Husky & HD (another StarCraft caster) both have a healthy revenue stream from their Youtube Channel. There are at least 12 other casters/players in North America/Europe making a living casting StarCraft II games.
Husky wasn't the first to cast. Guys like Day9, Artosis, & Tasteless cast too, and are quite popular. But HD & Husky were the first to focus mostly on "Virtual" tournaments. The other successful casters focused more on "Real life" tournaments. Artosis & Tasteless even went to Korea for a year to comment StarCraft II games on GomTV. Day9 regularly travel to big tournaments.
And yet, none of them make as much money as Husky & HD (supposedly, I don't have hard numbers.)
It shows the power of the web. The old medias are here to stay, but most of the creativity & growth today comes from the web.
Husky and HD appeal to the more casual audience. Their casts are more for entertainment, and they don't do too much in-depth analysis. Artosis, Day9 and Tasteless among others are pretty friendly for the average viewer, but they are definitely more knowledgeable and insightful.
Just a slight correction. Artosis and Tasteless are actually still living in Korea and casting fulltime.
Just a slight correction. Artosis and Tasteless are actually still living in Korea and casting fulltime.
Aye; this past weekend at MLG they even identified themselves as "from South Korea", not America. They'be been there for a few years and haven't announced any plans to move.
I'd have to say that Day9's "Funday Monday" casts are among the most entertaining videos I've ever seen. The guy is absolutely hilarious and remarkably nerdy even for Starcraft casters, qualities which don't show as much in his more analytic casts.
It really is like watching a very fast-paced sport match, except without all the constant in-your-face product branding. Like I remember college basketball used to be, except more cerebral.
I'd not played SC or SC2 much but I bought a (replacement - long story) copy last night.
200 million views is somewhere around $400k - $600k ($2 - $3 CPM).
It's crazy how many people are earning a good living off YouTube. Not a lot in absolute numbers, but when you compare it to the number of TV show hosts on cable/broadcast TV it's quite impressive.
The dream of independent niche content producers finding an audience and making good money is actually happening.
It's also interesting that Starcraft players themselves don't make anything close to this. new-age movie studios if you will. Not that there's anything wrong with that. These guys actually love what they do, and spend a lot of time doing it.
Forget the downvotes. SC2 is actually a great way to meet and befriend people remotely, especially if you're on skype. Conversations quickly move to other common interests, which should be pretty easy among hn folks.
This is why I love Starcraft2(prev war2 even only couple years ago) because you can play the quick game as a mental break but not break(even boost) adrenaline! Just saw this reply so I missed playing with you man but another time! Was watching MLG matches of recent. gg
I really like stories like this. I was a pretty decent Starcraft player myself and I started watching his videos last year. He does a great job of announcing the matches and just watching the videos makes you a better player. Congrats to him.
Husky wasn't the first to cast. Guys like Day9, Artosis, & Tasteless cast too, and are quite popular. But HD & Husky were the first to focus mostly on "Virtual" tournaments. The other successful casters focused more on "Real life" tournaments. Artosis & Tasteless even went to Korea for a year to comment StarCraft II games on GomTV. Day9 regularly travel to big tournaments.
And yet, none of them make as much money as Husky & HD (supposedly, I don't have hard numbers.)
It shows the power of the web. The old medias are here to stay, but most of the creativity & growth today comes from the web.