Esports - an Untapped Reserve

eSports -  An Untapped Reserve

        eSports can be defined as a form of sports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by electronic systems. This includes individual games as well as games which require teams of players to compete against each other.  eSports is slowly but steadily bursting onto the main stage as one of the highest grossing international sport or as a new form of commerce. As an avid gamer myself, I have an above average understanding of the nuances of most of the RPG (Role Playing game), RTS (Real Time Strategy), FPS (First Person Shooter) and MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genres of the games. This has what has fuelled my drive to work on a thesis in this particular area.

         The gaming industry, at least in the international competitions and tournaments sector is fairly new but booming. I know that there are various ways in which the eSports or gaming scene can be improved worldwide as well as it can attract huge investments. These games are not only amazing to play but also form an engrossing pastime for the audience as well. Till a few years ago it was unheard of to hold eSports tournaments in actual stadiums but last year’s WCG played in Wembley was a huge sell out.

        Ever since then eSports have grown tremendously in terms of viewership and prize money, with the most recent tournament TI2015 (The International) having a winners prize of around 18 million dollars for a game called DOTA2 and more than 70 million people watched eSports during the 2015 tournament. This shows that the foundations of eSports are in place and very strong , it is poised to be one of the biggest events of the future both in terms of money and interest. Brands and marketers took notice of this and companies like Coca-Cola, Nvidia, SK telekom, Nissan etc are major team sponsors. But sadly this is only in a few developed countries in Europe, USA and China. Countries like Philippines, India and Middle East have a long way to go before eSports is taken seriously. This can tremendously help tap into the talent pool in these countries as there are many young players who play well but do not go ahead to bigger platforms due to lack of proper training and sponsors.