Not even discussing balance issues, but it just seems like the majority of the playerbase couldn't care less about pros and would rather , I don't know, play the game? Like, the game itself is still fun to play. But like golf, it's painfully slow to just watch.
MinaZer03 votesbecause Pro scene brings in more 
Ionian Vulpix2 votesHow? You'd think more of the money comes from people buying skins and such.
Lauchmelder5 votesMerchandise and sponsors
Let's just say it like this: If Riot keeps going that way we might as well go the Starcraft way in a few seasons, where nobody plays any more and mostly just watch the games.
ZephyrDrake1 votesHow? You'd think more of the money comes from people buying skins and such.
merchandise, sponsors, people actually buying the tickets to see the games. In-game purchases do give them money but i would be shocked if it were as much as they would get from the LCS/LCK/LPL/<insert league here>
Tyrone Lannister1 votesPro play helps bring in a lot of skin sales and whatnot.
Snowman Arc3 votesBecause pro play actually grants Riot a lot of money, and is the thing that can catapult them into making this a huge thing. Making E-sports legit as normal sports is a very difficult task, but a very rewarding for whomever does it. And that's why Riot is trying to push the e-sports section to its limits and try to grow it.
Why would Riot cater to the playerbase? Seriously. They already offer a FREE-TO-PLAY game, where you don't need to spend a single cent to get everything out of it, gameplay-wise. The only thing you can buy are extra stuff, that grant NO ADVANTAGE in the game whatsoever. And guess what, how many players actually buy skins. Riot probably makes a lot of money, but they also realize that most people will keep playing and keep buying RP no matter what they bring out. People just don't stop playing, they keep on and on hoping for something better. But they keep on. And that's why Riot doesn't want to listen to the playerbase, who also I might add, most of the time doesn't know what they are talking about. Why should Riot listen to some random bronze guy about a nerf suggestion, when they don't even know how to play the game?
Riot is a business and all they wanna do is make money. Catering to players more won't make them a lot more money. Catering to pro play will, and what's why they're doing it.
SoundChaosDebug1 votese sports is just a myth, this is still a video game.
Playing madden 2017 doesn't make you a sports star, playing foot ball and winning the super bowl makes you a sports star.
Snowman Arc2 votesDo you really think that football started out as this whole global phenomenon that it is today? No, it didn't. There had to be many many years before it got recognized and at its start, it had its own struggles with people accepting it. Same with Esports. The thing isn't even out for a lot of time, and people criticize it as if it's been out for decades and still failing.
Just consider the community right now. Most of the people who are alive right now have NO FREAKIN IDEA of what League is. And that's because the game isn't catered to them yet. Therefore, they won't pay attention or even recognize Esports, which means that Esports won't appeal to MOST PEOPLE right now. It only applies to kids and some adults who have direct contact with the game, because right now, those are the only ones who do.
Give it 15-20 years, when we will be 35-40 years old. There people who are 35-40 right now don't know League and thus Esports. When we get to that stage, we will know what it is, and the same will be for our children. Esports will be recognized by more people, because more people will be able to connect to the game because of their past.
6Sfool2 votesGive it 15-20 years, it's still not a sport. Give it 40 years, it will still not be a sport. Look at pacman- every person under 50 knows the game, and it has become no more legitimate as a sport. It's not about recognition, it's about what it's based around. Take any game that a 4 year old can play with a ball, make it competitive, and it's instantly a sport. Hell, Quidditch is a sport no matter how many people laugh at it. But no matter what they do, no matter how popular or competitive or high-stakes it gets, a videogame based on button presses will never become one.
I suck at sports, and would actually do pretty well if videogames were recognized as sports, but I will never call a videogame a sport.
GankedFromBehind5 votesCan you define the word "sport"?
SoundChaosDebug2 votesI don't understand why video gamers are so tied into this word "Sport", making things competitive doesn't instantly make it a sport.
It sure was competitive to get a life boat when the titanic sank but we're not retro calling it the sport of a life time!
Snowman Arc1 votesThen what do you call a sport? What does the word mean? Because I can safely assume that there are so many "sports" out there than aren't really sports. Seriously, people pay way too much attention to titles.
SoundChaosDebug1 votesIf you think people pay too much attention to titles then this video game doesn't need to be called an "E-Sport"
Snowman Arc1 votesWell, if there are a lot of videogames that are having competitive acceptance, then maybe they should be categorized into a group. Maybe called e-sports, I don't know. My point was someone just complained about them being named sports or compared to sports, when the topic was completely different.
Snowman Arc1 votesFirst of all, you are calling it a sport, when everyone calls it e-sports. Since you are so stuck at labelling stuff and you consider it important, then e-sports is different than sports. That aside, what even is the big deal of what it's called? Call it potato, if you so wish, the point here is if League will ever evolve into something globally recognized, like football, basketball etc.
Pacman never became anything like that, because there was never actually someone trying to make it competitive.
Also, as the guy below you asked, what do you call a sport? What's its definition? People seem to think that sport is anything worldwide that is competitive and requires physical effort? As I said above, call it whatever you want, titles shouldn't be important.
MLDzXnRRR1 votes[{quoted}](name=Snowman Arc,realm=EUNE,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=0IndiRAq,comment-id=0003,timestamp=2017-01-29T13:54:04.437+0000)
Riot is a business and all they wanna do is make money. Catering to players more won't make them a lot more money. Catering to pro play will, and what's why they're doing it.
What a nonsense... If noone cares about the game, they will make no money. I personally wouldn't recommend the game at the moment to anyone. SC2 died for several reasons, but the biggest one was that the game became shit (Zerg was OP as fk) and all the casual players left and never came back even after the balance fixes. ATM, LOL is also becoming shit, look all the complain threads how the game isn't fun anymore. In no way 8, 10 or 15 minute stomps are enjoyable.
Snowman Arc1 votesThen, you have to understand that people don't just quit a game. Just not happening. It takes a lot of things for someone to quit, and sometimes, it's not even because of the game itself. How many times have you said "fk this troll feeder in my team, I'm never playing ranked again", and there you are the next day, playing ranked games. How many times have you said "oh, I'm not buying any more skins, because they gutted my favorite champion", and there you are buying RP for chests and keys.
People threaten to quit the game all the time. Does it really happen that often to be a threat? No. And I've been playing games for more then 10 years now, and I've talked with endless players online about this and no one ever really quits.
MLDzXnRRR1 votes[{quoted}](name=Snowman Arc,realm=EUNE,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=0IndiRAq,comment-id=000300010000,timestamp=2017-01-29T14:30:00.518+0000)
Then, you have to understand that people don't just quit a game. Just not happening. It takes a lot of things for someone to quit, and sometimes, it's not even because of the game itself. How many times have you said "fk this troll feeder in my team, I'm never playing ranked again", and there you are the next day, playing ranked games. How many times have you said "oh, I'm not buying any more skins, because they gutted my favorite champion", and there you are buying RP for chests and keys.
People threaten to quit the game all the time. Does it really happen that often to be a threat? No. And I've been playing games for more then 10 years now, and I've talked with endless players online about this and no one ever really quits.
Well, people actually quit. I have more fun chatting on the boards than playing Lol (unless there is a mode like Ascension or URF...) I've spent way more money on MTG over the years than I will ever spent on skins for Lol and I don't care about the game anymore (even if I watch occasionally the Pro Tour Finals).
Snowman Arc1 votesYou compare two different thing, LoL doesn't require you to buy skins, but MTG, or any other card game, actually does. Even if you don't play the game, it's still a physical collection of cards that you can probably even use to bank on in the future.
I know people quit. I quit my previous game that I played for over 8 years to play League. That's a rare occasion though, and it mostly happens if people already have something else to fill that gap.
Mecha MaIphite3 votesDo you want games to be balanced around an elo where I can play Malphite as an on-hit carry and win?
Support Bοt2 votesIt should be balanced on high-medium level like diam/plat to keep it in order.
GuesstheName1321 votesPro Play also brings attention to the game. An Esport selling out Madison Square Garden, one of the most well know stadiums in the US, will definitely bring attention to the game. How about having Imagine Dragons, a well known and famous band, play for them during the World Championship? The Pro Play scene grabs the attention of everyone near the event, and even from major newspapers and journalists. Even though they could be spending money on ad's on TV and such, they are doing it in a more entertaining way and its definitely working.
Legacy Hydralpha1 votesIt's for the $$$. Everyone loves to buy stuff for their team such as skins and merch like shirts. With championship and victorious skins as well, everyone is gonna be getting good stuff. Riot does try to balance their game, but as a company their goal is still to make money.
Bârd1 votesRiot focuses on pro level play because that's where people know what they are doing.
If Riot balanced around silver/gold, the patch notes would just be filled with changes to whatever Reddit and the Gameplay boards have been bitching about lately instead of things that actually need fixing.
"This patch, we have decided to make Windwall only block 1/1/2/2/3 projectiles. He has been just too strong lately, literally making 60% of the roster completely unplayable whenever he isn't banned. While this might seem like we are gutting Yasuo completely, we believe this change will separate the no-skill WTF op Yasuos from the 12 year olds with the Project skin."
rtbf2216514121 votesIf Riot balanced around silver/gold, the patch notes would just be filled with changes to whatever Reddit and the Gameplay boards have been bitching about lately instead of things that actually need fixing.
They 'balanced' Evelynn on bronze though. Guess how that turned out for her?
Bârd2 votesPretty damn poorly.