Sponsorship Debate

A sponsership can mean anything from $1 to $1,000,000, even more. You could be sponsered by a buisness your family or friends works for.

In most cases a sponsership mean you are well connected, although in some cases it is because you have skills.

 

There is no exact answer here. You either have to know somebody willing to pay or be good enough that a sponsor comes to you.

 

Lol, I could be considered sponsered because I got $1 from my Mum, doesn't mean I have uber skills.

 

lol very true

 

You can get sponsorships easy, at least in my opinion.

I just sent a very nice and well-written EMail asking Creative to sponsor my Counter-Strike clan, they responded with a Yes, just because I use their Fatal1ty mouse. Fail right there.

 

Is this open still or are you waiting for the magic answer?

 

Just by how easy it is to get a sponsorship (refer to my previous post) I'd say that no, it doesn't require skill, but just you spending your money on the company's products.

 

Lol, wowzerz.

 

I've watched a documentary some years ago about a Korean guy nicknamed silent strike, or silent type (can't remember ther exact nickname), who got a top level sponsorship for playing starcraft. He got free room and boarding, made thousands of dollars a year and played starcraft hours upon hours a day, just to train himself to be a better player and try to win as much starcraft competitions as possible. His sponsorship depended upon him winning enough competitions.

I agree with weehut that sponsorship can be easily obtained, but what kind of sponsorship? I think gaming and sponsorship are a bit like football, playing in the top leagues can indeed mean you are a good player, but basically anyone can play as an amateur. Sponsorship in games isn't that developed yet as it is in sports, TV or radio and there aren't many top sponsors/leagues yet, so I would have to agree with weehut, but I doubt, I will agree with him in the future as it is a market that is rapidly developing.

 

Sponsorship doesn't really mean you're good.

It just means a certain company wants you to advertise their product or something like that such as wearing products, etc.

 

I think Shugo struck gold on this topic. There are as many types of sponsorships as there are games.

If we are talking making a living through sponsorship, yes skill must be involved because the individual will have to have face time in competitions, create some sort of following thus becoming a name or face associated with the sponsor.

If we are talking about getting free stuff, or minor renumeration, skill has little to do with it. Right place at the right time is often all that is needed, or (as Weehut mentioned) already owning the right product can help too.

So taking that into consideration, the first example can be called full sponsorship, the second partial. Full sponsor ship is a reflection of talent, it does not require the individual to be the best, but it does require a certain proficiency. Partial sponsorship is a reflection of networking or luck, and does not reflect skill in any way.