The History of ESports — From Humble Beginnings to Global Phenomenon
Looking at the eSports industry today, it is perhaps difficult to imagine how it all started as a niche activity, often considered an oddity by mainstream media. Over the years, attitudes to eSports and gaming in general have changed dramatically and it is now the fastest growing sport in the world.
The Birth of ESports - Spacewar and Space Invaders
The very first recorded public video game competition, featuring the game Spacewar, was held at Stanford University, but the event most recognised as being the first large scale video games competition was held in 1980 — The Atari Space Invaders Competition — with 10,000 players.
Growth was slow throughout the 80s but in the 1990s, with the rising use of the internet the games industry began to flourish. Competitions, such as the Nintendo World Championships, were sponsored by major companies such as Nintendo and Blockbuster. It’s interesting to note that competitive gaming at this point was so new these tournaments offered age brackets for children and teenagers to compete, a concession no longer offered today.
The 1997 Red Annihilation tournament was held for the FPS game Quake. In gameplay terms Quake was considered revolutionary and the competition itself is thought of as a milestone in eSports development. With this and the Cyberathelete Professional League (CPL) formed later in the same year we started to see more significant prize monies. Red Annihilation’s grand prize was a Ferrari, while the first CPL tournament offered a $15,000 prize pool.
However, gaming was still considered a fringe activity, far from the mainstream of today.
2000s — South Korea Leads the Way
Although the earliest eSports were mostly first-person shooter (FPS) games, it is Real Time Strategy (RTS) Games that changed the gaming landscape. In 1998 Starcraft: Brood War, was launched. While FPS games focus on twitch skills and reflexes, RTS games additionally require strategy and long-term planning.
In the early 2000s, South Korea pushed to the forefront of eSports. This was enabled by the rise of internet cafes, (known locally as “PC Bang”) that allowed players to play online for an hourly fee. This lowered the barrier of entry of needing access to the internet and expensive PCs.
In South Korea competitions were regularly televised, and 24hour cable channels sprung up dedicated to coverage of RTS games like Starcraft and Warcraft 3. At this point, mainstream coverage in the rest of the world was catching up.
Throughout the 2000s eSports grew globally, driven largely by the rapid increases in technology. South Korea established KeSPA — The Korea eSports Association — a government regulatory body — and hosted the World Cyber Games. In the US, the ESL (Electronic Sports League), still the world’s largest professional eSports organization, was launched in 2000. The Electronic Sports World Cup was held in France in 2003 and China held the World eSports Games 2004–10. TV footage grew, such as the French channel Game One and the UK channel XLEAGUE.TV.
The Impact of Twitch in the 2010s
Since its launch in 2011, Twitch.tv, the livestreaming channel, has had a massive impact on the growth of eSports and its crossover to the mainstream. What started as an odd curiosity, is now a major force in the industry, driving interest in eSports and gaming to new heights. Twitch.tv was acquired by Amazon for $1bn in 2014 and latest figures show it having over 100m unique monthly users, 58% of whom spend more than 20 hours of video a week.
The demand for livestreaming and eSports are synergistic, with rising interest in eSports driving livestream views and the growth in livestreaming attracting interest in eSports. The channel has given rise to a number of streaming celebrities and influencers, who can earn up to $100,000 each year from their streams.
Today, the eSports industry continues to thrive. In 2017, revenue generated by the industry exceeded $1.5 bn. Prize money totalled $110.6m across 3765 tournaments globally. From its humble beginnings as a niche activity, eSports has grown into a global phenomenon, that looks set to rival traditional physical sports in the not too distant future. ESports is pushing firmly into the mainstream and increasing numbers of brands and marketers are taking notice.
EIP is creating a platform based on blockchain technology for the next stage in the development in eSports marketing. It will allow brands, community and consumers to interact directly and build relationships as the industry continues to evolve.
For more information, please see our website: Esports Interactive Platform
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