Japan, the land of the rising sun, is a country where you can buy batteries, beer, wine, condoms, cigarettes, comic books, hot dogs, light bulbs, and used women's underwear from vending machines, take in the beauty of a Buddhist temple, or enjoy one of the many festivals it has to offer. It is also home to some of the world's greatest gamers; this country that is no bigger than the state of California, but has a population of over 126 million people (roughly half the population of the United States), houses many brilliant players.

Over the years, Japan has also engulfed itself in western music, movies, culture, fashion, and sports. Baseball, better known as, “America’s Pastime,” is the most popular sport in Japan. So why don’t we see more professional eSports players from a country that thrives on technology and video gaming in general? Asian countries have already established themselves as some of the best RTS players in the world, so what needs to be done to give the Quake 4 players of Japan the shot they need to prove themselves to the Quake 4 community, and establish themselves as a powerhouse in one-on-one gaming?

When 4dn first came into the Counter-Strike scene, they proved they had what it takes to play with the best CS teams from around the world. So why haven’t we seen any real duelers shine for quite some time now? I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that FPS games are not very popular in Japan. However, they are steadily increasing in popularity. Counter-Strike is very popular, and while the Quake 4 scene is small, it is very close-knit and competitive. Why haven't we seen some of the more prominent teams take a risk on an equal quality group of skilled players? For one, they have no real means of showing their skill except to the select few who have the pleasure of knowing them and playing against them. Japan loves their prominent sports figures - take Ichiro Suzuki for example. At any given time, if he is playing baseball, it can be seen on TV or anywhere that video can be displayed (including the sides of the buildings of Tokyo.) 4dn has been seen in newspapers as well as Japanese TV shows, yet the outreach of this one team in Japan is limited. The future seems bright for Japan and its players; we have seen a lot of young and up and coming European players recently get the chance to strut their stuff against the best in the world, and it’s paying off hugely for their teams, and hopefully this trend will continue into other countries.

So what does all this mean for teams? Well, giving a non-proven LAN player a chance to shine is a risk for any potential sponsor. You can always ask yourself, "What if he fails?" Yes, but what if he succeeds? What if the Seattle Mariners never gave Ichiro Suzuki a chance to play in America? Look at it as if playing the stock market. With the amount of money that can be made in one-on-one gaming these days, the risk is far smaller than the reward could be. On top of that, we're talking about one player, not five. I think teams will eventually have to start giving players a chance. Take a risk, look beyond the normal means, and you may be surprised at what you find. Teams need to take an approach much like college basketball — look outside the normal means of finding players, and you may be amazed at what you come up with.

Let's take a look at the risk vs. reward and pro's vs. con's when dealing with the outside market of players that are looking to break into the world of professional gaming. Take a look inside a few of the top Quake 4 stars of Japan, and you can see what each one brings to the table.