eSports
Overview
eSport gaming is a growing industry of pro gamers competing for large amounts of cash playing various genres of well known video games. Mobile, console, PC games are becoming very big with communities of adults and kids all around the world. Teams are formed drafting players who make their mark with various tournaments proving they are ready to compete professionally to win different rewards. With the gaming companies releasing new games annually, it gives up an coming eSport gamer's a chance to play professionally helping the community grow which makes people want to invest. When new games come out, the eSports tournaments coincide with the game's release boom, which brings new fans to the scene creating a never ending circle of growth. With this growing industry flourishing we wonder how it affects and contributes to the economy.
Currently, some of the main genres of eSports are MOBAs (multiplayer online battle arenas), FPSs (First person shooter) and RTS (real time strategy)
Research Question:
Could eSports compete with other sport industries and if so how much of a competitor will they be?
eSports is a growing industry based around computer gaming, which requires quick reaction time and teamwork to play. eSports are growing quickly, but can they really compete with the titans of American pro sports, football, baseball, and basketball?
Evidence 1: Revenue Growth Percentage
eSports is growing fast. Between 2015 and 2016, it grew by nearly 170 MILLION dollars. However, the numbers on the other side are not good for eSports. Between the same years, the American sports industry was forecasted to grow by nearly 4 billion. That's almost six times eSport's revenue in growth alone. So eSports is not likely to come close to the sports industry anytime soon.
Evidence 2: Demand
eSports is, by its very nature, more of a niche activity and industry than the professional sports industry. Football has had over 50 years to work its way into the very culture of America, while eSports is new and often seen as nerdy by non-gamers. Additionally, eSports fails to appeal to a large sector of the population: women. While nearly 50% of gamers are women (According to Statista), they make up less than 30% of eSports players and spectators. One reason for this may be the fact that eSports are necessarily utilizing highly competitive games, whose players are still predominantly men (Kotaku).
Evidence 3: Supply
While eSports is not necessarily harder than professional supports, it is a lot less glamorous because of its lower potential audience, and therefore it has a lot smaller of a supply of players than professional sports. Many pro sports are played by a huge amount of the populace, from young to old, whereas eSports players are almost always between their late teens and late twenties.
Conclusion:
Because of these three factors, it is unlikely that eSports will be able to compete with professional sports in the near future, even if it grows exponentially. The lower supply & demand for eSports events, players, and audiences means that eSports will likely need a major paradigm shift in how America views video gaming before it can even come close to matching professional sports. However, does it need to compete? In reality, eSports has a radically different audience and player demographic than regular professional sports. As both eSports and professional sports are fed by college and high schools, there will likely continue to be a split between non-gamers, who are likely to watch professional sports, and gamers, who are likely to watch eSports. Additionally, we may see more and more public appreciation of eSports as it starts to be covered and included in normal sports media and events. eSports is even being considered for inclusion into the Olympics! (BBC)
