by Louis "Guichex" Lemeillet
As you might know already, there have been several rumors about YouPorn investing in the field of eSports by sponsoring professional players in various popular games. Nothing is written in stone yet, but rumors are YouPorn is talking with a Dota2 team and some Hearthstone players who don't mind getting their nicknames linked to the “YP” tag.
What started out as what seemed like a joke is now maybe about to happen, since officials from YouPorn recently revealed their official eSports jerseys in a Reddit AMA. The jersey isn't as ugly as some expected it to be, as long as you're okay with pink. But fashion is not what I want to talk about. What is truly interesting me is the fact that YouPorn might get into the eSports scene. Some may find it fun, others might be worried about the image it will convey, and still others will be totally against it because...you know...Pr0n.
Wait so... This is not a joke ?
We still don't know for sure that YouPorn is actually sponsoring eSports players or not since nothing has been officially announced and contracts still need to be signed. But the real question is if they sponsor something like an official Dota 2 team, is it a joke or not? Just imagine Alliance vs YouPorn Gaming in the semi-final of the International 4. That would be...special.
Of course, it would make some people laugh, but it would probably send a really bad image to the world about eSports. Various companies like Riot, Valve, ESL, and others have worked hard for years to improve the image of eSports and make it mainstream. Moreover, they tried to make it very "pure," by getting it as close as possible to traditional sports: high quality competitions and streams, professional journalism (we saw the first press conferences in the last The International,) strict rules, salaries for pro players, professional visas, etc. And I don't think having a company affiliated with a morally suspicious sector will help in moving towards this greater goal that is having eSports recognized as a true sport.
We're facing the crucial step of assessing eSports as something “real” that everyone will have to acknowledge, and on the other side we're facing people who still think that it is not a serious business. And since it's geeks and nerds we're talking about, everything is allowed. Even porn. Because geeks spends time on their computer so they go often on porn sites, right? So...we can do it, right?
Let's say it once for all. No, you can't. Porn, although it is allowed in our “civilized” countries, is not something that you can show to the public and advertise. If we allow YouPorn to have sports teams, then they could also rent giant billboards. That would be completely insane. And illegal. Nevertheless, eSports are not properly legislated and maybe they could do it without being punishable. But at the same time, it would ruin any hope of eSports becoming a real sport, with its own legislation, at least for a few more years.
The reasoning behind it is simple. If you allow a morally questionable industry to sponsor some team, then the team becomes morally questionable. And if the team becomes part of a major tournament, then the whole field is morally questionable. Therefore, it can't be allowed.
What are the police doing?
It seems that the logical point of view would be to not allow a YouPorn eSports team to compete in any competition since it would damage the competitions image, and therefore, it would be stupid for any pro player to join this team since they won't be allowed to compete. And yet, few have spoken up to this topic by saying, “This is not right.”
Even if I'm pretty sure companies such as Riot or Valve won't allow a team sponsored by YouPorn, I'm still getting a little worried about how nobody is trying to stop them from what they're doing. And what is truly scaring me is the answers they got on their first tweet, like Araneae saying “Good idea” (even if he was being facetious.)
As soon as this topic arose, some of the biggest actors in eSports should have spoken up and said that YouPorn can't join the eSports world. Yet they still seem to think that they can come in with their team and join the party.
So I have two concerns right now. The first one is that YouPorn just walks right in and get themselves a team in some pro-gaming competition, but I don't find it realistically happening since no company will have the guts to take such a risk. Mainly, because there is no perks to allow it, aside from making a bunch of guys laugh for a week - until you get everyone on your back, transforming this whole funny story into a scandal.
The second one is that some companies will say, “No, it's really really bad. You can't,” and take the little path instead of the main road. Then YouPorn will say, “Okay,” and create “YP Gaming” or whatever, and come back with, “It's not YouPorn. YouPorn is financing it, but it's not Youporn. It's a 100% legitimate company.” With this solution, we will never have to face a YouPorn logo on the team jerseys, but it'll be harder for eSports companies to refuse their participation. In the end, nothing has changed because it still is a team sponsored by a porn company, but unofficially. And I have a feeling that what's really important in that last paragraph is the word “financing.” Youporn is probably one of the most visited websites in the world and so it could invest a lot of money into the eSports world which is currently trying to develop itself even further. This whole case could probably turn into a battle of ethics against money - a fight we often see money win in our actual societies.
Behind the curtains, this is a great deal for eSports.
Companies such as Riot or Valve would have problems refusing that kind of team into their competition because it'd be a 100% arbitrary decision, legally speaking. If YouPorn decides to go all the way, the mainstream media will continue to see eSports as a joke since we'll face a juridic battle between one eSports company and YouPorn. Even if a porn company doesn't win, the story still happens and the image of the eSports world is still damaged in association.
A story like a porn company, or at least a morally questionable one, trying to get into eSports is something that was probably bound to happen with all the fuss the eSports community is making, but officials are really under-reacting to this matter. If played well, companies could make their case in front of the law and ask for a real recognition to avoid such matters. It could be the trigger, maybe not to make governments totally acknowledge the eSports thing, but towards the development of a proper legal environment, the beginning of writing specific laws which would further be applied by each company.
As mainly Riot, but also Valve, Blizzard, and many others are trying to develop eSports as a whole, with a very “pure” image of it (fining players or structures for their behavior, etc.) they could have foreseen this kind of problems and deal with it instantly, maintaining their purity and further developing the community.
By letting this matter run on on its own, we're probably bound to face the official announcement of YouPorn buying and sponsoring an eSports team, where it will create a massive fuss. It might even be relayed into some mainstream medias and hurts the image of the community. And it'll be too late to say, “We never thought they would actually do it.”
The reasoning behind it is simple. If you allow a morally questionable industry to sponsor some team, then the team becomes morally questionable. And if the team becomes part of a major tournament, then the whole field is morally questionable. Therefore, it can't be allowed.
What are the police doing?
It seems that the logical point of view would be to not allow a YouPorn eSports team to compete in any competition since it would damage the competitions image, and therefore, it would be stupid for any pro player to join this team since they won't be allowed to compete. And yet, few have spoken up to this topic by saying, “This is not right.”
Even if I'm pretty sure companies such as Riot or Valve won't allow a team sponsored by YouPorn, I'm still getting a little worried about how nobody is trying to stop them from what they're doing. And what is truly scaring me is the answers they got on their first tweet, like Araneae saying “Good idea” (even if he was being facetious.)
As soon as this topic arose, some of the biggest actors in eSports should have spoken up and said that YouPorn can't join the eSports world. Yet they still seem to think that they can come in with their team and join the party.
So I have two concerns right now. The first one is that YouPorn just walks right in and get themselves a team in some pro-gaming competition, but I don't find it realistically happening since no company will have the guts to take such a risk. Mainly, because there is no perks to allow it, aside from making a bunch of guys laugh for a week - until you get everyone on your back, transforming this whole funny story into a scandal.
The second one is that some companies will say, “No, it's really really bad. You can't,” and take the little path instead of the main road. Then YouPorn will say, “Okay,” and create “YP Gaming” or whatever, and come back with, “It's not YouPorn. YouPorn is financing it, but it's not Youporn. It's a 100% legitimate company.” With this solution, we will never have to face a YouPorn logo on the team jerseys, but it'll be harder for eSports companies to refuse their participation. In the end, nothing has changed because it still is a team sponsored by a porn company, but unofficially. And I have a feeling that what's really important in that last paragraph is the word “financing.” Youporn is probably one of the most visited websites in the world and so it could invest a lot of money into the eSports world which is currently trying to develop itself even further. This whole case could probably turn into a battle of ethics against money - a fight we often see money win in our actual societies.
Behind the curtains, this is a great deal for eSports.
Companies such as Riot or Valve would have problems refusing that kind of team into their competition because it'd be a 100% arbitrary decision, legally speaking. If YouPorn decides to go all the way, the mainstream media will continue to see eSports as a joke since we'll face a juridic battle between one eSports company and YouPorn. Even if a porn company doesn't win, the story still happens and the image of the eSports world is still damaged in association.
A story like a porn company, or at least a morally questionable one, trying to get into eSports is something that was probably bound to happen with all the fuss the eSports community is making, but officials are really under-reacting to this matter. If played well, companies could make their case in front of the law and ask for a real recognition to avoid such matters. It could be the trigger, maybe not to make governments totally acknowledge the eSports thing, but towards the development of a proper legal environment, the beginning of writing specific laws which would further be applied by each company.
As mainly Riot, but also Valve, Blizzard, and many others are trying to develop eSports as a whole, with a very “pure” image of it (fining players or structures for their behavior, etc.) they could have foreseen this kind of problems and deal with it instantly, maintaining their purity and further developing the community.
By letting this matter run on on its own, we're probably bound to face the official announcement of YouPorn buying and sponsoring an eSports team, where it will create a massive fuss. It might even be relayed into some mainstream medias and hurts the image of the community. And it'll be too late to say, “We never thought they would actually do it.”
