's sole drive being to own a gold car?
You are going to cite that as an opinion piece from me? No. No.. no no no no no no.
If you can find an interview where I am NOT joking around and I say "Razer sucks" or w/e FINE use that against me. But if you want to use an interview where almost literally everything I say is untrue and a joke.. COME ON.
It's not too hard to believe you're opinion when it's not an uncommon opinion, even if the rest of the interview was a joke.
There is no "the rest" of the interview.. the entire thing was a joke. Including me thanking other companies for being worse than the particular ones that sponsor us.. if you really can't see that as a joke AND you think I am lying right now then you may want to get a tinfoil hat for your tinfoil hat because the government can still hear your thoughts.
On February 05 2013 05:40 vividred wrote: Why can't they just say "thanks x for supporting me" like any other decent endorsers
and not some overhyped bullshit like "oh x is the best thing evar xdxdxdxd"
Huh, I wonder why EG makes a lot of money. Must be because they have cool names and 8 players in Code S, right? Don't be silly. The fact that EG "overhypes" their sponsors is the very reason that they are so successful from a financial standpoint.
Unless they have some new products coming out, I dont think Razer has a suspension headset, right? Have fun trying to get used to clamp headsets if that is true lol.
I agree with the few others that have said or hinted towards professionals blatently lying to the fans about what they think of products. If you really honestly do think that X product is the best you have ever used, you can say that, but don't say it just because they pay you to, or that you think you have to. I agree with thanking them for their sponsorship, plugging their site or whatever and then moving on from there.
I guess we cant force you to not lie, do what you want obviously, but just know that it rubs some people the wrong way and might even scare people away from those products.
And to all those out there that get hyped just because some "pro" says X product is the best, don't fall for this. Make your own decision to buy a product, look at long time customers and what they had to say about the quality in their reviews, or listen to a friend who has X product and try it out before you buy it, and dont listen to hype. Hype is the perfect catalyst for disappointment, and that is something the gaming and tech industry needs to learn.
Unfortunately, I cant say that im surprised that the community has reacted as it has so far, nor do I think that this post by you will do much to change that. That being said, its because of your continuously well written posts and voice in the community that I will GLADLY buy razer products solely because you recommend them, as I would have done with steel series when you were sponsored by them. gl managing the haters.
Keep doing what you're doing, I'm a huge fan of EG because I think they're the most professional team when it comes to plugging their sponsors / community interaction / having a long last business model. Good luck with the Razer sponsorship!
I remember I bought a 6GV2 because it had the EG logo on the packaging, and I had seen the damn thing plastered over every EG stream overlay. I didn't like the blackswitches in particular, but I did like the keyboard overall, and I also had the added satisfaction of *supporting* EG even though it was very miniscule contribution.
Don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm glad you made it more readily clear to the average fan that you didn't have any malicious intent (subjectively) praising SS products.
And I'll be happy to buy another Abyssus (probably my favorite mouse) as this one is wearing out, with the same satisfaction I had before buying a 6GV2.
While I am no EG fanboy, they do take an unbelievable amount of flack for their endorsements (in a nutshell they are the wet dream of pretty much every other team), in that I guess because as a team they do a great job of staying on message. I can't think of an interview in the last few years where Geoff didn't sign off by saying, "...thank you to SS, Monster etc etc..." Hopefully this partnership is a fruitful one for both parties involved.
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
????
You mean the interview where I talk about taking over the world with monster shooting robots and our CEO's sole drive being to own a gold car?
You are going to cite that as an opinion piece from me? No. No.. no no no no no no.
If you can find an interview where I am NOT joking around and I say "Razer sucks" or w/e FINE use that against me. But if you want to use an interview where almost literally everything I say is untrue and a joke.. COME ON.
It's not too hard to believe you're opinion when it's not an uncommon opinion, even if the rest of the interview was a joke.
Lol, talk about hearing what you want to hear. You just glossed over the Monster spraying robot killing machines and Incontrol thanking the mothers of his many children he had while engaged, and nevermind the obvious light hearted atmosphere and constant joking throughout the interview, you took the Razer/AMD comments seriously? Oh you...
On February 05 2013 06:17 ThomasjServo wrote: While I am no EG fanboy, they do take an unbelievable amount of flack for their endorsements (in a nutshell they are the wet dream of pretty much every other team), in that I guess because as a team they do a great job of staying on message. I can't think of an interview in the last few years where Geoff didn't sign off by saying, "...thank you to SS, Monster etc etc..." Hopefully this partnership is a fruitful one for both parties involved.
That flak is well deserved in more ways than others, in my opinion. The assumption, rightfully so, is that the handful of teams that receive the most sponsorship money and attention, are believed to get those sponsors because of the success of their players. If EG is one of the top 3 or whatever teams that receive sponsorship money, and EG is NOT one of the top 3 teams in the world in terms of player skill and success, that creates questions and skepticism in the minds of the fans, and that often turns into the flack that you see so often.
Hopefully EG takes the 'flak' and turns it into motivation, or something positive.
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
????
You mean the interview where I talk about taking over the world with monster shooting robots and our CEO's sole drive being to own a gold car?
You are going to cite that as an opinion piece from me? No. No.. no no no no no no.
If you can find an interview where I am NOT joking around and I say "Razer sucks" or w/e FINE use that against me. But if you want to use an interview where almost literally everything I say is untrue and a joke.. COME ON.
It's not too hard to believe you're opinion when it's not an uncommon opinion, even if the rest of the interview was a joke.
There is no "the rest" of the interview.. the entire thing was a joke. Including me thanking other companies for being worse than the particular ones that sponsor us.. if you really can't see that as a joke AND you think I am lying right now then you may want to get a tinfoil hat for your tinfoil hat because the government can still hear your thoughts.
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
It does nothing of that sort. There will be oblivious people no matter what as I've seen in the other thread. Geoff doesn't owe anybody anything.
Any who, I find it funny that you guys aren't allowed to certain equipment if you really wanted to. Look at NHL players for instance, everyone uses different gear whether it be an endorsement deal or not. They go with what suits them as individuals and then you have the corporate sponsors of the team that will pay to have their brands advertised on the boards. There are still plenty of opportunities to endorse their products without using everything that's theirs. Just saying! :D
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
It does nothing of that sort. There will be oblivious people no matter what as I've seen in the other thread. Geoff doesn't owe anybody anything.
Any who, I find it funny that you guys aren't allowed to certain equipment if you really wanted to. Look at NHL players for instance, everyone uses different gear whether it be an endorsement deal or not. They go with what suits them as individuals and then you have the corporate sponsors of the team that will pay to have their brands advertised on the boards. There are still plenty of opportunities to endorse their products without using everything that's theirs. Just saying! :D
HuK has been using his Abyssus forever, and Stephano still used his Death Adder for a longgggggggggggg time before he supposedly switched over to a Xai.
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
It does nothing of that sort. There will be oblivious people no matter what as I've seen in the other thread. Geoff doesn't owe anybody anything.
Any who, I find it funny that you guys aren't allowed to certain equipment if you really wanted to. Look at NHL players for instance, everyone uses different gear whether it be an endorsement deal or not. They go with what suits them as individuals and then you have the corporate sponsors of the team that will pay to have their brands advertised on the boards. There are still plenty of opportunities to endorse their products without using everything that's theirs. Just saying! :D
Can you re-explain how your post pertains to mine that you quoted?
On February 05 2013 06:17 ThomasjServo wrote: While I am no EG fanboy, they do take an unbelievable amount of flack for their endorsements (in a nutshell they are the wet dream of pretty much every other team), in that I guess because as a team they do a great job of staying on message. I can't think of an interview in the last few years where Geoff didn't sign off by saying, "...thank you to SS, Monster etc etc..." Hopefully this partnership is a fruitful one for both parties involved.
That flak is well deserved in more ways than others, in my opinion. The assumption, rightfully so, is that the handful of teams that receive the most sponsorship money and attention, are believed to get those sponsors because of the success of their players. If EG is one of the top 3 or whatever teams that receive sponsorship money, and EG is NOT one of the top 3 teams in the world in terms of player skill and success, that creates questions and skepticism in the minds of the fans, and that often turns into the flack that you see so often.
Hopefully EG takes the 'flak' and turns it into motivation, or something positive.
In terms of scope and stability of the business side of eSports EG represents a really stable investment relative to even some of the "top three teams," to which you allude. EG without a doubt has is best equipped of the foreign teams to attract top talent who in turn draw more focus onto the brands they represent.
If their ability to secure mutually beneficial business relations is confusing or creates questions as to the "validity," of the arrangement it doesn't fall to EG to explain themselves though it may behoove them to do so in certain cases.
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
????
You mean the interview where I talk about taking over the world with monster shooting robots and our CEO's sole drive being to own a gold car?
You are going to cite that as an opinion piece from me? No. No.. no no no no no no.
If you can find an interview where I am NOT joking around and I say "Razer sucks" or w/e FINE use that against me. But if you want to use an interview where almost literally everything I say is untrue and a joke.. COME ON.
It's not too hard to believe you're opinion when it's not an uncommon opinion, even if the rest of the interview was a joke.
There is no "the rest" of the interview.. the entire thing was a joke. Including me thanking other companies for being worse than the particular ones that sponsor us.. if you really can't see that as a joke AND you think I am lying right now then you may want to get a tinfoil hat for your tinfoil hat because the government can still hear your thoughts.
would you feel comfortable doing the same joke next MLG about how bad steelseries is?
Perfectly normal business-like-behaviour. As previously stated, the only abnormal thing is the necessity of such posts.
Who in their right mind would critique you for promoting he who puts bread on your table?
Also, I suppose the 'internet hate' serves as a lesson to yourself, preventing you in the future from (potentially) burning bridges and making unnecessary statements
Gotta be a problem for current players that have to switch gear? I as a noob have problem playing with other mouse / keyboards. If a programer have played with one set for years, then forced to switch, how can that be only good for E.G. as you state? It gotta affect the players preformance to some degree?
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
It does nothing of that sort. There will be oblivious people no matter what as I've seen in the other thread. Geoff doesn't owe anybody anything.
Any who, I find it funny that you guys aren't allowed to certain equipment if you really wanted to. Look at NHL players for instance, everyone uses different gear whether it be an endorsement deal or not. They go with what suits them as individuals and then you have the corporate sponsors of the team that will pay to have their brands advertised on the boards. There are still plenty of opportunities to endorse their products without using everything that's theirs. Just saying! :D
HuK has been using his Abyssus forever, and Stephano still used his Death Adder for a longgggggggggggg time before he supposedly switched over to a Xai.
There you go! I guess what Geoff said is a little misleading. Sure, he'll make the switch to everything if he sees fit because who doesn't like free stuff, right?
Like I said in the other thread, endorsement deals are a little bit different from sponsorship deals and there are still tons of ways the players can help advertise and market the products. Doesn't mean they have to use everything Razer makes when all the marbles are on the line.
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
It does nothing of that sort. There will be oblivious people no matter what as I've seen in the other thread. Geoff doesn't owe anybody anything.
Any who, I find it funny that you guys aren't allowed to certain equipment if you really wanted to. Look at NHL players for instance, everyone uses different gear whether it be an endorsement deal or not. They go with what suits them as individuals and then you have the corporate sponsors of the team that will pay to have their brands advertised on the boards. There are still plenty of opportunities to endorse their products without using everything that's theirs. Just saying! :D
Can you re-explain how your post pertains to mine that you quoted?
My point is just because you are surrounded by a ridiculous amount of blundering idiots doesn't mean you have to try and explain everything to them. In other words, you aren't changing anything. They'll still exist.
It's cool I don't see the drama here an why people should hate. Steelseries makes good stuff. Razer does too. Your job on eg is too expose the people who pay you, and win. I don't hate you for hyping steelseries and now that razer is your sponsor that's fine too. Go hype them up wherever you go. At the end of the day I'm a fan of EG. And if razer wants to spend money on eg that's awesome.
Personally I used Razer products first and always enjoyed my mice while the keyboards...not so much. I now have switched to a Logitech g9x and a SS 6gv2 cherry red and love them both! I would recommend different companies for different peripherals and quite honestly that is what Geoff will be doing as well. He gives his honest wholehearted opinion on what he would and would not recommend T_T Why the hate?
A good post. It's a shame this kind of lesson is needed, but I do suppose a lot of young people do traverse these boards who might not know how things work.
On February 05 2013 06:17 ThomasjServo wrote: While I am no EG fanboy, they do take an unbelievable amount of flack for their endorsements (in a nutshell they are the wet dream of pretty much every other team), in that I guess because as a team they do a great job of staying on message. I can't think of an interview in the last few years where Geoff didn't sign off by saying, "...thank you to SS, Monster etc etc..." Hopefully this partnership is a fruitful one for both parties involved.
That flak is well deserved in more ways than others, in my opinion. The assumption, rightfully so, is that the handful of teams that receive the most sponsorship money and attention, are believed to get those sponsors because of the success of their players. If EG is one of the top 3 or whatever teams that receive sponsorship money, and EG is NOT one of the top 3 teams in the world in terms of player skill and success, that creates questions and skepticism in the minds of the fans, and that often turns into the flack that you see so often.
Hopefully EG takes the 'flak' and turns it into motivation, or something positive.
If you really think that only Teams with best results should get Sponsors, than you are just delusional, because this is just bogus. If a Team makes their Sponsors happy, gives them shoutouts, reminds everyone what they mean for the community, let fans memorize every Sponsor of their Team, how in the world is that worse than getting to be the top 3 Team for the Sponsors? Naturally Sponsors are waaaaaaaaay more happy with their Team, when they make Publicity for them.
And i dont know what you mean with questions and skepticism in the minds of the fans? And why should EG except this flak when it isnt deserved?
I don't really see the point of this blog, at least from a personal perspective. The people it's addressing are probably the least interested in anything reasonable that you have to say. That's not intended to be a criticism of you: people who bother to send you dumb messages like 'motherfucker' or spending time complaining about you plugging a new sponsor are unlikely to be persuaded by further plugging of the new sponsor. This is true even when your excitement of Razor's sponsoring is genuine.
Reasonable folk understand that, most of the time, (if not all) people will not regularly use and plug gear they don't like - otherwise they wouldn't be using it! (Though it's probably a little bit different for team sponsorships...)
In short: I'm sorry that there are people who send messages like 'motherfucker' to your inbox but I can't imagine your time is well spent by addressing them. I'm also kinda sorry this addresses you, Incontrol. I guess it's more of a lamentation that there are people who find insulting you personally, for whatever reason, acceptable.
On February 05 2013 07:57 Absentia wrote: I don't really see the point of this blog, at least from a personal perspective. The people it's addressing are probably the least interested in anything reasonable that you have to say. That's not intended to be a criticism of you: people who bother to send you dumb messages like 'motherfucker' or spending time complaining about you plugging a new sponsor are unlikely to be persuaded by further plugging of the new sponsor. This is true even when your excitement of Razor's sponsoring is genuine.
Reasonable folk understand that, most of the time, (if not all) people will not regularly use and plug gear they don't like - otherwise they wouldn't be using it! (Though it's probably a little bit different for team sponsorships...)
In short: I'm sorry that there are people who send messages like 'motherfucker' to your inbox but I can't imagine your time is well spent by addressing them. I'm also kinda sorry this addresses you, Incontrol. I guess it's more of a lamentation that there are people who find insulting you personally, for whatever reason, acceptable.
Alas, the internet...
See Sn0_Man, he gets it. Geoff you can do whatever the heck you want in your free time but remember you don't owe anyone anything.
On February 05 2013 05:21 farvacola wrote: I am thoroughly upset to hear that no tables were flipped in the procession of this sponsorship change I already have a razer keyboard and mouse, so I'll just say I saw this comin.
I also will chime in on being a hipster on this. I have a Deathadder 3.5G and BlackWidow Stealth 2013. (No problems, although I admit that I will not use the Synapse Drivers, because it made my Deathadder TOO sensitive.)
Now back to the meat of the story. EG is a team, but also part a marketing machine. (Look at those HyperX commercials, which I haven't seen Geoff in. Freaking gold man. Also, why haven't you done one Geoff?) Being sponsored by a company doesn't necessarily mean you like all of their products, think they're the best... but it does mean that you can accentuate the positive aspects (and there are positives about both SS and Razer) of the products you represent and have an opportunity to use those products to discover and highlight them. SS makes good products. So does Razer. Both have their problems, but they also have their good points. (I had serious trouble deciding between a SS and Razer mouse - mostly because the SS one had a sexy picture of Grubby on it. Eventually Razer won on price and name recognition - and SS wouldn't have been in the running if not for EG's work. I just couldn't justify the price point when compared to the fact that I am NOT remotely near Geoff's level of play.)
So let the haters hate, Geoff, and just continue to do what you do. Although you should see if maybe you can talk a sponsorship out of Everlast or a similar fitness company. Take care of yourself, man - I know you are getting into a serious practice regimen (you're streaming a LOT of hours) and that blood clot was scary timed to the apparent increase in grinding out games. And I'd love it if you could get a discount code for Razer, like EG did with the Siberia back when. I've been eyeing some of Razer's audio products.
GL with the new sponsorship! (Just wish sponsors were more diversified, and not so focused on the gaming/computer arena. Seriously, I was ecstatic over the NASL Stamps.com deal.)
I genuinly dont understand why you would have to explain yourself to anyone ever. 99% of the population on this earth understand how sponsorship works, that you are obliged to promote your sponsors, and there is nothing wrong with that,
the people who are calling you names and being assholes, are either trolls or incredibly immature if they actually feel some kind of moral connection with a company...
Between the two, Razer keyboards have never been my fancy. I've used the blackwidow, and I love my WASD a lot more. On the flip side, their mice kick ass, I've used by lachesis for years now. I thought about buying a steel series keyboard, but was dissuaded (not because they are bad, I personally think that of the two, SS is the better keyboard maker) because of the timing and the price. I'm slightly surprised that you are doing this blog preemptively, rather than post criticism. Either way, I'm sure this blog accomplished what you had hoped it to.
Marketing dominates TL recently. It's either discussion about awesome Asus commercial, or sponsorship changes or buying LG monitors. Noone really seems to give a shit about the game. It's all about the show.
People like Incontrol shouldn't even be relevant to ANYONE on this site. Who the fuck is this guy? I don't hate him, nor do I like him. I just don't give a fuck. He's totally irrelevant. If you think otherwise, please realize that you don't give a shit about this game, you care about the show. And that's fine, but please realize this and say up front that you're in for the show. Please don't take this as a hate towards Incontrol, cause it's not. In terms of competitive SC2 he doesn't exist, there is nothing that will change that. He is 100% talk, PR and marketing and he himself knows that.
Truth means little to TL folk, it seems. Yes, marketing rules the world. Yes, a man has to pay his bills. But taking part in that is nothing to be proud of. Please don't say that it's perfectly normal, don't justify it.
A statement can either be true or false. So simple...
On February 05 2013 08:44 BlaineMono wrote: Marketing dominates TL recently. It's either discussion about awesome Asus commercial, or sponsorship changes or buying LG monitors. Noone really seems to give a shit about the game. It's all about the show.
People like Incontrol shouldn't even be relevant to ANYONE on this site. Who the fuck is this guy? I don't hate him, nor do I like him. I just don't give a fuck. He's totally irrelevant. If you think otherwise, please realize that you don't give a shit about this game, you care about the show. And that's fine, but please realize this and say up front that you're in for the show. Please don't take this as a hate towards Incontrol, cause it's not. In terms of competitive SC2 he doesn't exist, there is nothing that will change that. He is 100% talk, PR and marketing and he himself knows that.
Truth means little to TL folk, it seems. Yes, marketing rules the world. Yes, a man has to pay his bills. But taking part in that is nothing to be proud of. Please don't say that it's perfectly normal, don't justify it.
A statement can either be true or false. So simple...
User was warned for this post
Everything is pretty much viral marketing now, a few days ago the reddit front page was cluttered with Taco Bell and Oreo ads. Happens naturally with a generation that doesn't watch TV and adblocks banner ads. (and it's much more effective too)
They say there's no such thing as bad publicity. I suppose it's true, in some regard.
No matter how stupid people on TL and Reddit may be, the fact is that the hot topic of the moment is Razor and EG. Goes to show how big EG is, that a sponsorship deal completely outstrips everything else about SC2.
On February 05 2013 11:06 WolfintheSheep wrote: They say there's no such thing as bad publicity. I suppose it's true, in some regard.
No matter how stupid people on TL and Reddit may be, the fact is that the hot topic of the moment is Razor and EG. Goes to show how big EG is, that a sponsorship deal completely outstrips everything else about SC2.
to be fair, there's nothing else to talk about lol
On February 05 2013 08:44 BlaineMono wrote: Marketing dominates TL recently. It's either discussion about awesome Asus commercial, or sponsorship changes or buying LG monitors. Noone really seems to give a shit about the game. It's all about the show.
People like Incontrol shouldn't even be relevant to ANYONE on this site. Who the fuck is this guy? I don't hate him, nor do I like him. I just don't give a fuck. He's totally irrelevant. If you think otherwise, please realize that you don't give a shit about this game, you care about the show. And that's fine, but please realize this and say up front that you're in for the show. Please don't take this as a hate towards Incontrol, cause it's not. In terms of competitive SC2 he doesn't exist, there is nothing that will change that. He is 100% talk, PR and marketing and he himself knows that.
Truth means little to TL folk, it seems. Yes, marketing rules the world. Yes, a man has to pay his bills. But taking part in that is nothing to be proud of. Please don't say that it's perfectly normal, don't justify it.
A statement can either be true or false. So simple...
User was warned for this post
Quoted for truth. Incontrol with his ''0-5'' in every group and hogging up MLG slots, he became quite the thorn in the eye for most competitive players. The whole drama of Incontrol vs Destiny, or TotalBiscuit is only in SC2 for the money and many other incidents doest exactly help. CombatEX is very vocal about his opinion on this matter, but every other StarCraft 2 player already knew.
People forget that he is a PR & Marketing guy now, a spokesperson representing certain brands or whathaveyou.
Of course he will play things off as a joke, tell you to buy Razer now instead of SS and just purely market the brand and/or himself. Dont expect him to act otherwise.
I suggest you guys to read Animal Farm by George Orwell, a great book about this kind of corporate occurences. Playing the victim role isnt going to help either. There is a fine line between selling and selling out.
On February 05 2013 08:44 BlaineMono wrote: Marketing dominates TL recently. It's either discussion about awesome Asus commercial, or sponsorship changes or buying LG monitors. Noone really seems to give a shit about the game. It's all about the show.
People like Incontrol shouldn't even be relevant to ANYONE on this site. Who the fuck is this guy? I don't hate him, nor do I like him. I just don't give a fuck. He's totally irrelevant. If you think otherwise, please realize that you don't give a shit about this game, you care about the show. And that's fine, but please realize this and say up front that you're in for the show. Please don't take this as a hate towards Incontrol, cause it's not. In terms of competitive SC2 he doesn't exist, there is nothing that will change that. He is 100% talk, PR and marketing and he himself knows that.
Truth means little to TL folk, it seems. Yes, marketing rules the world. Yes, a man has to pay his bills. But taking part in that is nothing to be proud of. Please don't say that it's perfectly normal, don't justify it.
A statement can either be true or false. So simple...
User was warned for this post
Quoted for truth. Incontrol with his ''0-5'' in every group and hogging up MLG slots, he became quite the thorn in the eye for most competitive players. The whole drama of Incontrol vs Destiny, or TotalBiscuit is only in SC2 for the money and many other incidents doest exactly help. CombatEX is very vocal about his opinion on this matter, but every other StarCraft 2 player already knew.
People forget that he is a PR & Marketing guy now, a spokesperson representing certain brands or whathaveyou.
Of course he will play things off as a joke, tell you to buy Razer now instead of SS and just purely market the brand and/or himself. Dont expect him to act otherwise.
I suggest you guys to read Animal Farm by George Orwell, a great book about this kind of corporate occurences. Playing the victim role isnt going to help either. There is a fine line between selling and selling out.
1) You don't know any players. At all. Maybe some signed some autographs. Maybe some responded to a few of your post. But to pretend that you speak on behalf of them is sheer arrogance.
2) No one forgot InControl's job. Perhaps these "people" you refer to are goldfish. In which case, I wouldn't recommend using them for an argument.
3) Name dropping a famous book does make your rant any more coherent. I suggest you read War and Peace to figure out why.
4) Clearly you despise any organization that accepts money from, and promotes, any sponsor. This is why you would never post on TeamLiquid, a team that would dare to market Razer products to you despite being non-committal in their gaming gear preferences prior to big fat checks.
5) "Fine line between selling and selling out" is a cute line. Very poetic. However, if it was supposed to mean something, I suggest actually writing some content instead of a tagline. I suppose InControl is selling his noble integrity, because now he gags on his own vomit every time he promotes Razer? Clearly he believed that Razer was the devil one week ago, and he now has no soul left.
I actually just feel bad for you after reading some of your comments. People actually attack you over this? I think they are all just trying to get a rise out of you... I can't see how anybody with half a brain could come to some of the conclusions I've read and actually mean it.
What a strange frame of mind some people have in regards to incontrol being a "hypocrite." Do you guys actually listen to people's opinions on products from companies that are sponsoring them?
What should be happening is everyone should just be super happy that EG has a new sponsor and that esports / sc2 is still alive. The amount of people who just don't get it should be small enough that a blog like this doesn't make sense to post.
Don't get your product recommendations from anyone but the neutral consumer. Even then, always take it with a grain of salt, because they might not actually be a neutral consumer. Check potentially paid reviewers and advertisements for facts only, like "this product has this feature and this feature" but never for anything about quality. This is just common sense...
Anyway, grats on your new sponsor EG and incontrol, I will probably buy a razer mamba as soon as they make a version that isn't widely disliked by the gaming community, cause I really want a great looking, high quality wireless gaming mouse but can't find one (on a g9 atm... nice but really hating wired with current setup). I might jump over to the g700 which meets half my requirements but the mamba just looks so nice... Also, my razer keyboard is great and I want to support the company that's making it clear they support esports.
On February 05 2013 04:48 iNcontroL wrote: As you may have heard today Evil Geniuses announced the peripheral sponsorship of Razer. This of course came after the sponsorship of Steelseries came to an end. You can read about it here: RAZER
This is a huge change obviously as SS and Razer are basically the two big dogs in the competitive gaming world when it comes to PC peripherals. I felt compelled to speak about this because I am fairly well known for being a vocal supporter of one product or another and have "starred" in videos/interviews etc.. where I speak about products.
Let me start off by saying while SS was a business relationship with team Evil Geniuses I personally came to be good friends with Kim Rom, Stu and others as we were partnered and I have the utmost respect for them and will always appreciate the time I spent with them in that capacity. When a team switches sponsorship very rarely is it because behind closed doors a table was flipped, someone's mom was insulted or what have you.. that is no different here. You will not be hearing mean spirited words from me or you will not sniff out any drama from EG on this subject.. it is a pretty standard situation that happens in sports as well as eSports: For one reason or another two parties can agree/disagree to continue to work together.
With SS leaving this means a few things:
1. I was not being dishonest when I recommended their gear. You can say what you want, I've been called/read it all: I only liked them because of money etc etc.
The bottom line is I think their stuff is great. I came to know them because they stepped forward and supported EG in a big way. Through their sponsorship I worked with their staff/gear and I genuinely enjoyed what I found.
2. I now cannot use their products because I am sponsored by a competitor and that is fine. When EG is sponsored by a peripheral company we try and get them as much exposure as possible so we can achieve the value we are known for. There is no angst here. There is no bitterness.. just business.
With being sponsored by Razer this means a few things:
1. I am excited to try out new gear. Way back in the day I used a Razer Diamondback, Lachesis and mousepads. They were my first "competitive" gaming gear provider. I wasn't sponsored by them or anything I just thought they looked cool (I was 12).
This point is especially important to me. YES I am sponsored by them. YES that means my company receives money from them. YES I can understand why you may read that as some kind of problem given my previous sponsorship by SS. But to me, it is a normal occurrence in business where I now get to explore the other side of the fence. If you see me speaking positively about a Razer mouse/keyboard.. chances are I am doing that because I genuinely enjoy what I have found. So let me break it down again because to me this is the biggest issue: Sponsorship dictates what product I use. My thoughts on said product are almost never scripted (that is me being scientific, I can't think of a time I actually was handed a script for SS) and that often results in support from me and positive language on said product. Remember: I was one of the people that said blackswitch 6gv2's aren't the best... red switch was awesome though etc.
2. EG is as big as it is because of how well we serve our sponsors. In the past I have asked you to support EG/our sponsors by buying their products.. here I will do the same. When EG gets picked up by Razer like we have.. if we can bring in business for Razer that means ONLY good things for EG. So I fully understand.. those of you that have tweeted at me or EG saying "I bought X SS product to support EG" I and all of EG THANK YOU but you will be hearing us switch those pleas to Razer and hopefully that makes sense to you. If you need a new mouse / keyboard etc.. and you still want to do something to support EG the same applies! Pick up a Razer product and tweet at them just like you have in the past.
It really is that simple. This part also makes me uncomfortable because I know on some level this concept will not be understood or appreciated by folk and I carry that burden as one of the most vocal people that supports their sponsors.
To finish...
I know this was long winded. I know a lot of you simply don't care or are not interested.. I am expressing this because it's important to me. I speak out a LOT and I support those that support me so on this particular issue I feel it has some gravity on me as a person. I wanted a chance to explain my thought process and hopefully give you all an opportunity to comment on my thoughts/situation without purely speculating.
TLDR: Had a great time with SS. Excited to work with Razer and use their products. I will be supportive of Razer and that's ok. I like you guys and want you to know what I think
Try out the Deathadder 2013/ Krait 2013/Abyssus, hands down the best mice in the market. These are the only mice with flawless sensors.
On February 05 2013 05:23 CaucasianAsian wrote: Man, sometimes the drama in this scene is just so petty. I don't bash GSL for going from a Coca-Cola sponsorship to Pepsi to Hot6.
It's a shame you had lost the support of SS, and I'm unaware of the circumstances. Did Razer outbid SS? Did something happen elsewhere? Who knows. Either way, I don't think its really anyone's business except for the team and their backers.
I'm glad you're doing well, and keep it up!
Is it ok to bash them if they go away from Hot6 though? I need them to yell that shit every game, makes the GSL for me.
On February 05 2013 04:48 iNcontroL wrote: As you may have heard today Evil Geniuses announced the peripheral sponsorship of Razer. This of course came after the sponsorship of Steelseries came to an end. You can read about it here: RAZER
This is a huge change obviously as SS and Razer are basically the two big dogs in the competitive gaming world when it comes to PC peripherals. I felt compelled to speak about this because I am fairly well known for being a vocal supporter of one product or another and have "starred" in videos/interviews etc.. where I speak about products.
Let me start off by saying while SS was a business relationship with team Evil Geniuses I personally came to be good friends with Kim Rom, Stu and others as we were partnered and I have the utmost respect for them and will always appreciate the time I spent with them in that capacity. When a team switches sponsorship very rarely is it because behind closed doors a table was flipped, someone's mom was insulted or what have you.. that is no different here. You will not be hearing mean spirited words from me or you will not sniff out any drama from EG on this subject.. it is a pretty standard situation that happens in sports as well as eSports: For one reason or another two parties can agree/disagree to continue to work together.
With SS leaving this means a few things:
1. I was not being dishonest when I recommended their gear. You can say what you want, I've been called/read it all: I only liked them because of money etc etc.
The bottom line is I think their stuff is great. I came to know them because they stepped forward and supported EG in a big way. Through their sponsorship I worked with their staff/gear and I genuinely enjoyed what I found.
2. I now cannot use their products because I am sponsored by a competitor and that is fine. When EG is sponsored by a peripheral company we try and get them as much exposure as possible so we can achieve the value we are known for. There is no angst here. There is no bitterness.. just business.
With being sponsored by Razer this means a few things:
1. I am excited to try out new gear. Way back in the day I used a Razer Diamondback, Lachesis and mousepads. They were my first "competitive" gaming gear provider. I wasn't sponsored by them or anything I just thought they looked cool (I was 12).
This point is especially important to me. YES I am sponsored by them. YES that means my company receives money from them. YES I can understand why you may read that as some kind of problem given my previous sponsorship by SS. But to me, it is a normal occurrence in business where I now get to explore the other side of the fence. If you see me speaking positively about a Razer mouse/keyboard.. chances are I am doing that because I genuinely enjoy what I have found. So let me break it down again because to me this is the biggest issue: Sponsorship dictates what product I use. My thoughts on said product are almost never scripted (that is me being scientific, I can't think of a time I actually was handed a script for SS) and that often results in support from me and positive language on said product. Remember: I was one of the people that said blackswitch 6gv2's aren't the best... red switch was awesome though etc.
2. EG is as big as it is because of how well we serve our sponsors. In the past I have asked you to support EG/our sponsors by buying their products.. here I will do the same. When EG gets picked up by Razer like we have.. if we can bring in business for Razer that means ONLY good things for EG. So I fully understand.. those of you that have tweeted at me or EG saying "I bought X SS product to support EG" I and all of EG THANK YOU but you will be hearing us switch those pleas to Razer and hopefully that makes sense to you. If you need a new mouse / keyboard etc.. and you still want to do something to support EG the same applies! Pick up a Razer product and tweet at them just like you have in the past.
It really is that simple. This part also makes me uncomfortable because I know on some level this concept will not be understood or appreciated by folk and I carry that burden as one of the most vocal people that supports their sponsors.
To finish...
I know this was long winded. I know a lot of you simply don't care or are not interested.. I am expressing this because it's important to me. I speak out a LOT and I support those that support me so on this particular issue I feel it has some gravity on me as a person. I wanted a chance to explain my thought process and hopefully give you all an opportunity to comment on my thoughts/situation without purely speculating.
TLDR: Had a great time with SS. Excited to work with Razer and use their products. I will be supportive of Razer and that's ok. I like you guys and want you to know what I think
Try out the Deathadder 2013/ Krait 2013/Abyssus, hands down the best mice in the market. These are the only mice with flawless sensors.
Yes, both the Deathadder 4G & Krait 4G have the latest & greatest in optical sensors. I highly recommend trying them out first. The Abyssus has a similar last-gen sensor (this is not a downside, it's also a great sensor), and may be better for you if it's the right size/weight, etc.
I always like it when Incontrol blogs. I appreciated this because it is very rational and even handed. He reminds us about tha business nature of esports and what it requires.
On February 05 2013 18:00 TurnipThrowingPeach wrote: I've had a mix of razer and SS products so its all groovy here. They both have their pros/cons. It's a matter of preference, really.
They both have awesome stuff. Great products all around. I think Razer is actually a little better to look for if you're on a budget, but if you're going all out it's REALLY tough to not buy SS with some of the stuff they have out there.
I doubt anyone really thinks that this is something to be surprised about. Of course someone will praise their sponsors, no matter what he thinks about them. What's way more strange is the fact, that people really believe someone plugging their sponsor for being the best shit out there. Seriously? You should always buy gear based on reviews, tests, where they really test the products, not just words from random people you know over the internet -.-
On February 05 2013 08:44 BlaineMono wrote: Marketing dominates TL recently. It's either discussion about awesome Asus commercial, or sponsorship changes or buying LG monitors. Noone really seems to give a shit about the game. It's all about the show.
People like Incontrol shouldn't even be relevant to ANYONE on this site. Who the fuck is this guy? I don't hate him, nor do I like him. I just don't give a fuck. He's totally irrelevant. If you think otherwise, please realize that you don't give a shit about this game, you care about the show. And that's fine, but please realize this and say up front that you're in for the show. Please don't take this as a hate towards Incontrol, cause it's not. In terms of competitive SC2 he doesn't exist, there is nothing that will change that. He is 100% talk, PR and marketing and he himself knows that.
Truth means little to TL folk, it seems. Yes, marketing rules the world. Yes, a man has to pay his bills. But taking part in that is nothing to be proud of. Please don't say that it's perfectly normal, don't justify it.
A statement can either be true or false. So simple...
User was warned for this post
Quoted for truth. Incontrol with his ''0-5'' in every group and hogging up MLG slots, he became quite the thorn in the eye for most competitive players. The whole drama of Incontrol vs Destiny, or TotalBiscuit is only in SC2 for the money and many other incidents doest exactly help. CombatEX is very vocal about his opinion on this matter, but every other StarCraft 2 player already knew.
People forget that he is a PR & Marketing guy now, a spokesperson representing certain brands or whathaveyou.
Of course he will play things off as a joke, tell you to buy Razer now instead of SS and just purely market the brand and/or himself. Dont expect him to act otherwise.
I suggest you guys to read Animal Farm by George Orwell, a great book about this kind of corporate occurences. Playing the victim role isnt going to help either. There is a fine line between selling and selling out.
1) You don't know any players. At all. Maybe some signed some autographs. Maybe some responded to a few of your post. But to pretend that you speak on behalf of them is sheer arrogance.
2) No one forgot InControl's job. Perhaps these "people" you refer to are goldfish. In which case, I wouldn't recommend using them for an argument.
3) Name dropping a famous book does make your rant any more coherent. I suggest you read War and Peace to figure out why.
4) Clearly you despise any organization that accepts money from, and promotes, any sponsor. This is why you would never post on TeamLiquid, a team that would dare to market Razer products to you despite being non-committal in their gaming gear preferences prior to big fat checks.
5) "Fine line between selling and selling out" is a cute line. Very poetic. However, if it was supposed to mean something, I suggest actually writing some content instead of a tagline. I suppose InControl is selling his noble integrity, because now he gags on his own vomit every time he promotes Razer? Clearly he believed that Razer was the devil one week ago, and he now has no soul left.
First of all, whoa Incontrol defence force ! I dont know any players? At all? Quite some big assumptions you are making there. Just accusing me of arrogance (ad hominem) isnt going to take away that Incontrol had (alot) of incidents in the past, which just seems to add up. There are a lot of shady stuff going under the radar that you might not even heared about, like un-resheduled coaching sessions etc. It all piles up.
He is a PR & Marketing guy now, a spokesperson representing certain brands. Therefore he will ''jokingly'' have a go at Razor, but when its Razor picking up EG he will ofcourse apologise and tell everybody it was nothing to worry about. Cant people just thank the sponsors like Stephano does, instead of glorifying the SS product and having to contradict oneself later on?
Want some more poetry? In my previous post I have listed some of the incidents/facts Incontrol has caused, without any personal attacks or insults. People who post in a critical way about Incontrol get warnings, posts on reddit get downvoted to oblivion. Guess people like the beautifull lie rather than the painfull thruth.
In no way do I deny what Incontrol has done for esports in a positive light, his Kingston Hyper X casts as well as features on 2GD show are quite hilarious. Just because someone is put on a pedestal doesnt mean we cant critisize him
I own a Razer keyboard, a SS mouse pad, 3 Razer mice and 1 SS mouse and I don't use any of them except for the mouse pad. I just stick with my cheap 15 dollar Microsoft blue optical mouse, works perfectly.
In general I think 'gaming gear' is just a big ripoff. standard mice and keyboards work just as well.
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
Why would you even post this, I don't understand. Retards are retards and will continue to be retards, who cares if said retards throw some mindless, retarded insults at your twitter or reddit, if they can't understand business. Why create this post full of unnecessary drama when the truth is nobody with a couple neurons with functional dendrites linking them even gives a fuck about this.
I'm going to write something pretty annoying here, but whatever, sometimes I get the feeling you create your own drama, then make a fuss about it to create some more drama from it, then write a post on TL to make some MORE drama about some small thing. I don't know, maybe there's a PR thing going on (seems likely), but all of this just seems like a massive spotlight call to me, and all posts of this type seem the same, just attention calls.
I don't know if this is the right place , but does it mean taht stormville showmatch are over ? ( some of the prizes were from steelseries , and the site is down ).
Do razer also provide official babe to the house ? ( this dreamhack will never be forget )
On February 05 2013 23:44 mordk wrote: Why would you even post this, I don't understand. Retards are retards and will continue to be retards, who cares if said retards throw some mindless, retarded insults at your twitter or reddit, if they can't understand business. Why create this post full of unnecessary drama when the truth is nobody with a couple neurons with functional dendrites linking them even gives a fuck about this.
I'm going to write something pretty annoying here, but whatever, sometimes I get the feeling you create your own drama, then make a fuss about it to create some more drama from it, then write a post on TL to make some MORE drama about some small thing. I don't know, maybe there's a PR thing going on (seems likely), but all of this just seems like a massive spotlight call to me, and all posts of this type seem the same, just attention calls.
Well this post caused zero drama... As I intended so I guess you're just wrong. But yeah.. That theory of me intentionally doubling up on drama sounds legit.
On February 05 2013 05:06 Sn0_Man wrote: It is a bit sad the community is dumb enough to warrant a post like this, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. GL with razer.
You'll understand if this doesn't influence my purchasing decisions the way you want it to though.
yep.
I woke up to someone tweeting me "motherfucker" and I read reddit/TL and see myself being called a hypocrite, leechcontrol etc etc... really hurtful stuff.
It's expected.. I am "the face" or spokesperson or w/e in many situations so I get that flak. Just needed to try and get my thoughts out there and hopefully make a difference.
I thought this was a completely pedantic and silly blog post until I got to this comment.
On February 05 2013 13:19 OmniEulogy wrote: I actually just feel bad for you after reading some of your comments. People actually attack you over this? I think they are all just trying to get a rise out of you... I can't see how anybody with half a brain could come to some of the conclusions I've read and actually mean it.
<3 Geoff. Hell of a job you've got yourself lol
I agree with the most part...
On the other hand, there has to be a reason that he disproportionately receives more than his fair share of the vitriol...
On February 05 2013 05:36 crms wrote: Just stop. He was indirectly employed by Steelseries at the time and now he is indirectly employed by Razer. This happens all the time in the real world and this is 100% why you don't trust sponsored personalities on gear recommendations.
Let them do their thing, let them market, let them get paid. You do your own due diligence to find out which products YOU think are the best and buy accordingly.
Sad community making me sad.
Yes but when he's telling us to trust him that's a different story.
????
You mean the interview where I talk about taking over the world with monster shooting robots and our CEO's sole drive being to own a gold car?
You are going to cite that as an opinion piece from me? No. No.. no no no no no no.
If you can find an interview where I am NOT joking around and I say "Razer sucks" or w/e FINE use that against me. But if you want to use an interview where almost literally everything I say is untrue and a joke.. COME ON.
It's not too hard to believe you're opinion when it's not an uncommon opinion, even if the rest of the interview was a joke.
If you can't spot basic human emotions or obviously sarcastic/non-serious banter then you need to stop posting and really comprehend what you are reading. Incontrol stated clearly throughout the blog and in 2 answers to you that he was not serious, and explaining the situation exactly. He even took the time to explain the joke video he posted with Anna Prosser. You can't seriously think he was being serious in that video when he 1) monster destroying robots 2) Tells us of Garfield's ambition to own a yellow car (ala Simpsons Chester Lampwick story) 3) Mocks the competitors of EG's sponsors lightheartedly. I think you just want to start trouble, because its clear you lack the patience or concentration to understand the subject at hand.
This thought process is entirely understandable from a business perspective. I, and many others, take no issue with that. We reconize such sponorships as the equivalent of a celeberity endorsement, and treat them as such.
If you want to explore causes, I think the fundamental issue comes from the sometimes blurred line you have in modern media between impartial sources (essentially friends & family) that can be trusted to be frank, forthcoming and tell you everything about what they know and believe because they have no vested interested, and advertising endorsements, which give you some level of surety but not at the same level of friends & family. I don't mean to imply that there isn't any trust, but rather degree of trust is slightly different. Confusing the two is probably what causes a lot of the backlash.
First off, I think that celebery endorsement does imply some level of quality for a product. I don't know of many celeberties that endorse products they hate. On a fundamental level, that is pretty much guarenteed, or the celeberty risks his or her long term reputation. This gives you a minimum standard of quality: the product you are looking at is likely both suitable and good.
I would not expect, however, that same celeberty (with their endorsement) to come out in a public forum and give a detailed breakdown and accounting for all the situations where one product or another might be preferable, and a very detailed description of the strengths and weaknesses of each. While someone like you would be in the perfect position to do something like this, you cannot as you are sponsored by company or another. Instead, we rely on journalists, reviewers, and most importantly friends, family, and those who we identify with who share our quirks and tastes, even if we cannot put those quirks and tastes into words.
I'm sure both steelseries and razor are good products, but if I had to ask, which one is better, in what situations, and why? would you be able to answer that in detail? I'm sure you would, but not in public, as it may be problematic from a sponsorship perspective.
Generally, 'friends and family' recommendations are always what a person believes to be best for a given situation, and don't change unless they are unsatisfied with the product in some way. This dissatisfaction is usually given voice in a strong negative reason (poor customer service, feature/function mismatch, didn't live up to expectations, device broke, etc.)
Switching from one to the other is seen by those who take it as a 'friend and family' recommendation as the one you selected (before) being the best, despite the fact with sponsorship you never meant to imply that either is or was the absolute best. To them, now that you have a new endorsement, you must either think that this is better (a new best), and if so want to know why you believe that, or you are doing it because the money is needed, or it really doesn't matter all that much which one is the best (which is also an undesirable answer as people always want maximum value for their money, and want to feel good about what they have done/purchased.)
Interestingly, part of the problem stems itself from the close connection with the community. No one takes a corperate sponsorship as a friend and family level recommendation. This is evidenced by the fact fact that such celeberty endorcements are given more weight when celeberies come out off the record as truly loving a product and use it not just in offical capacities, but in all unoffical ones.
Today celeberties, together with advances in communication technology, have created closer connections between fans and professionals that form a level of understanding that lies somewhere between the two. EG especailly understands how important it is to form that connection, where you blur the line between business and personal. The more invested others become and the more trust you engender, the more marketable you are to both fans and sponsors. At the same time, the closer you get the more likely people are to view your recommendations, direct or indirect, as one of a friend or family and expect that level of fidelity and trust. When that happens, an endorsement morphs into a 'friend and family' full-fledged best of class recommendation.
It can either be just business, or it can be about connecting with others on a personal level. Sometimes it can be both at the same time. Sometimes when they blur together people cannot tell the difference, and I think that is where you see this particular slice of outrage. It comes when people want to take your endorsement as a 'friend and family' recommendation, when it isn't really.
I think my point is fairly clear, but let me illustrate with another example:
I love soda, and I love both coke and pepsi. I drink both, I enjoy both, I think they are both great products. I'd be happy to take a sponorship from either one of them for what I do, becuase I like their products and enjoy them. Personally, though, I prefer coke, and that will not change unless something drastic changes (e.g. coke bottling plants have serious health concerns).
Ultimately, what people looking for recommendations want is that very last line. Only close friends and family with no vested interest can provide that last line. Sponsored celeberies can provide some level of assured quality, but not that last line. Part of being successful as a public figure in this day and age is to connect with people so that you can blur the line between the two. Inevitably though, confusing a 'friend and family' recommendation and a 'sponsored celeberty' recommendation will cause backlash and vitrol from those who did so. It won't be a large segement, I don't believe, but there will always be some.
Still, I think for those who do, the candor and explaination will help.
On February 05 2013 08:44 BlaineMono wrote: Marketing dominates TL recently. It's either discussion about awesome Asus commercial, or sponsorship changes or buying LG monitors. Noone really seems to give a shit about the game. It's all about the show.
People like Incontrol shouldn't even be relevant to ANYONE on this site. Who the fuck is this guy? I don't hate him, nor do I like him. I just don't give a fuck. He's totally irrelevant. If you think otherwise, please realize that you don't give a shit about this game, you care about the show. And that's fine, but please realize this and say up front that you're in for the show. Please don't take this as a hate towards Incontrol, cause it's not. In terms of competitive SC2 he doesn't exist, there is nothing that will change that. He is 100% talk, PR and marketing and he himself knows that.
Truth means little to TL folk, it seems. Yes, marketing rules the world. Yes, a man has to pay his bills. But taking part in that is nothing to be proud of. Please don't say that it's perfectly normal, don't justify it.
A statement can either be true or false. So simple...
User was warned for this post
Quoted for truth. Incontrol with his ''0-5'' in every group and hogging up MLG slots, he became quite the thorn in the eye for most competitive players. The whole drama of Incontrol vs Destiny, or TotalBiscuit is only in SC2 for the money and many other incidents doest exactly help. CombatEX is very vocal about his opinion on this matter, but every other StarCraft 2 player already knew.
People forget that he is a PR & Marketing guy now, a spokesperson representing certain brands or whathaveyou.
Of course he will play things off as a joke, tell you to buy Razer now instead of SS and just purely market the brand and/or himself. Dont expect him to act otherwise.
I suggest you guys to read Animal Farm by George Orwell, a great book about this kind of corporate occurences. Playing the victim role isnt going to help either. There is a fine line between selling and selling out.
1) You don't know any players. At all. Maybe some signed some autographs. Maybe some responded to a few of your post. But to pretend that you speak on behalf of them is sheer arrogance.
2) No one forgot InControl's job. Perhaps these "people" you refer to are goldfish. In which case, I wouldn't recommend using them for an argument.
3) Name dropping a famous book does make your rant any more coherent. I suggest you read War and Peace to figure out why.
4) Clearly you despise any organization that accepts money from, and promotes, any sponsor. This is why you would never post on TeamLiquid, a team that would dare to market Razer products to you despite being non-committal in their gaming gear preferences prior to big fat checks.
5) "Fine line between selling and selling out" is a cute line. Very poetic. However, if it was supposed to mean something, I suggest actually writing some content instead of a tagline. I suppose InControl is selling his noble integrity, because now he gags on his own vomit every time he promotes Razer? Clearly he believed that Razer was the devil one week ago, and he now has no soul left.
First of all, whoa Incontrol defence force ! I dont know any players? At all? Quite some big assumptions you are making there. Just accusing me of arrogance (ad hominem) isnt going to take away that Incontrol had (alot) of incidents in the past, which just seems to add up. There are a lot of shady stuff going under the radar that you might not even heared about, like un-resheduled coaching sessions etc. It all piles up.
He is a PR & Marketing guy now, a spokesperson representing certain brands. Therefore he will ''jokingly'' have a go at Razor, but when its Razor picking up EG he will ofcourse apologise and tell everybody it was nothing to worry about. Cant people just thank the sponsors like Stephano does, instead of glorifying the SS product and having to contradict oneself later on?
Want some more poetry? In my previous post I have listed some of the incidents/facts Incontrol has caused, without any personal attacks or insults. People who post in a critical way about Incontrol get warnings, posts on reddit get downvoted to oblivion. Guess people like the beautifull lie rather than the painfull thruth.
In no way do I deny what Incontrol has done for esports in a positive light, his Kingston Hyper X casts as well as features on 2GD show are quite hilarious. Just because someone is put on a pedestal doesnt mean we cant critisize him
So which pro-gamers do you know then?
Do tell.
Also, ultra serious context of Razer insult:
Comments before Razer joke (12:30 in that video): He finds out how much Brad Pitt's wardrobe costs, and then buys something slightly more expensive
Then he makes fun of AMD and Razer for not sponsoring them.
Comments after discussing companies that don't sponsor EG:
On February 05 2013 08:44 BlaineMono wrote: Marketing dominates TL recently. It's either discussion about awesome Asus commercial, or sponsorship changes or buying LG monitors. Noone really seems to give a shit about the game. It's all about the show.
People like Incontrol shouldn't even be relevant to ANYONE on this site. Who the fuck is this guy? I don't hate him, nor do I like him. I just don't give a fuck. He's totally irrelevant. If you think otherwise, please realize that you don't give a shit about this game, you care about the show. And that's fine, but please realize this and say up front that you're in for the show. Please don't take this as a hate towards Incontrol, cause it's not. In terms of competitive SC2 he doesn't exist, there is nothing that will change that. He is 100% talk, PR and marketing and he himself knows that.
Truth means little to TL folk, it seems. Yes, marketing rules the world. Yes, a man has to pay his bills. But taking part in that is nothing to be proud of. Please don't say that it's perfectly normal, don't justify it.
A statement can either be true or false. So simple...
User was warned for this post
Quoted for truth. Incontrol with his ''0-5'' in every group and hogging up MLG slots, he became quite the thorn in the eye for most competitive players. The whole drama of Incontrol vs Destiny, or TotalBiscuit is only in SC2 for the money and many other incidents doest exactly help. CombatEX is very vocal about his opinion on this matter, but every other StarCraft 2 player already knew.
People forget that he is a PR & Marketing guy now, a spokesperson representing certain brands or whathaveyou.
Of course he will play things off as a joke, tell you to buy Razer now instead of SS and just purely market the brand and/or himself. Dont expect him to act otherwise.
I suggest you guys to read Animal Farm by George Orwell, a great book about this kind of corporate occurences. Playing the victim role isnt going to help either. There is a fine line between selling and selling out.
1) You don't know any players. At all. Maybe some signed some autographs. Maybe some responded to a few of your post. But to pretend that you speak on behalf of them is sheer arrogance.
2) No one forgot InControl's job. Perhaps these "people" you refer to are goldfish. In which case, I wouldn't recommend using them for an argument.
3) Name dropping a famous book does make your rant any more coherent. I suggest you read War and Peace to figure out why.
4) Clearly you despise any organization that accepts money from, and promotes, any sponsor. This is why you would never post on TeamLiquid, a team that would dare to market Razer products to you despite being non-committal in their gaming gear preferences prior to big fat checks.
5) "Fine line between selling and selling out" is a cute line. Very poetic. However, if it was supposed to mean something, I suggest actually writing some content instead of a tagline. I suppose InControl is selling his noble integrity, because now he gags on his own vomit every time he promotes Razer? Clearly he believed that Razer was the devil one week ago, and he now has no soul left.
First of all, whoa Incontrol defence force ! I dont know any players? At all? Quite some big assumptions you are making there. Just accusing me of arrogance (ad hominem) isnt going to take away that Incontrol had (alot) of incidents in the past, which just seems to add up. There are a lot of shady stuff going under the radar that you might not even heared about, like un-resheduled coaching sessions etc. It all piles up.
He is a PR & Marketing guy now, a spokesperson representing certain brands. Therefore he will ''jokingly'' have a go at Razor, but when its Razor picking up EG he will ofcourse apologise and tell everybody it was nothing to worry about. Cant people just thank the sponsors like Stephano does, instead of glorifying the SS product and having to contradict oneself later on?
Want some more poetry? In my previous post I have listed some of the incidents/facts Incontrol has caused, without any personal attacks or insults. People who post in a critical way about Incontrol get warnings, posts on reddit get downvoted to oblivion. Guess people like the beautifull lie rather than the painfull thruth.
In no way do I deny what Incontrol has done for esports in a positive light, his Kingston Hyper X casts as well as features on 2GD show are quite hilarious. Just because someone is put on a pedestal doesnt mean we cant critisize him
It endlessly amuses me that you an write so very much without saying anything of substance.
You have not shown that any other play reviles InControl, save for CombatEx and Destiny...which really speaks for itself.
You also haven't stated what InControl has sold out to, or what people seem to be "forgetting", or what "lie" people supposedly like...or what "truth" is supposedly "painful". Hence why you sound so poetic...it's all cute taglines that are so generic they could mean anything.
I suppose, if you strip away all of the rhetoric, you mess of text could be translated to: - You didn't like seeing InControl in the MLG groups. - You don't like InControl's jokes. - You don't like people plugging sponsors beyond name dropping.
And instead of stating your personal opinions for what they are, you feel the need to supplant your hatred onto that of the entirety of the Pro Player Community, and rather than accepting that your personal feelings are entirely subjective, you instead need to believe that every other person has no long-term memory or has to lie to themselves.
Geoff I appreciate you coming out and making this blog to clarify the reasons and thoughts behind this. It is a shame too many people want to pin you as a hypocrite and don't understand your responsibilities as a representative of your sponsors.
On February 05 2013 23:44 mordk wrote: Why would you even post this, I don't understand. Retards are retards and will continue to be retards, who cares if said retards throw some mindless, retarded insults at your twitter or reddit, if they can't understand business. Why create this post full of unnecessary drama when the truth is nobody with a couple neurons with functional dendrites linking them even gives a fuck about this.
I'm going to write something pretty annoying here, but whatever, sometimes I get the feeling you create your own drama, then make a fuss about it to create some more drama from it, then write a post on TL to make some MORE drama about some small thing. I don't know, maybe there's a PR thing going on (seems likely), but all of this just seems like a massive spotlight call to me, and all posts of this type seem the same, just attention calls.
Well this post caused zero drama... As I intended so I guess you're just wrong. But yeah.. That theory of me intentionally doubling up on drama sounds legit.
I just fail to understand why even make a post like this, seriously, I don't get it.
Why do you even care what a bunch of retards think about EG changing sponsors and your previous attitude towards your now new sponsor? Does it even matter? I seriously don't get it, it's business that is all, there's nothing more to it, and anyone sensible enough can understand and see that, so why even address this issue?
That said, it IS your blog so I guess you can write whatever the hell you want, but it just seems so pointless to me, retards will always be retards, haters gonna hate, you name it, it's the internetz this is the stuff that happens all the time in it.
unfortunately life isn't as simple as knowing you are right and they are "retards" and not caring. I do care that people have the wrong idea and I speak out about it.
Hmm.. it can be that simple, just don't mind. These are people that:
-Don't know you, or only do so through the internet -Are under the anonymity of the internet -Many just like to troll around the internet and piss people off to waste their apparently unlimited time
The second point is the most important imo, since most of the same people that bash and insult you over this wouldn't even think about it if it was an actual conversation, people are idiots when covered by the internet, much more so than they are in real life.
Hell, if I paid attention to the shit Dota 2 players spout every second I'd be depressed and crying right now. It probably makes very little difference addressing the issue in this manner since most people don't change opinions based on the internet, most just post and forget, and don't extract anything at all, it seems to be the nature of online communities.
well it's not difficult to see why people are upset. For those people who bought stuff from SS to support EG, what you did is just like saying "well we aren't with SS now, why are you still using SS stuff?" I know it's NOT what you intend to do/show/hint, but that is what is is for some people.
The bigger problem however, is in the future if you are ever going to make any compliment about your razer products, you as a past heavy SS user, you are making them in relation to the SS products. People will ask you which brand is better eventually and how will you answer it?
Are you gonna say they are both equally good? Is this answer good for the sponsor? Razer is better? Will people trust you now that you are sponsored by Razor and you said good things about SS when you were sponsored? SS is better? I am not sure if your sponsor would like that. lol
What's worse is if it ever gets to individual products. You are gonna be facing tonnes of these questions and I hope you are ready for them.
All the best incontrol, I personally think Razor is better :p
On February 06 2013 13:03 iNcontroL wrote: unfortunately life isn't as simple as knowing you are right and they are "retards" and not caring. I do care that people have the wrong idea and I speak out about it.
Do you care because it potentially affects your livelihood as a celebrity or because you personally feel insulted?
Frankly, the second reason doesn't make much sense to me. I'd advise you to look at some basic stoic philosophy:
Almost 2000 years ago, Epictetus wrote: If someone handed over your body to any person who met you, you would be vexed; but that you hand over your mind to any person that comes along, so that, if he reviles you, it is disturbed and troubled–are you not ashamed of that?
The idea being we recognize that giving over control of our body's fate (the result possibly being slavery or death) is obviously seen as a bad thing. But giving over control of our emotional state to a stranger is for some reason considered normal - but it's actually a foolish and weak-willed thing to do.
Lots of people have difficulty using other people's equipment? Particularly if you have to deal with a new resolution/DPI setting, throwing off your muscle memory for micro, things like that. Perhaps no one mentioned that bit of streaming because it's not terribly relevant.
You registered simply so you could link to a part where incontrol thinks razer / alienware gear is shitty because its not the gear he's used to?
You're a little weird.
Instead of questioning the puppets on the strings, you question this user who dug up something from the archives to shed some light on the matter? Keep on trucking.
Be it jokingly, be it serious; if you endorse X brand, you dont go around saying Y is bad. You politely thank brand X for sponsoring them and go on. Avoids contradicting oneself later on when suddenly brand Y brings your food on the table.
You registered simply so you could link to a part where incontrol thinks razer / alienware gear is shitty because its not the gear he's used to?
You're a little weird.
Instead of questioning the puppets on the strings, you question this user who dug up something from the archives to shed some light on the matter? Keep on trucking.
Be it jokingly, be it serious; if you endorse X brand, you dont go around saying Y is bad. You politely thank brand X for sponsoring them and go on. Avoids contradicting oneself later on when suddenly brand Y brings your food on the table.
...He didn't go around saying Y is bad? incontrol pretty much immediately clarified on his statement in that very same stream archive that the gear itself wasn't shitty, simply a shitty experience going from what you're used to to something completely different.
You registered simply so you could link to a part where incontrol thinks razer / alienware gear is shitty because its not the gear he's used to?
You're a little weird.
Instead of questioning the puppets on the strings, you question this user who dug up something from the archives to shed some light on the matter? Keep on trucking.
Be it jokingly, be it serious; if you endorse X brand, you dont go around saying Y is bad. You politely thank brand X for sponsoring them and go on. Avoids contradicting oneself later on when suddenly brand Y brings your food on the table.
...He didn't go around saying Y is bad? incontrol pretty much immediately clarified on his statement in that very same stream archive that the gear itself wasn't shitty, simply a shitty experience going from what you're used to to something completely different.
That's true, but it definitely sounded like he was being more honest in his assessment at first, and the clarification was only to mitigate some of the backlash.
Honest guess would be that he thought it was shitty, but was willing to consider the possibility that a part of the reason was he wasn't used to it.
No reason to hate on you just because your team switched sponsors. Business is business. It's refreshing to see personalities like you to share their bit of thoughts on the subject though, even more so of value, when they are honest and to the point, instead of just some suger-coated PR.