Those of you reading this are obviously already interested or involved with the world of esports and as such the world of competitive esports seems natural to you, why can’t people play computer games professionally like more traditional sports?
However, for those outside of the gaming bubble the idea of competitive computer games seems ridiculous. I found this out when talking to one of my colleagues at work whilst in a discussion on Korea, I mentioned they’re quite good at esports to which he replied “esports, that’s not a real thing”. This type of incredulity at even the idea that a computer game can be a widely watched competitive event is still a common occurrence amongst the mainstream media.
However, the tide is changing, with the creation of professional leagues such as The Overwatch League and the franchising model it's based on we have seen spots selling in the tens of millions of dollars. Famous athletes such as Shaquille O'Neal and Alex Rodriguez have also been taking an interest in and more importantly investing in esports teams as well as celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez. This sort of widespread media coverage from traditional athletes and celebrities can only help the perception of esports in the public image.
There has also been a more widespread involvement of traditional sports teams investing in esports organisations such as the owners of Arsenal F.C, the New York Mets and the new england patriots investing in Overwatch League teams as well as well well known football teams Paris St Germain and Schalke 04 investing in very successful league of legends squads.
However a newer game to reach mass popularity and grab the attention of the mainstream media world is Fortnite. Love it or hate it the cartoonish looking battle royale has brought a huge amount of attention to the world of gaming and esports. Stories ranging from children spending hundreds of their parents money on in game cosmetics, Epic games announcing a 100 million dollar investment into prize pools for fortnite tournaments to massive celebrities such as Drake and England footballers Dele Alli and Harry Kane playing with Twitch’s most successful streamer Ninja, there is no doubt that Fortnite has brought the gaming to the forefront of public attention once again.
Also the growing success of esports tournaments such as Dota’s TI, Counter-Strike’s Majors and the League of Legends World Championship Series time and time again selling out massive venues has shown the willingness of people to pay good money to go and watch an esport live. The 2017 League Of Legends world championships finals for example sold out the Beijing national stadium in China, designed for the 2008 olympics with 80,000 seats, as well as previously selling out the 21,000 capacity staples center in America which is commonly used to host NHL, NBL and AFL matches.
So with esports selling out olympic sized stadiums and forever garnishing more celebrity attention, is it not only a matter of time before my colleague any many others like him finally realise the popularity and reality of computer games as viable spectator sports?
