How Esports Is Shaping the Future of Entertainment: Features of Electronic Sports That Are Revolutionizing Gaming
Esports is still far from reaching levels in terms of viewership, funding, and quality that traditional sporting events have reached. However, with the way this new industry has been growing in recent years, it is fast becoming an important player in the sports sector.
Our online gaming and sports expert, Kate Richardson, went over the details of how esports is influencing the entertainment industry today. Learn about the institutions being impacted by esports and the challenges and unique features that this new competition style is bringing to the industry.
Why Is Esports So Popular?
Esports have been gradually gaining traction since the first tournament in 1972. However, over the last decade, professional gaming has seen a meteoric rise in interest, investment, and viewership for several reasons.
In recent years, popular esports events have sold out tens of thousands of tickets in hours. The numbers suggest that ticket sales and viewership will continue to rise because the industry has yet to reach even 20% of the total gamer population (3 billion).
The industry's new attention is making the games more competitive, as more quality players are showing interest in the tournaments. Sponsorship is also increasing because of the wide viewership these games have gained in recent years.
Features on Esports Tournaments That Set Them Apart
Online gaming tournaments introduced a new form of sports entertainment to the industry that millions of viewers have grown to love. From the unique nature of personal computers needed to undertake gaming to the huge cash prizes from tournaments, there’s a lot to enjoy about esports.
That said, “here are the features that make virtual competitions so different from traditional athletic activities”.
Tournament Structure
Digital games can be very similar to traditional physical tournaments in terms of structure. For instance, both games often use knockout stages to eliminate teams or players till they reach the final. However, this is not always the case with virtual games because the formats depend on the game. These are some common formats that are frequently used in popular digital gaming tournaments:
- Swiss Round: Instead of being eliminated instantly, players are paired with other players based on their performance in the first round.
- Battle Royale: All teams play against each other simultaneously in one big match, and the teams with the most points over multiple rounds progress.
- Round Robin: Every contestant plays against every other contestant at least once in the tournament.
Gaming Environment
The most obvious difference is that while traditional sports require physical activity to compete and win, esports are played out on screens. Instead of physical strength, gamers need advanced gaming skills, fast reaction times, quality team strategies, and mental agility to compete. While some of these skills overlap with traditional games, too, they are used differently in the gaming arena than on the tracks, court, or field.
Ecosystem Structure
Some characters feature in the gaming industry that you won’t find in traditional athletic tournaments. For instance, game publishers and licensing partners play important roles in setting up these virtual gaming tournaments, and they are non-existent or take different roles in traditional sports.
There are also the distributors, clubs, sponsors and event organizers that function in different aspects to make the tournaments run without any hitches and reach as wide an audience as possible.
Speaking about the ecosystem structure, co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment once said:
“I’m excited that we have these great gaming platforms – PC, console, mobile. It seems like gaming is becoming more and more of a mainstream activity, which I’m very excited about... We’ve started to see broadcasters, publishers, tournament organizers, everyone start to take notice of the explosion of Esports.”
How Esports Rise Is Impacting Entertainment
With the attention esports has been receiving for years now, it has become an important part of the entertainment industry. The increasing profit from streaming rights, sponsorship, betting, and many other areas makes the future of esports look good from this end. These are some of the entertainment categories where these events have made their mark.
Media
Media is one of the most affected industries because digital games are shifting how users seek entertainment. Instead of watching traditional media channels for sports activities, streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube have become the choice destinations for most users.
Streaming has become a popular option today because it lets users interact with the games and share comments in real time. In some cases, users can even influence gameplay through their interactions. It has become necessary for media channels to not only show viewers the entertainment but also let them engage.
Esports is also leaving a mark on education through the media. The digital aspect of electronic gaming is allowing youths to know more about devices and engage even better. As Hemdan Aly, author of The Exciting World of Esports, puts it:
“With proper support, resources, and guidance, eSports has the potential to revolutionize education and prepare students for success in the digital age.”
Sports Betting
Online gambling used to be reserved for casino digital games or popular traditional sporting events. However, on most quality casino sites now, you’d see a list of esports betting options that players can wager on.
For the portion of the younger players who are growing to love streaming virtual competitions and gaming themselves, esports betting is a preferable option to traditional betting on games like football or basketball. The best global betting sites are finding the balance between the traditional game business and esports by providing odds for all the games on their platforms.
Brand Marketing
The business of esports benefits everybody, and brands are starting to tap into the tournaments’ wide reach with sponsorship deals. Gaming tournaments are now securing sponsorship from companies outside the gaming industry. Once the eGaming audience is the target market for their products, brands are quickly jumping on these deals with the event organizers.
Big brands like HP, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Intel, and Gillette have been coming up with innovative ways to maximize their esports sponsorship deals and market their brands to viewers while the games are on.
Final Thoughts on Esports Future and the Entertainment Industry
The business of Esports has been quietly booming for years now, and we are now seeing the effects of how it is gradually reshaping the entertainment industry. All indications suggest that the esports tournaments will only get bigger and attract more viewers, sponsors, and media attention in the coming years.