Is the Compendium the best thing to happen to eSports?

Why Valve's International 3 Compendium could be the best thing to happen to eSports

At the time of writing, sales of the International 2013 Interactive Compendium have added over $940,000 to the prize pool of the event. That sum of money on its own would make the 6th largest prize pool in eSports history, but combined with the $1.6 million that Valve themselves have put up, it is (comfortably) the largest sum of money ever provided as the prize pot for an eSports event.

So, let's do some math. If $2.50 from every Compendium goes towards the prize pool, and the prize pool has been increased by $940,000, then 376,000 Compendiums must have been sold. At $10 per Compendium, that means the community has spent $3.76 million... Woah. That's a very large sum when you consider this is for a single tournament (or a series of tournaments if you consider the qualifiers as well), held of a free game.

I think it's fair to say that in many ways the Compendium was an experiment by Valve. They didn't really have a great deal to lose as the product is virtual, however it still could've hardly sold. Instead it flew off the digital shelves, causing Valve to add extra stretch goals, rewards and a whole host of new features as they saw the response of the community. The experiment was a resounding success, and showed that if a product was good enough, the community will gladly spend money on it.

The Compendium has set up a potential model for feature virtual eSports products. Buyers of the Compendium feel that they contribute to the prize pool of the event, supporting their favourite players. They get to influence some of the fun aspects of The International - choosing the participants in a 1v1 tournament, and in this regard they get to feel like they are interacting with the players themselves. They get to try their hand at predicting the events of the qualifiers and of the International itself, to see how well versed in the current metagame they are. They get in-game bonuses, including a courier that levelled up when you watched more games, and player cards allowing people to swap, trade, and get talking about the International. Overall, the Compendium is brilliant because of its interactive element, and the fact that it allows an individual to be so much more involved with the tournament and the players, all without moving from their PCs.

So the Compendium is awesome, and that's great, but what does it mean in terms of eSports and the bigger picture? It shows potential sponsors the sort of community that DotA 2 has, and it shows that if the product is good, then they are willing to spend money on it - a lot of money on it. Hopefully this will be seen and picked up on, as more sponsors means more money, more competition and therefore a higher overall standard of player, something everyone wants. Valve's experiment was a resounding success, and hopefully it will mean we can see similar projects, bringing in more sponsors, in the future.