What other stores could/would stream Legacy events?

[thecrav]

there are enough streaming people out there who make a living with that. you dont need to make streaming professional as scg to satisfy the watchers. streaming on twitch is for free, all you need is a camera (pretty cheap these days)
connect this with a link to your shop and give 5% discount and sell this followerprogram and it should be worth it

You're saying it's free and then in the same sentence saying that it's not.

My argument is that the discount you're talking about won't be enough for most stores. At least in my experience, a lot of stores don't have the kind of singles inventory to make such a thing worth it. You have to:

1. Convert the viewer into a potential customer
2. Have the cards they want (not a cheap or easy task when you're talking about eternal formats)
3. Have them at prices that make it worth ordering from you.

Again, this may just be my experience at stores with relatively small inventory.

Do people really like the commentary?

I like commentary because

* If I'm watching Magic as my primary activity, I'm not going to be captivated if every play is followed by 15+ seconds of absolutely nothing. Commentary kills the dead air and helps keep me interested.
* If I'm watching Magic and doing something else, the commentators provide play by play so I can still know what's happening without switching focus.

You can also charge for your stream on Twitch no?

AFAIK, you can't charge but you can put up donate links and if you average enough viewers, people can "subscribe." A portion of that subscription goes to the streamer. I don't stream enough to know exactly how this works though.

I think it could act as a sort of 'free' advertising for the business, as well as attract players who want to compete on camera or just enjoy the tournament format. I mentioned big businesses because them showing support for the format could get people to buy from them because of it, not to mention that their the ones who can host larger tournaments enough to be even somewhat relevant.

I hadn't thought of the appeal of trying to get on camera but I disagree with the advertising portion. My reasoning is that, based on stores that currently stream, they're not getting that many viewers. The odds of one of those viewers being within driving range to go play is pretty low. (Though I recognize that the lack of SCG streaming may also change the streaming numbers making my point void)

Now if they're doing something like running a series, that's different. Maybe I'll decide to take a 3 day weekend to $city and stop by to win that lotus they're giving away.

[TheArchitect]

Jupiter games use to stream back they did the NELC. I know KDM (Eli Kassis, and friends) want to stream their quarterly 40 duals events but the current venue, a Christian men's club, apparently has not heard of the internet yet. I bet some of the other local stores near me like Mythic Games or Tales of Adventure could stream their big legacy events with a little more of a push.

[Megadeus]

Here it seems to be slowly growing; though there's only the one shop that does it regularly (which is helping to make it focused and draw people in.)
Even in the cold of the fall we're regularly firing with a good 12-20 people; and not always the same faces (about 75% are regulars each time I'd say.)

Often there will be a new burn/dredge guy popping in now and then; there are more people showing up before local Opens/IQs or the GP for practice.


That said, I think Legacy is tough and expensive; which grinds a lot of people out. It makes you feel stupid and eventually you succumb to "well I can make all my money back +25%. May as well get out now." It's also a format targeted (really) at 20-30 year olds who start having kids, buying houses, etc.. and then lose the ability to continue participating. One of our locals (our only true Miracles player week-in week-out) is having a kid soon and he probably will be lucky to come once/twice a month.

The format seems stale to a vet who does well I'm sure; but when you look at the GP's top 16 you pretty much have to take that opinion and stuff it. [Unless you mean innovation; sure; a lot of lists are relatively static; but the sheer diversity of the format still exists.] I think you're just too knowledgeable of the format and nostalgic for that "I've never seen/fought this!" feeling. Eventually you've seen every strategy and know every card in their hand and if you still want that excitement you have to wait for a release to shake things up or you have to enjoy the mastership you've achieved.

I think it's more that even when you see a new list; you can guess 90% of it via the colors it runs and the first 3 spells it casts (or if you get to look at their hand.) Since you know a white creature deck is supposed to have SFM; it's not interesting. Since you know a green list will have Goyf (or maybe KotR) or something that's just worse; the feeling of surprise is gone.

basically your last two paragraphs. I mean I haven't played near as long as a lot of people on here but I know the feeling just because, based on my opponents very first turn, I could probably guess 65/75 of his cards or so.

[HammerAndSickled]

My opinion on commentary is that bad commentary is worse than no commentary, but good commentary is priceless. I hate the SCG syndrome of the commentators not knowing what they're talking about, misunderstanding rules or the game state or anything like that, in addition to just bad jokes and dickriding their stable of players. Or worse is just narrating the gameplay without any added content or original thought. Good commentary is insightful, teaches players about what matters in matchups and how to play cards strategically, points out several possible options and explains their outcomes, while still being fun and accessible. It's cool to tell stories and relate bits of personal information or Magic lore but the ultimate goal should be discussing the strategy.

[Teluin]

I hadn't thought of the appeal of trying to get on camera but I disagree with the advertising portion. My reasoning is that, based on stores that currently stream, they're not getting that many viewers. The odds of one of those viewers being within driving range to go play is pretty low. (Though I recognize that the lack of SCG streaming may also change the streaming numbers making my point void)

Now if they're doing something like running a series, that's different. Maybe I'll decide to take a 3 day weekend to $city and stop by to win that lotus they're giving away.

By free advertising, I just meant bringing some notoriety to the store itself. I know I'm a lot more likely to buy from a retailer online if they're promoting Legacy. Then again, they could also do one of those news banners at the bottom ala CFB used to do on their Magic TV shows.

To me, the ideal solution would be 4-5 big stores parcitipating; one in each corner of the US - North East US (there's several cities with stores that could do this), Atlanta, California and Seattle areas for example. The stores would rotate streaming 1 weekend a month on the same website and could even cross promote. That way, the stores don't have to pay for tours or even renting out venues but attract large-ish crowds. Legacy players in those areas could come to the big tournaments, it would provide streaming each weekend for the format/vendors, and no one store would have to worry about 'burning out' the people in their area from Legacy events. It's just an idea.