what they have . But if they want the scene to grow financially , they do need the general attention of society .
Should eSports be recognised as sports in order to help its social acceptance grow ?
If eSports would be recognised as sports , it would massively help to shape its image amongst the common members of society , people that aren ’ t regularly in contact with video games . We ’ d finally have a counter-balance to the negative attention towards video games in the past decades , which would be absolutely deserved . It would also be a huge deal in terms of legal issues . The fact that eSports athletes have problems with their visas is ridiculous . If Messi wouldn ’ t be able to fly to the United States due to visa problems , every tabloid in the world would run that as its headline . But since eSports doesn ’ t have this level of social and legal acceptance , there will always be problems along the way .
So when do you think this change in the way society thinks is going to happen ?
The change will happen once enough companies invest in eSports . This has happen several times before . Think Formula 1 : Formula 1 was barely recognised in Germany until more and more companies joined in , including popular car brands . Now the scene has grown up , it has media attention like every other sport , then society joined in and hype was created . What also must be noted is the fact that in the beginning , there were only car companies putting up ads in Formula 1 . Now you have cigarette brands or postal services putting their stickers on racing cards , every branch , every industry is trying to advertise using Formula 1 . When eSports as a whole has reached that point , that ’ s when it has made it . When it ’ s not niche anymore and everyone cares for it . That ’ s the route eSports will and has to go in order to succeed .
What do you think are potential issues for this to happen ?
Obviously professional sponsorships are still pretty rare , which is pretty sad . On the other hand , there ’ s unfortunately a lack of professionalism within the scene as well . There are too many amateur teams with 100 Facebook likes that are already asking for a sponsorship . At the end of the day , it ’ s always about reaching a lot of people , and as long as that isn ’ t the case , nothing will happen .
What ’ s your personal dream within the realms of eSports ?
A personal dream of mine would be to rent proper exhibition halls and organize even bigger and greater events , specifically for eSports tournaments . That way you ’ d have the exact kind of feeling that you have in a football stadium . Of course it ’ s already happening , but I ’ d like to see it in even bigger proportions .
A few last words !
A small plea towards the community : Support the people that are trying to support you . If there are events , organizers or projects that help the eSports community grow , show them some love and actually pay some money as well . Gamers are used to getting a lot of stuff for free , but they also have to realize that quality is worth the price .
Thank you very much for the interview !
You can find the eSports Club Munich at e-sport . club and on Twitter at @ esport _ club