Pro gaming career in SA isn't sustainable, says PandaTank

perhaps you could make a living from it in the next 5 to 10 years.
now PandaTank will become SadPanda :p
 
Sad day indeed. However hats off to his achievements to date. It's always good to hear SA players in international Pro Gaming Scene regardless of placement.
 
@ Drago he actually did quite well. But SA is too far from the 'gaming world' Internet quality wise to be making a living from it
 
@ Drago he actually did quite well. But SA is too far from the 'gaming world' Internet quality wise to be making a living from it

I agree he did do well, he is someone that we can all look up to and set a goal.
 
Damn man. Pity he couldn't get sponsored and live overseas in some gaming house or something. But even so, must be a bit of a heavy lifestyle. Having to worry how well you play the game all the time or you lose your job virtually would not be fun for me.
 
Damn man. Pity he couldn't get sponsored and live overseas in some gaming house or something. But even so, must be a bit of a heavy lifestyle. Having to worry how well you play the game all the time or you lose your job virtually would not be fun for me.

Could argue the same with any professional athlete... If you dont perform your out...

The gaming industry in SA is still relatively young... 15-20 years ago most professional sportsmen had a 9 to 5 to pay bills and played sport for the love of it... We could see the industry grow into something that people could earn a living off, but i dont see it happening any time soon...
 
I think the biggest issue is sponsorship. That's where the money comes from. There are no local gaming companies that can get into it and I dare you to contact a bank or SAB or one of the other large South African companies to ask for a "gaming sponsorship". They'll probably think it's Whackhead on the other end.
 
Could argue the same with any professional athlete... If you dont perform your out...

The gaming industry in SA is still relatively young... 15-20 years ago most professional sportsmen had a 9 to 5 to pay bills and played sport for the love of it... We could see the industry grow into something that people could earn a living off, but i dont see it happening any time soon...
True, but its different to golf right now, where if you suck you can still make a decent living. Gaming is so small still, that you need to be at the absolute peak to make it, all the time. I thought it was possible in the strategy gaming world, dota, starcraft etc. So seeing that Panda can't make it is not cool. Its possible if you rip at COD ($1mil) at the COD Championships, but thats only if you're the top guys - literally.

There is growth, but I agree with you, its still very young.
 
Well as James states:

However, our R2.2 billion local gaming market is on a growth path with forecasts of a R3.2 billion market by 2017.

This is a growing industry that's expanding at an immense rate in SA. Many of us who've been gaming since the 90's, been to every VC, Carnage, Venom, Mayhem and rAge LAN available have a slight misconception of where gaming should be by now. However PandaTank was but the first of many to tread in that direction, with many to build success off his foundation.
 
sad about pandatank but he started something now we need someone to take it to the next level. till we can be big enough to make it sustainable.
 
sad about pandatank but he started something now we need someone to take it to the next level. till we can be big enough to make it sustainable.

Agreed... just pick up where he left off and keep it going... get more guys up to his level and presence.
 
sad day in sa gaming history

I laughed.

Well as James states:



This is a growing industry that's expanding at an immense rate in SA. Many of us who've been gaming since the 90's, been to every VC, Carnage, Venom, Mayhem and rAge LAN available have a slight misconception of where gaming should be by now. However PandaTank was but the first of many to tread in that direction, with many to build success off his foundation.

Those was fun :D
 
For the pro esport players and gaming to get bigger than it is today. Get ride of the Fail MSSA for one ! Have more esport events with spectator aspects to it. There is no bar craft or proper spectator area at lans. rAge spectator area was a big let down, with many not even knowing there was a DGL going on.

Pandatank did well just due to half the country not knowing the world of esport there can not be growth. Thats why going to large companies would be fail when they dont know what its for.
 
In my opinion eSport will do a lot better in South Africa if it can get tv coverage. There's currently very little for spectators and for any sport to become big you need spectators.

I remember when MyGaming held those Dota 2 tournaments here. I tried to watch that first day and the video stream wasn't working. There wasn't a schedule. In fact the only way you could have any idea of what was going on was if you were participating.

It put me off the whole thing.

Make esports a spectator friendly sport and the sponsorships will come. Alienate the spectators and pro gaming will never be viable in South Africa.
 
In my opinion eSport will do a lot better in South Africa if it can get tv coverage. There's currently very little for spectators and for any sport to become big you need spectators.

I remember when MyGaming held those Dota 2 tournaments here. I tried to watch that first day and the video stream wasn't working. There wasn't a schedule. In fact the only way you could have any idea of what was going on was if you were participating.

It put me off the whole thing.

Make esports a spectator friendly sport and the sponsorships will come. Alienate the spectators and pro gaming will never be viable in South Africa.

give the man a bell :D
 
yea some people like to watch it some dont. I dont like watching sport but i like watching Final games rather than watching a total season.

Yea like solitude said spectating in SA is really bad.
 
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