by AdministrateurEsports industry is constantly growing and the popularity of the streamers is further proving the point. In 2019, there are many games that streamed daily and millions of people watch their favorite play online. It’s just like watching your favorite team you football or cricket. It is estimated that Esports is going to become a billion-dollar industry and authorities are even considering recognizing the E-gaming and making it a part of Paris Olympics 2024. But the question here is what the main reason for such insane popularity is? We have witnessed tournaments of physical games held all around the world and people gather around to cheer for their favorite team. Those games are still there, so why people are choosing to watch online games rather than rugby or football.
Competitive gaming:
Competitive gaming has always been among us in different forms and games. The gaming is not restricted to only a single game or genre but it is the experience of playing at a competitive level. In the past, we have seen tournaments of call of duty modern warfare. Teams from all over the world had traveled to the central location and the separate arena was dedicated for them and proper completion was a help. With the releases of the new games, players shifted to other games but the idea of competitive gaming prevailed. At the moment, there are tournaments held all around the world for the most famous games like Fortnite, CS: GO, Tekken &, PUBG, and overwatch. Here we are talking about the big names and franchises. The games, because of their popularity, have attracted sponsors as well. So, the teams started to play professionally as money gets involved and who want to not give their best shot. From the entry passes to live streaming on the platforms like Twitch, Youtube, and now Facebook, franchises are earning millions from pay per view and subscription.
These huge competitions are enjoying media coverage as well and stakeholders are also involved. However, the gaming industry or professional gaming does not end there. There are thousands of small gaming communities who actively arrange tournaments at the national level. They attract all the national players and provide them the platform to play professionally. These small communities also rely on streaming revenue and donation. Surprisingly, they are thriving because of the massive support from online viewers. So, we cannot comprehend the actual scale of Esports because of these unknown organizers and tournament.
Comparison with real Sports (Esports vs real sports):
Physical sports and exercises are always considered as healthy activities as players had to stay fit and active in order to perform well in an upcoming game or competition. On the other hand, gaming is considered as unhealthy and a source of constant time waste. But, Esports can never be differentiated from real sports because in both cases, players compete with others and the one who performs better is crowned as champions. So, unless we segregate sports as an outside activity, there is no way to differentiate Esports from real sports.
It is not just about the competition but the efforts that players put in to ready themselves for the league. Many gamers’ workout and stay in fit shape because the reflexes get enhancing with perfect body and condition of the brain. Gamers had to sit in the right posture so they won’t feel neck or muscle pains. Some gamers were noticed to opt for healthy diet plans and eat only healthy food. There were rumors as well that gamers are actually exercising to keep their body shape fit and keep the muscles related to the specific game perfectly fit. So, looking at the routines, it gets pretty tough to separate Esports from real sports.
Fan following is not helping to reach any conclusion as an online viewer develop the fan feeling towards the player. Watching their favorite streams or seeing the teams at the competition have turned into a fan following on millions. So, Esports players also enjoy the perks of celebrities.
Viewers are from all ages:
Video games in the past time are considered as a source of enjoyment for the kids. But in the modern world, the statement is not entirely true. The games like Minecraft and DOTA has players from all the age groups and the same thing goes for the viewer as well. The age of the players, as well as viewers, is estimated to be of the 20s which is equal to the age of any other athlete of real sports. Because there are no physical requirements for gaming, adults also have a pretty decent shot at opting the gaming as a professional. Although they had to compete with the sharp reflexes of teen and even kids that’s just another story. For the viewers, our society gets bored with watching the same kind of content again and again. The movie industry also had to improvise to make sure they are not losing the audience. Luckily, the gaming industry is as versatile as any industry can be. With the games from all kinds of genre, there are almost zero chances that viewers could get bored as the content of Esports is limitless. For teen gamers, adult gamers provide the competition and veteran gamers are the one than sponsoring the competition. So, without adult gamers, teen gamers neither have the competition nor have monetary rewards.
Why viewers do not play the game themselves?
The one old and silly question is why people watch gamers play video games when they can play games themselves. One thing that gamers can agree on is that they cannot sit idle on the couch while their friends are playing video games but questioning all the viewers is simply stupid. Why people watch football when then can also play? Why there is a huge fan following for NBA superstars when you can set up the hoop in your backyard as well. Answer to the question is simple. Viewers want to enjoy their free time and choosing the content is entirely up to them. So, because of the wide variety, Esports is on the verge of becoming a billion-dollar industry.