COUNTERSTRIKE CHAT ON XFIRE WITH XPLAYN
August 3rd 2007, Online.

Scandinavia is commonly acknowledged as the cradle of occidental Electronic Sports. Here is a chance to meet the nurses who have nurtured the wonder boys of Denmark since 2000. Guddo, team leader of NoA and his crew of tournament reporters from XplayN dig deep into the core of gaming. From their lives as e-sports columnists to the future of CS and CS:S and the most notorious moments they had the opportunity to experience, Phil, Guddo, Crash and Lizzard give us a chat to remember, in ten years of time, when it’s turned out big, where it all began...

Would you ever consider making the transition to focus primarily on Source?
Phil - XplayN.com: A transition to CS: Source seems quite radical with the current state of the CS 1.6-community, but we are always looking at the market and think of how we can develop. And there is CS:S a quite big subject for us since CGS seems like they will be there for a long time

How long have you been playing together?
guddo - XplayN.com: We are not playing any kind of game, we are working together - making an eSport site.


TheATXKiller: How powerful are your computers? Do you build them yourselves, or are they from brand names like Dell or Ibuypower?
Crash_ - XplayN.com: We put together our computers ourselves as it saves money and often gives you a better performance for less $

How does your normal day look like?
Phil - XplayN.com: I think it s rather different, for my sake I work for one of the biggest Internet Service Providers in Denmark, so I go to work like every normal person. When I get home I work a lot with XplayN, updating it with news from around the world.
guddo - XplayN.com: A normal day for me is working with eSport the whole day, including the news site XplayN and the gaming organisation Team NoA.

Snapy: Were there any time we you fort you would fold the whole thing??
Lizzard - XplayN.com: Actually not. Why should we? It has always been the community that has driven us, and the backup has always been there.

<HBS>SgtMaj.Oliv|SPCO|: How much do you play a day?
Crash_ - XplayN.com: It varies a lot but since we're all administrating a community such as XplayN.com we actually don't have that much time to really play. But of course there's always some time for poker sessions, a counter-strike match or even some heroes

Has XplayN ever hosted any tournaments or gaming events for theScandinavian countries? What was the biggest and best one in your opinion, if you ever had one?
Phil - XplayN.com: We had a major Scandinavian tournament in the works together with fragbite and NESC.nu at one point, but since we couldn't get the small things to match up we just dropped the idea. Our biggest tournament must be the "Danish Gold" competition where the to major parts of Denmark; Sealand and Jutland played versus each other. We had around 1.000 specs which is quite big for Denmark (in fact the record has never been broken)
guddo - XplayN.com: There is going to be a qualifier for a major gaming event in September, with 8 top teams playing for 2 spots in one of the worlds biggest events.

Snapy: Would you ever think you would go this far in doing game coverage ??
Lizzard - XplayN.com: I don’t want to announce how far our rabbit hole goes, but visions has always been a part of our drive, just want to say that we haven’t gotten halfway yet

Snapy: Who is you all time fav cs 1.6 team??
Lizzard - XplayN.com: NoA! NoA! NoA!
Phil - XplayN.com: erratic, they played a lovely T-side on de_cbble
Crash_ - XplayN.com: Definately The Titans. I barely got to experience the succes of former top danish team Spirit of Amiga, so for me it was a very special feeling watching The Titans go all the way to the top - especially because I was kinda involved in the organisation bit of the team.

You all seem to speak perfect English, how come your site is in another language? Do you ever plan on translating it?
Phil - XplayN.com: We have thought of it, and you guys might see XplayN.com in English some day in the future

` M u r h a a j a ~: Do XPlayN members play only Counter Strike or other games ?
Lizzard - XplayN.com: I have organized CS 1.6 tournaments for years, but suck at the game. I <3 Quake but not as much as doing events.
Phil - XplayN.com: He sucks at Quake too (just for the record)

Whats the best event you have been to and why did you like it ??
guddo - XplayN.com: I’ve been to almost every tournament around the world and the best one must be WEG in Seoul, South Korea. 7 weeks of intense gaming broadcasted all around Asia, organized almost perfect.

What can you say to a young person like me who would like to go far in doing e-sports coverage?
Phil - XplayN.com: Well I'd say; write, write and write a little more. Personally I leaned more from writing myself than I did from listen to my teacher. And apply for a site where you will get feedback on what you write, that is the most important thing if you want to get better.

Do you think that eSports could eventually break into the mainstream, eventually becoming broadcast on television?
Crash_ - XplayN.com: I believe we're already seeing eSports breaking through to the mainstream audience. Recently CGS broke through in the states and brought a lot of attention to themselves by hosting an event in the Playboy Mansion. I also know that MTV has a certain "game" concept were they broadcast a special series of shows in certain countries
guddo - XplayN.com: I’m certain that eSports will be mainstream in the future. If you look at Asia, it's actually the national sports activity at the moment - and you'll definitely see this coming to Europe within the nearest future.

Frosty.: Are you ever in competition with another "company" such as EGLN?
Lizzard - XplayN.com: Well, mYm would love to do a takeover in Denmark, but they have never stood a chance and will never stand a chance. This is where we stand! This is where we fight!
guddo - XplayN.com: SPAAAAARTAAA!

Snapy: How did you get into the idea to do coverage instead of playing the games?
Lizzard - XplayN.com: XplayN.com was founded in 2002 in close cooperation with the hardcore players from Spirit of Amiga and was amongst the first sites who basically promoted the players. This is how we began.
Crash_ - XplayN.com: Well. I've never had the patience that allowed me to sit down and practise several hours a day to become one of the best. Instead I decided to become one of the best in another area of eSports - the coverage part. Of course it's far from the same as being a team and travelling the world playing professional eSports, but I find all the organizing, covering and developing far more interesting than just sitting and playing - anyone can do that

Where do you plan to go next with the e-sports coverage??
Crash_ - XplayN.com: Counter-Strike: Source is an obvious answer
guddo - XplayN.com: Our next on-site coverage will be done by Phil at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany. The Danish national team have qualified for the ESL ENC and our proud Team NoA qualified for the NGL One finals.

Will be there a Call of Duty Community too ?
guddo - XplayN.com: We are expanding our games as much as possible, but I'm afraid you won't see CoD in the nearest future.
Crash_ - XplayN.com: We're not planning on going that way but of course if the CoD community is longing for some professional coverage and there are people within the community that are ready to help deliver it, then it might be a possibility

When ever you go to another event what’s the one thing you will always take??
Crash_ - XplayN.com: Something soft to sleep on

what do you think of the female community?
Phil - XplayN.com: Are you sure you want to know? Anyway I'm quite divided about that question. First and foremost I think that there is no physical or racial differences which decides who is better in eSport. Therefore I tend to think that it Female Gaming is a parody. Why shouldn't female gamers compete with men - on the same terms? I mean, look at Vanessa from the CGS-squad of Optx. She's almost better than all her male colleagues. On the other hand I see why companies and teams has female squads - they attract more interest, thereby having a higher value.

What do you think about the upcoming game CSPromod??
Phil - XplayN.com: I have not tried it yet, and without trying it I have a hard time commenting on it. But I think the idea is good since I don't really like the original CS:S

How many people are working for xplayn?
Crash_ - XplayN.com: Around 50 persons are directly connected to XplayN as moderators, writers, developers, event manager or the likes. But the number always rises and falls since the majority of people on the site is volunteers

Do you all consider Xplayn as your job or so most of you have other main sources of income (if Xplayn makes you any real money...) ?
guddo - XplayN.com: I can only speak for myself, when i say that XplayN is not my main income. I'm a part of the developing team and the tournament director, which is not my main income.

How does XplayN come into play with the growth of CS community in Denmark?
Lizzard - XplayN.com: XplayN.com is based on CS and pretty much more than 95% of our users play mainly CS. We do a lot of CS-activities and have a lively community so it pretty much work out in between CS and the site

What are some video games that you want to do coverage in the future?
Phil - XplayN.com: We are looking into both consoles, CS:S and a couple of more PC-titles, but we are waiting for the market to settle before making our choices (with CoD4 and ET:QW coming out soon we'd like to wait a little while)

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