So to start things off, Mr. Scheuerer, what is your personal background in terms of videogames?
Well, when I was young the first video games hit the market. Pong, Qbert, Pac-Man, they were revolutionary at the time. I then got into IT and my daughter eventually started playing video games as well.
Is that how you got into eSports?
Yes, my daughter and son-in-law got into it and it became a huge hobby of theirs. Eventually they showed me the world of eSports and we realised the vast opportunities within this area.
You’ re the main investor & founder of the eSports-Club Munich. Tell us a bit about the club.
The eSports-Club Munich is a way to turn gaming into a huge social event, it’ s a very unique experience. Instead of playing home alone, you can hang out with your friends in person while gaming and have a great time meeting other gamers. We also offer Vive virtual reality stations, a Twitch cinema for live events like Worlds and other huge tournaments, and of course we organize our own tournaments as well. Our main goal is to bring the community closer together.
What’ s the atmosphere like at the eSports Club Munich?
Everyone’ s always having fun, and there’ s one thing I want to highlight in particular: I can’ t believe the stereotype of gamers being antisocial whatsoever. Especially when there are tournaments or larger events, everyone’ s always excited and energetic. Sometimes people from all over Europe come around, and it essentially turns into a great multinational experience. Absolutely terrific atmosphere.
How do you view eSports from a business perspective?
It’ s a huge chance for people and companies to venture into the industry, and do work that will aid them for years to come. It’ s especially important to reach our target demographic, which are young men. TV and internet are struggling with that demographic in particular, so eSports is the perfect way to reach them. The eSports scene is also very open to sponsorships, which makes it a match made in heaven. Sponsorships are also pretty important to give eSports the significance it deserves.
How are people reacting to eSports when you explain it to them?
You obviously still have to do a lot of ground work, and some titles like CounterStrike still have a social stigma attached to them. I usually try to explain it to them by comparing it to football 150 years ago: If someone was playing football at that time, people would’ ve scolded him for wasting his time instead of working on the farm. It’ s inevitable societal change, and eSports will make a similar development like football. But nonetheless, even though it’ s growing, eSports still is relatively niche, but a very interesting scene for advertising companies, due to the scene consistently growing and having fantastic prospects for the future. Again, the potential it has is immense.
How important do you view the social acceptance of eSports as a whole?
Well, I’ m seeing the potential, but obviously the majority of society isn’ t. So this begs the question: When is eSports going to reach everyone, when is it going to be a sport covered by all sports media outlets regularly, when is it going mainstream? The community doesn’ t need eSports to be mainstream, but it needs to reach this level so the older generation of investors, the ones with the money, are willing to invest and pay for it. Gamers themselves don’ t need the attention, they don’ t need it as a justification or appreciation of their hobby, they know and appreciate