How far can eSports go?
Looking at the millions being made and the potential faults with the eSports industry.
“While the digital revolution has transformed the way we shop, chat, date, do politics and consume culture, sport looks largely unchanged” (para 1). This quote is from the beginning of a detailed piece by The Guardian writer Simon Hattenstone titled “The rise of eSports: are addiction and corruption the price of its success?”
Our digital landscape has changed many things about our life, but Hattenstone’s statement is true. We still tune in for our Monday night football games like clockwork. We still hit the bar to watch the big game with our buddies. Baseball, soccer, and football all look essentially the same as they have for years, save for some improvements in uniforms.
This is where eSports have emerged, completely changing the game. While the idea might seem silly to older generations, this new market is insanely lucrative and popular. Hattenstone says “digital gaming is where the next generation of fans will come from (often, a young person’s first interaction with a professional football club is through the Fifa game), and so eSports are a vast reservoir of future income” (para 4).
The amount of money in this sport is ridiculous — “The revenue from eSports is expected to rise from $130m (£100m) in 2012 to $465m (£365m) this year, according to Newzoo, the eSports data expert” (para 5).
Jun Byung-hun, the chairman of the International eSports Federation, is determined to increase the popularity of this truly world-wide sport. His “ambition is to make eSports as popular worldwide as they are in South Korea, and he sees little standing in his way” (para 34). While eSports will be included in the official programme of the 2022 Asian Games, Jun won’t rest until eSports are in the Olympics.
I think it might take a while, but that eSports can reach Olympic stardom. It’s no doubt they’re popular, with millions tuning in to watch and millions being made by the best players.
However, the money involved has led to some problems. At least in South Korea, “[g]ambling in eSports already seems more advanced than in traditional sports” (para 46). Players have been banned in cases where they bet on themselves to win or lose. People have even been imprisoned and banned from the sport in South Korea (para 46). Addiction has also been an issue. Apparently, children going into elementary school are already addicted.
I think the gambling aspect would have to be hugely monitored and regulated by the International eSports Federation for it to be a world-wide success. For such a large sport, keeping it fair and clean would certainly be a challenge.
But for the addiction, I’m not sure what could be done. I think we have become a very obsessive society in recent years and are continuing that trend.
While I’m not a huge fan of this industry — I’ve been subjected to many hours of watching my ex-boyfriend watch teams play League of Legends every Saturday that I can’t get back. However, I don’t think the growth and popularity of eSports can be ignored.
Hattenstone, S. (2017, June 16). The rise of eSports: are addiction and corruption the price of its success? Retrieved December 13, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jun/16/top-addiction-young-people-gaming-esports
