Chexx Profile Joined May 2011 Korea (South) 5348 Posts Last Edited: 2013-10-26 19:16:22 October 26 2013 19:14 GMT #1

Welcome to our second part about the Japanese League of Legends culture. This time Matsujun, the organizer from Japan Competitive Gaming (JCG), answered our questions about the topic "League of Legends in Japan." I hope you enjoy it and find it informative.

Signing off,

Chexx



TL-Chexx: Hi. Can you introduce yourself to our readers who are not familiar with who you are and what you do?

Matsujun: I am Junichi Matsumoto, known as "matsujun" in Japan. I am known as a promoter of Japanese PC games communities such as AoE3, Starcraft2 and League of Legends. I am 37 years old, married, and have two children. Since this April, I joined "Milestone International Japan Co., Ltd." to start JCG (Japan Compatitive Gaming) to boost the Japanese e-sports scene.



TL-Chexx: How did you start organizing a Japanese LoL league?

Matsujun: I started playing League two years ago and started a community site around that time. I have experience in community management so I was prepared for all functions of what a community site needed. I started JCG LoL with Milestone's support, which is also beneficial to them because Milestone is in the business of PC retail.



TL-Chexx: Can you describe the tournament you organize?

Matsujun: JCG is an annual League with 4 seasons (similar to the OGN seasons or LCS splits). There are 4 different season winners and this year we decided to crown a grand champion among the 4 teams. The total prize pool is about $9000.



TL-Chexx: On which Server do you host the tournament?

Matsujun: The NA server. It is the oldest one and provides the most stable ping as well as an English client.



TL-Chexx: Can you describe the Japanese LoL structure at the moment? Which are the best teams?

Matsujun: Most Japanese LoL players start with the NA server. They get the basic knowledge from Japanese Wikis or translations of English LoL news. Japanese players have not participated in any Riot tournament at this moment, but several Japanese companies have started to organize LoL tournaments this year. Many good teams have been assembled and I cannot say which is the best at this moment. "The Beastmitai", "Detonation FM", "Rampage" are the top candidates.



TL-Chexx: Did you get any support from Riot to organize the tournament? Money or skin codes for the prizepool?

Matsujun: No, not at all. Riot basically does not provide support for the countries outside of the regions covered by their servers.



TL-Chexx: What is the skill level like for the current teams? How do they compare to the other regions?

Matsujun: I think their personal skill is not so different from players in NA semi-pro teams. There are several challenger-caliber teams on the NA server, and TBM won one of the Go4LoL of NA.



TL-Chexx: Could LoL become a mainstay of Japanese gaming like console/arcade gaming? What needs to happen for this to come to fruition and how could Riot or any community members help the process?

Matsujun: I think it is possible. I think some real "Japanese-Local" service, irresistible e-sports and fan activities are needed to realize it.



TL-Chexx: Riot announced that in the first half of 2014 Riot will start to support Japan. What do you think about that?

Matsujun: Riot had officially announced this February that they would start to support Japan in this year. I believe when they will start JP server some day and the Japanese players are ready to welcome the JP server when it is launched.



TL-Chexx: What would you like to see from Riot to help you?

Matsujun: Technical, promotional and financial supports are welcome.



TL-Chexx: How is LoL in Japan received? What image does it have?

Matsujun: Japanese fans like LoL artworks, especially the ones from the Chinese client. We like to learn more about the characters and their background stories. Unfortunately such artworks do not have so big advantage from other games at this moment.



TL-Chexx: What is the general gaming infrastructure in Japan? Are there a lot of PC cafes to play games? Do the regular Japanese LoL player game from home?

Matsujun: Most families have good PC and internet connections. There are a lot of PC cafes but the majority play games at home.



TL-Chexx: Why is PC gaming not as popular as console gaming?

Matsujun: Console system is cheaper, simpler and offer graphic qualities on par with PC.



TL-Chexx: In America and Europe streaming games got really popular. Do games like LoL raise interest for streaming games in Japan?

Matsujun: "NicoNico" is the biggest streaming site in Japan. NicoNico has 15 million PV a day, and about a half of them are game streamings.



TL-Chexx: Which region do you follow the most beside Japan? Is it Korea/China because they are close to Japan or do you follow NA/EU?

Matsujun: I thinks Japanese people follow NA/EU because their client is in English.



TL-Chexx: Do you have any favorite players?

Matsujun: I like Alex Ich and Faker. I like mid players in general.



TL-Chexx: What is your long term goal / dreams with JCG?

Matsujun: My dream with JCG is for it to be like ESL.

My long term goal is to build a huge e-sports scene in Japan, setting up many e-sports pro teams and leagues, and seeing Japanese teams win on the world stage. Like getting gold medal in Olympic, I would love to see Japanese players win international tournaments.



TL-Chexx: Where can we find information about your tournament and where is it streamed?

Matsujun: We mainly stream at Twitch.TV. JCG Season 4 will start Sunday, Nov 10 10:30am GMT (GMT+00:00). The next English Broadcast will be on 29th October a showmatch between Beast Mitai vs. ahq e-Sports Club.



English Stream

JCG Website

Welcome to our second part about the Japanese League of Legends culture. This time Matsujun, the organizer from Japan Competitive Gaming (JCG), answered our questions about the topic "League of Legends in Japan." I hope you enjoy it and find it informative.Hi. Can you introduce yourself to our readers who are not familiar with who you are and what you do?I am Junichi Matsumoto, known as "matsujun" in Japan. I am known as a promoter of Japanese PC games communities such as AoE3, Starcraft2 and League of Legends. I am 37 years old, married, and have two children. Since this April, I joined "Milestone International Japan Co., Ltd." to start JCG (Japan Compatitive Gaming) to boost the Japanese e-sports scene.How did you start organizing a Japanese LoL league?I started playing League two years ago and started a community site around that time. I have experience in community management so I was prepared for all functions of what a community site needed. I started JCG LoL with Milestone's support, which is also beneficial to them because Milestone is in the business of PC retail.Can you describe the tournament you organize?JCG is an annual League with 4 seasons (similar to the OGN seasons or LCS splits). There are 4 different season winners and this year we decided to crown a grand champion among the 4 teams. The total prize pool is about $9000.On which Server do you host the tournament?The NA server. It is the oldest one and provides the most stable ping as well as an English client.Can you describe the Japanese LoL structure at the moment? Which are the best teams?Most Japanese LoL players start with the NA server. They get the basic knowledge from Japanese Wikis or translations of English LoL news. Japanese players have not participated in any Riot tournament at this moment, but several Japanese companies have started to organize LoL tournaments this year. Many good teams have been assembled and I cannot say which is the best at this moment. "The Beastmitai", "Detonation FM", "Rampage" are the top candidates.Did you get any support from Riot to organize the tournament? Money or skin codes for the prizepool?No, not at all. Riot basically does not provide support for the countries outside of the regions covered by their servers.What is the skill level like for the current teams? How do they compare to the other regions?I think their personal skill is not so different from players in NA semi-pro teams. There are several challenger-caliber teams on the NA server, and TBM won one of the Go4LoL of NA.Could LoL become a mainstay of Japanese gaming like console/arcade gaming? What needs to happen for this to come to fruition and how could Riot or any community members help the process?I think it is possible. I think some real "Japanese-Local" service, irresistible e-sports and fan activities are needed to realize it.Riot announced that in the first half of 2014 Riot will start to support Japan. What do you think about that?Riot had officially announced this February that they would start to support Japan in this year. I believe when they will start JP server some day and the Japanese players are ready to welcome the JP server when it is launched.What would you like to see from Riot to help you?Technical, promotional and financial supports are welcome.How is LoL in Japan received? What image does it have?Japanese fans like LoL artworks, especially the ones from the Chinese client. We like to learn more about the characters and their background stories. Unfortunately such artworks do not have so big advantage from other games at this moment.What is the general gaming infrastructure in Japan? Are there a lot of PC cafes to play games? Do the regular Japanese LoL player game from home?Most families have good PC and internet connections. There are a lot of PC cafes but the majority play games at home.Why is PC gaming not as popular as console gaming?Console system is cheaper, simpler and offer graphic qualities on par with PC.In America and Europe streaming games got really popular. Do games like LoL raise interest for streaming games in Japan?"NicoNico" is the biggest streaming site in Japan. NicoNico has 15 million PV a day, and about a half of them are game streamings.Which region do you follow the most beside Japan? Is it Korea/China because they are close to Japan or do you follow NA/EU?I thinks Japanese people follow NA/EU because their client is in English.Do you have any favorite players?I like Alex Ich and Faker. I like mid players in general.What is your long term goal / dreams with JCG?My dream with JCG is for it to be like ESL.My long term goal is to build a huge e-sports scene in Japan, setting up many e-sports pro teams and leagues, and seeing Japanese teams win on the world stage. Like getting gold medal in Olympic, I would love to see Japanese players win international tournaments.Where can we find information about your tournament and where is it streamed?We mainly stream at Twitch.TV. JCG Season 4 will start Sunday, Nov 10 10:30am GMT (GMT+00:00). The next English Broadcast will be on 29th October a showmatch between Beast Mitai vs. ahq e-Sports Club. Administrator Follow me @TL_Chexx