The prize money for the championship exceeded 150 million yen! An “e-sports commentator” who is busier than the players talked about “the craze and the other side of it.

The popularity of fighting games exploded with the release of “Street Fighter II” in 1991 and became a social phenomenon. After several booms and busts, the game is now enjoying a worldwide boom. Street Fighter VI” (hereafter referred to as “STO 6”), which was released in 2011, has sold more than 4 million units worldwide. With this, the world of e-sports is heating up.

Qualifying rounds were held in real tournaments around the world and online tournaments in 2012, and the winner of “CAPCOM CUP 11,” a final tournament to be held in Ryogoku, Tokyo in March 2013, will receive a prize of 1 million dollars (about 150 million yen). The prize money for the championship tournament, “CAPCOM CUP 11,” to be held in Ryogoku, Tokyo in March 2013, is a whopping $1 million.) Players from all over the world will be competing for glory, honor, and pride.

The people behind the frenzy are the e-sports commentators or “e-sports casters. Successful e-sports commentators are in great demand, appearing in various media more than famous athletes. Among these e-sports commentators, “Hameko,” one of the leaders of the competitive scene and currently one of the top e-sports commentators, gives us his background on how he became an e-sports commentator. We asked him about how he became an e-sports commentator, the specifics of his job, the skills required, and his philosophy.

Languages in the “Behind-the-Scenes Strategy Book

–What kind of person is Hameko? What kind of person are you?

I am a commentator involved in the competitive gaming scene. I am not only a commentator, but also a play-by-play commentator and an event organizer, but I am often used as a commentator. I do most of my work on fighting games, but I also work on a variety of other games.

–How did you become a game commentator in the first place?

I used to be a game writer who wrote game strategy books, and I also did commentary for national tournaments called “Fighting Games,” which were very popular in the 2000s. However, the demand for game strategies in both print media and on the web started to decline around the end of the 2000s, and the number of jobs was decreasing rapidly.

Around the same time, with the release of “Street Fighter IV,” the overseas competitive scene began to flourish, centering on a major tournament called “EVO. I was focusing on the game “Tekken” in particular, and there is a strong horizontal connection between fighting gamers. I had a relationship with Umehara (Daigo Umehara, 43) and Tokido (39), who are still active as top professional players in Reiwa, so I was accepted by them.

While I was covering the international competitive scene in this way, “Street Fighter V” was released in 2004, and I felt that if I got serious about commentary and play-by-play work, it would be a good idea and make my life easier. I made the decision to become a TV personality.

–And now you are a top-class commentator. What kind of skills are required?

I have the language of games and strategy, which I acquired when I was a writer. As for my knowledge of games, I’m very much creating my own strategies. I have created my own “behind-the-scenes strategy book” of sorts, and I pull material from that to talk about. I have already verbalized my research on games long before I speak on the spot.

–I think you are required to have a high level of communication skills, too.

I don’t have much of a communicative ability. …… I consider myself a solitary person. Of course, I have a lot of friends in the industry, but I don’t have much to ask them in terms of communication. This is because the most important thing when speaking in the competitive scene is to “speak in your own words.

When you are exchanging strategy information with a professional player, you start talking like “that’s what the professional player said,” and your words are no longer your own. It is not your own words. I think this is quite subtle. It is a temporary assignment of the analysis to someone else. It’s cold to hold someone else responsible for your words, even if they are your own words (laughs).

No matter how great a person may be, he or she may be wrong. (laughs). No matter how great a person is, there is always something wrong. Then it is better to be wrong in your own words. Do your own research and speak. And if you are wrong, it is your fault. It doesn’t matter who said it or what they said. I originally like to research things that interest me, because that is the source of my motivation.

–What about your ability to talk?　Do you manage your body to keep your voice?

I think the art of speaking and communicating requires training. I used to be a writer, so I’ve had an awareness of language, or rather, a natural discipline, for more than 20 years, so I’m pretty good at it. I am very happy to have been a game writer.

As for physical management, I have most of the weight equipment at home, and I train hard for an hour every day. I also watch video games during the intervals of muscle training. I don’t do anything special with my voice. I’ve always been a vocalist and guitarist in a band as a hobby, so maybe that’s working out well for me.

Follow to the community of players.

–Hameko. You are also good at English, aren’t you?

I’m not sure if I’m good at English, but I’m good at listening to some extent. I used to watch gaming tournaments overseas all the time, and I also like music, so I listen to Western music, from the classics like the Beatles and the Eagles, to a little later on, Lecchili (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and of course, the current stuff, which I think helps. It seems that language learning is “by ear,” and the more you listen, the more you understand the words. I started by listening and looking up the words I didn’t understand later, and surprisingly, I was able to understand the words quickly. If you know English or Chinese, you can access the core of the world’s trends more quickly and deeply, so I wish I had studied more during my formal education (laughs).

–(Laughs) – Is there anything else that you find useful?

I think it is important that I like reading. I read quite a lot, and I really like the essays of Tatsuhiko Shibusawa. He writes about difficult things in beautiful, if a little difficult, sentences. He makes me read them. I still learn a lot from him in my work of conveying things to people and stimulating their appetite for knowledge.

— (Looking at the waiting image on your phone) “Heart Catch Pretty Cure! is your favorite?

I love the Pretty Cure Cure Marin from “Heart Catch” (laughs). (laughs) I got hooked on the Pretty Cure series about 14 years ago. I don’t get to watch it much anymore, but I learned a lot from it because the adults were really trying to entertain the kids, and they thought through what they could do to do that.

–What do you do to stay on top of trends?

What do you do to keep up with the latest trends? We explain what strategies and techniques are popular at the moment, and tell people technically that “these techniques are used and that’s why it’s so interesting”, but at the same time we need to know about the players and their community, At the same time, if you know about the players and their community, you will gain the trust of the users.

If you don’t know who the players are, what kind of relationships they have, what kind of stories they are carrying, and what is going on in the competition scene, you will be mistrusted, and that will lead to the feeling that “this person is not playing this game,” so I try to follow up on that. So I try to keep up with that.

I always check out videos of tournaments and players. What I personally pay attention to is what players say on the video feeds immediately after they have finished a battle at a tournament or other event. By watching these videos, I can check from the players’ point of view whether my perception is correct or not, and I can reconcile the differences in perception and what kind of feelings the professionals have.

–How much of the week are you in operation?

When the competition scene is active, I do commentary at least three to four days a week. During those times, I work seven days a week, considering the time I spend preparing and gathering information before and after the games (laughs). (Laughs.) It’s a lot of work, but I like games, I like conveying the fun of them, and I don’t consider it work, so maybe that’s why I’m getting by.

Thankfully, the weekends in ’26 are already somewhat filled. I would like to keep my feet on the ground there. I also continue to work as a writer, helping edit the official patch notes for the world-famous game “League of Legends.

–How much money do you make?

Well, about four figures a year (laughs).

–(Laughs.) -Do you earn money on a per-project basis?

In my case, yes. I ask Yoshimoto Kogyo to manage my work, so sometimes I receive my income through Yoshimoto, and other times I receive guarantees from event companies and companies that create broadcasting platforms.

–How do you receive offers for e-sports-related work?

Every time the order is different. Some ask me to do commentary, some ask me to be an MC, and some just ask me to “talk about something” or “just get in front of the audience and talk about something. I am sometimes asked to speak softly, or to “just get in front of the audience and say something. I would like to increase what I can do and make it more convenient for people to use.

–Do you have any important points unique to e-sports commentators?

I pay attention to the tension at each job and each site. Nowadays, e-sports events are attracting a lot of attention. There are not only serious competitions between professional players, but also events featuring V-tubers, streamers, idols, comedians, and a variety of other people. Who is going to participate and what is the purpose of the event?　The way to do it will be completely different depending on that.

–Is it necessary to be able to read the tension and atmosphere?

I am a talent, but I am not a performer. I am a TV personality, but I also take part in content production. In the end, content is all about who you are creating it for and what kind of content you are creating.　I think it all comes down to who you are creating the content for. It is not only events, but also animation, manga, and novels. Then, the approach to the target audience must be changed each time. I pay the most attention to thinking about how to make them the most interesting to watch.

–Could you tell us specifically what kind of techniques you use?

For example, we try to change the information and the way we convey it during the program. For example, in casual events, players and spectators are often casual, so we may softly explain more about the first matches, but in the finals, we may be more serious and less explanatory as usual, so that the audience can feel the passion of the game. We are conscious of the fact that we want the viewers to know how to enjoy the tournament naturally as it progresses. That’s the kind of approach I try to take.

Prize Money Soars…but Crisis: “The Current Situation is a Bubble

–The World Championships attracts as many as 400,000 viewers at its peak. How do you deal with the tension before you start commentating in such a situation?

I don’t get nervous at all. It’s probably no different from chatting over a game at a friend’s house for a long time. Of course, I’m communicating to the world in public, so unlike when I’m at home with my friends, I choose my words carefully (laughs).

–Did you expect “Strike 6” to make such a big splash?

I didn’t think so. I think the game is fun, but fun alone is not enough to make it jump. This time, the initial response was good. I think it was an effort by Capcom, the company that released “Strike 6. We succeeded by involving people outside the game from an early stage. However, everyone at the core of the competitive scene feels that the current situation is probably a bubble and not a permanent one, so I think everyone is being careful (laughs).

(Laughs.) I am aware that the current situation is a lucky break. We should not think that it will continue even if we do nothing. Well, I have experienced the rise and fall of this type of gaming many times before, so I think everyone is thinking about what they can do in this situation, not just me.

–What are you trying to do about it?

The history of fighting games is long, and the history of the players is also long. The stories are connected, so I think it is important to keep telling them. This is nothing special. It is something I have always wanted to do. I will do it without bending. In my position as a commentator, I think it is very important to talk about history. I want people to know how great the players are. I want to tell people at every turn that the people part is the fun part.”

–The rise of young people who are new to the history of the game is also great.

I think that’s because there are so many people. I think deeply that talent emerges when there are a lot of people. There are kids in junior high school who are very strong, and I am happy to see that they are in a position to emerge.

–Hameco has seen the rise and fall of the game since its early days. How does it make you feel to hear that the prize money is 150 million yen?

I don’t really feel it. Maybe it’s because I’m not a player myself, but I’m not that concerned about the prize money. I have the feeling that it must be valuable to the industry as a whole because of its news value. It would be nice if people saw the prize money as “150 million yen, that’s a lot of money, I’ll play gaming then.

But prize money is very difficult.　But prize money is very difficult to maintain, and when it is high, it is fine. To put it another way, prize money in a game tournament is a PR tool. So, if you pay 100 million yen in prize money as a PR budget, is the publicity effect worth it?　It would be “yes. Without that, it is nothing more than a handout, and in the long run, I don’t think it is a good idea. What happens when the amount of money drops?　That’s what I’m talking about.

For example, there is a game called “Dota2,” where you sell items for the world championships, and a percentage of the pooled amount is returned to the prize money. International 2021″ in 2009, the total prize money was $40 million (about 6.2 billion yen). However, this method is good when it is good, but when the fans’ enthusiasm cools down, the prize money drops dramatically, which is a difficult part of the game. The debate over what to do with the prize money has been going on for a long time.　The debate over what to do with the prize money has been going on for a long time. Some people think that it would be better to have a permanent event without selling the high prize money. From my own experience, when the prize money drops, it is inevitably compared to the good times. The amount of prize money is easy to understand. ……”

–The public’s view is, “It’s not so exciting anymore, is it?

Yes, yes. So there are not only positive feelings about the high prize money. I’m afraid of how it will look when it falls.”

–What else do you think is important?

For example, it is a matter of course that professional matches are interesting. For example, it is natural that professional games are interesting because, in terms of cuisine, the best ingredients are prepared and served with the freshest and most polished techniques. Compared to that, it is natural that there is nothing technically interesting to see in a match between non-professional gamers at a casual event.

However, there is also a sense of fun in these matches. The level of the matches may be poor, but there is drama and effort that the person is carrying. Still, the technique that one puts forth in a match may be an amateur’s gluggle-punch. But among the gluggle punches, there is a blow that is aimed firmly at the jaw, and when it hits cleanly, it can create great drama. I hope to convey the fun of creating such things.

–Could you tell our Friday Digital readers what you think is interesting about e-sports today?

There are many different genres of games that are interesting, but fighting games are easy to understand at first sight. There are many different types of games in different genres, but fighting games are easy to understand at first sight. It’s simple: the player who takes the energy gauge wins, and the movements and screen are flashy. It is very easy to see.

In this day and age, it is very difficult to convey fun, isn’t it? Fighting games have always been interesting. But they were really turned away from us in the days when there was no interest in them. Who is playing and how is it interesting? How do you communicate that?　That’s what I’ve felt for the past two years.

–Lastly, please tell us about your future activities.

I want to preserve the know-how I have accumulated and pass it on to the next generation. I was so focused on myself in 2012 that I think it’s okay to do something like that in 2013.

X ID: @hameko

Photography and text by Miyu Kurusu

Miyu Kurusu is a freelance writer. Her main areas of expertise are humanities, social issues, and subcultures, and she is active in reporting and writing articles for magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and other media. He is the author of numerous books.
X ID:@mewzou