The reason i dont believe the game will be competitive at its current rate is that i dont think riot really cares if it goes competitive. The average player would have spent more then $2 on riot points giving them a larger income then heroes of newerth right off the bat. Since HON 2.0, HON literally introduced pretty much every feature LOL had that they didnt to stay in the game (out of game shop, skins, more community focus, superficial stuff like that), but LOL didnt even try bridge the gap. I can safely say that HON produces significantly better characters and better skins.
LOL still hasnt fixed the forums search tools, still hasnt added voip, observers, stat tracking, leaver protection, etc. They havent really put a huge focus on balance as the game is based around casual play. They are happy peddling their wares to the casual gamer as it means they only have to churn on medi-ocre champions and skins at a moderate rate which costs very little in terms of cost/gain.

"But LoL is for casual fun, nothing more." That is brilliant quote.

I did make me chuckle that this seems to be the only living thread in competitive...

I think people just need to take a look at a game like SC2 or Counter Strike. Those games maintain cuthroat hardcore players who play the game at the absolute highest levels, and at the same time it has devoted casuals who follow the competitive scene. Once you have this balance then you're on the terms of a sport and not just a game.

I think as long as the game is fun to watch then people will watch it and follow it. This has yet to be proven, as riot hasn't really given us many ways to spectate pro matches, but if riot can strike this balance then LoL will be in good shape as a competitive game.

People still play HoN and Sc2?

HON has pretty much taken the moba competitive scene inconjunction with dota, and SC2 will probably be the most competitive RTS for the next 10 years till SC3.

Honestly, the only thing HoN has going for it is the competitive features. Once riot gets off its ass LoL will easily beat it. The already massive fanbase around the game supports this.

And SC2 is pretty much THE competitive game atm. It really is absurd how fast its growing, if you just look at how many tournaments there are and the ridiculous prize pools behind them.

not necessarily.
there's another turn-off for competitive players to pick up LoL and that is the model of the game.
a player has to grind their a$$ off for weeks just unlock champions as well as runes necessary for those champions.
or spent hundreds of dollars to unlock champions.

and just because it has a massive fanbase, does not necessarily mean the game can be successful competitively.
only a very small % of that fanbase is playing the game competitively while the rest is just playing it for fun/casually.
some of them doesn't even care about the competitive scene of the game.

compare it to HoN, it only cost $30 ($10 when it was on sale) and you get all the heroes as well as any new heroes in the future. no masteries, no runes.
it's easier for competitive players to pick up HoN and get into the competitive scene.

SC2 might be the game that has the biggest prize pool but other games such as HoN, SC as well as dota are still very much active in the competitive gaming scene.

^ That.

Err... I t-downed instead of t-up... im such a fail... >< Sorry FML

Your acting like competitive players have a completely different mindset from everyone else. At the heart of everything, we do it because we find the game fun. We just have a drive for winning, competition, and devotion to hard work and practice. Keep in mind, to stay on the cutting edge of most games you have to be practicing at least 5-6+ hours a day 7 days a week. If you dont find the game fun to begin with, then whats the point?

Competitive gamers dont go around searching for games to play. They find 1 game to stick with and play it for several years. The top people in the Starcraft scene have been playing the game for almost 13 years. Its no longer a game, its a sport just like football and baseball.

Players will stick with what they think is fun. Sure, there are the small group of elitists that wont play a game because of 'skill' differences, but honestly, I can not name a single player, of any game in history, that people can agree on saying that "he's hit the skill cap, theres nothing more he can improve on." And really, the skill searchers are just a small small percentage of any community.

The fact is, more people have picked up LoL than HoN, and investors and tournament leagues lock on to this number with a steel gaze. I was vaguely hinting that the only thing keeping LoL back right now is accessibility, which, admittedly, is a huge HUGE barrier. I am absolutely amazed that we still don't have observer capability yet. I honestly believe that once observers and replays are added, this game will absolutely skyrocket.

Just because the majority of the playerbase is casual doesn't mean they don't want to watch and be amazed at what the best players can do. The majority of ANY game is casual. Starcraft 2, Counterstrike, Street fighter. All of these games can be played extremely casually, and yet people still have fun watching it. That is what separates a true sport from just another video game.

It is Free to Play, how is that not casual?