MAY | THE COMMENTATOR
E-ppealing alternative
Martin Fullard talks Esports ’ appeal
It was Good Friday and , as you would expect , it was raining . Not just any rain , it was End of Days . My walk towards madness took another giant leap as I trudged through the torrential downpour to watch Wimbledon take on Fleetwood Town in a must-win game for the Dons . The match shouldn ’ t have gone ahead . The pitch was waterlogged , passes were impossible , and in a moment of unspeakable heartache , Fleetwood scored courtesy of a puddle . Honestly , I ’ ve been to more pleasant Aztec sacrifices .
As I stood there , sodden and miserable , I asked myself if there was another way for me to set my money on fire .
As it so happened , I returned after the Easter break to an email informing me about a new sports venue that has just opened in Las Vegas . The Esports Arena is a purpose-built , permanent venue on The Strip and , as the name suggests , is for Esports – that ’ s computer games to you and me .
The 2,800sqm multilevel arena boasts that it is designed to host every form of competitive gaming , from daily play to high-stakes Esports tournaments , and features a competition stage , 15m LED video wall , telescopic seating , PC and console gaming stations and
a network TV-quality production studio . Accompanying elements include virtual reality platforms , retro gaming consoles and a comprehensive menu by worldrenowned chef José Andrés . It ’ s aimed at both casual and professional gamers , and even non-gamers who want an insider ’ s look at what ’ s quickly becoming one of the world ’ s most popular spectator sports .
This is no small investment and underlines just how popular Esports is becoming .
According to the Financial Times , in the US in 2017 , $ 100bn in annual revenues flowed into the global games industry , with an eye-popping $ 693m of that total coming from Esports , a figure set to more than double to $ 1.5bn by 2020 . To underline its growing popularity further , 11.1bn Esports videos were streamed in 2017 in China , and 2.7bn in North America .
It has been suggested , likely by men with beards , that the revenue from Esports will come from three areas : the sale of
“ 11.1bn Esports videos were streamed in 2017 in China , and 2.7bn in North America .” content rights to broadcasters ; advertising revenues from product placement ; and spectator entry tickets .
In the UK , the London Games Festival in 2017 attracted more than 50,000 people across 10 days , while more than 10,000 are expected at Resonate at the Scottish Event Campus in October .
In the US and across Asia , while tens of thousands attend live competitive tournaments , several million ( million !) spectate online , and people are actually paying to do it . It provides a huge revenue opportunity for the organisers – think of all that precious advertising .
What with the famously inclement weather we enjoy here in Britain always getting in the way of live events , the draw of Esports is becoming all the more appealing . It ’ s a fresh market to look at , and a dry one at that .
And if you ’ re losing , you can just restart at the press of a button . After that Good Friday debacle , I see the e-ppeal .
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