GGL’s Reid Landeen translated this interview from Chinese into English for GGL China.
With 2008 underway, details about the big e-Sports events of the New Year are coming out. Recently, ESWC has officially decided that the location for China’s qualifier for the finals will be held Wuxi, in Jiangsu Province.
It is understood that this year’s ESWC China will have brand new organizers running the event. Since China is hosting the Olympic Games this year, what kind of surprises will the new 2008 ESWC China competitions ultimately give us with this non-Olympic sporting event? Bringing a ton of questions, we interviewed Lu Chen, the person in charge of the Wuxi Digital Media Company who is hosting the ESWC 2008 China competitions.
Hello Mr. Lu. Can you first explain a little about the undertaking organization of ESWC 2008 China’s competitions?
Mr. Lu: Hello. The undertaking organization for the ESWC 2008 China competitions is the Wuxi Digital Media Company. Specializing as an e-Sports company, our team is mostly made of people who come from China’s e-Sports industry, so they have a very deep understanding of e-Sports competitions as a whole. So, we have a lot of confidence that we can make the ESWC 2008 China qualifiers the single most successful competition in ESWC history, while at the same time making this become one of the most influential and prosperous cultural events in all of China.
The location for ESWC 2008 China finals competition is Wuxi. Is this because the operating company is also in Wuxi?
Lu: That isn’t entirely the case. In the past, ESWC China’s events have all been held in Beijing, but for obvious reasons, the Beijing area in ’08 will be packed full of people. Because of this, we thought about moving locations. Additionally, our parent company is Wuxi’s radio and television groups, and this is the first time the country’s mainstream media will have direct access to e-Sports competition. In our view, ESWC isn’t just an e-Sport; it is a way for a new generation of young people to express themselves. We will be a totally new concept in taking e-Sports competitions down a more healthy and prosperous road. Wuxi is a great place, and we’d like to invite all our friends to come and be our guests.
How will this year’s ESWC 2008 China competitions be different than previous e-Sports events?
Lu: Content-wise, we’ve made a few adjustments. We’ve gotten rid of some of the less popular things never drew many people to these events, and we’ve kept the things that drew the most people, like Counter-Strike and Warcraft competitions. At the same time during the finals, we will try to exhibit some new up and coming wireless gaming projects. Here I’d like to especially stress that, different than previous e-Sports, this event will have a more effective use of media sources focusing on the event itself, through TV, internet, IT media, mainstream print, fashion media, etc., resulting in more healthy and fashionable concepts being widely broadcasted.
This year’s ESWC 2008 World Finals will be held in America. It has always been the case that getting a visa for China’s e-Sports athletes is a major problem. Has the China Organizing Committee come up with any special preparations or methods for dealing with a possible refusal for a visa?
Lu: This problem obviously is very important for the athletes and their respective associations. The Organizing Committee will talk to their French counterparts, and together with the help of the event sponsors, are trying their best to allow more of China’s athletes to go to America to attend the World Finals.
At last year’s international competitions, there arose some problems with their referees. For this year’s ESWC 2008 China competitions, what methods to you plan to use in order to prevent these types of problems?
Lu: For this competition, we will use last year’s nationally trained and evaluated professional e-Sports judges. We believe that their professional and strict enforcement of the rules will eliminate the majority of mistakes and misrulings. Furthermore, our judges and event personnel will handle any problems that arise in timely manner.
Can you give us any more detailed information about the ESWC 2008 China competition?
Lu: Specific news will have to wait until the 29th of this month when ESWC China will hold a detailed press conference. I hope that everyone will pay close attention to us and the new ESWC China competition.
Thank you for accepting our interview, and may ESWC 2008 China’s qualifiers be a huge success!
Lu: Thank you for the interview, and thank you for your blessing. Thanks to everyone who supports us and the e-Sports athletes. We will try our best to have the most successful ESWC China qualifying competitions ever. Successful events and the support of everyone are inseparable. At this time I’d like to invite everyone who likes the players of ESWC to come be our guests in Wuxi, and attend the ESWC 2008 China competitions.
