Video games have come a long way since the early binary instalments, the arcade system, and the first multiplayer trials at M.I.T. Today’s gaming consoles are basically portals to infinite social and entertainment worlds, just like social media.

As science and technology transform the way we live, the way we vote, and the way we do business, it is pivotal to resist the inclination that it will not transform the way we play. 

E-sports is all about play, fun, networking and video gaming – It is competitive and collaborative video gaming. 

In a previous update, here, the CEO imparted the ‘benefits of gaming and contemporary gaming consoles’, such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. 

What is esports?

Once upon a time! Players converged at an agreed location and on a specified date to enjoy gaming. Today, players can coordinate and enjoy competitive and collaborative video gaming from the comfort of their sofas.

The phenomenon is enabled by technology adoption maturity and connected mediated technologies underpinned by the Web. This new way of organising and enjoying video games paved the way for electronic sports, popularly known as e-sports.

Esports or electronic sports is competitive multiplayer online gaming. Esports can be staged in front of a live audience and millions more online, as epitomised during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea. The 2018 Winter Olympics also manifested its capacity for reconciliation as North and South Korea put the past behind them to enjoy the event as a whole.

As a form of sport, esports has been brewing in the background for decades, and it is far from new or emerging. However, before imparting the economic benefits of esports, I believe it is imperative to open up on the barriers that hinder its manifestation, below:

The Barriers: Research, market penetration & tech-adoption maturity

1. Research

Game developers, such as Microsoft and Sony, have invested heavily in connected, immersive, and ubiquitous gaming constructs with relational themes. Similar to social media, people are connecting, learning, and innovating on a universal scale. While brands capitalised on the emerging trend,  it was impractical for science due to the connected and multiverse dimensions in gaming, due to science protocols, and due to parenting. Nowadays, researchers include parents and guardians in their investigations and data collection processes.

Further, stereotyping in the past meant social exclusion, as knowledgeable players and specific genres were omitted from the discussion. This meant that while scholars continued to recruit and remove people from the spaces that define them for studies, a parallel form of community was in development, and brands could be part of the development.

2. Market penetration and data

While brands and multinationals transformed new audiences for competitive advantage, science and academia could not due to research protocols, evidence, and parenting. What we’ve witnessed so far are early penetration strategies by brands and organisations to establish a presence and voice in gaming communities. This is through hyper-branding, sponsorship, and advertising initiatives.

3. Technology-adoption maturity

Technology-adoption maturity simply refers to the period in human evolution associated with a holistic adoption and use of technology in daily life.

The digital-non-digital or social-technology mix magnifies complexities with contemporary gaming research and applied sciences. The gaming industry integrates unique and diverse industry sets, as well as sophisticated computer-mediated-communication infrastructures, held together by AI, the Cloud, and the Web. According to Gartner, the gaming industry is on course to become the largest single contributor to the entertainment and education industries. 

The Benefits of E-sports

1. Economic benefits

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, e-sports will generate more than £1bn in global revenue and almost double its global audience to nearly 600 million people by 2020. In a corresponding national report, Ukie estimates an increase in the UK audience to a staggering 8 million by 2019.

The anticipated and confirmed inclusion of esports at the 2018 Winter Olympics epitomises the national benefit of esports. The immediate economic benefits of esports fall under job creation, international relations, learning infrastructures, and new tourism.

2. Social Benefits

Like most sports events, e-sports impacts every level and culture that inhabits society. At a local level, e-sports may facilitate cohesion and integration in deprived areas of society. Video games are one of the favourite pastime activities for both children and adults.

Esports can play a pivotal role in sewing together broken social fabrics and bridging cultural and national barriers, as players can interact directly and learn in self-configured spaces with some freedom of operation.

3. Research and applied science benefits

Online gaming has been contributing to science for decades, and we also have our own game/citizen science project (Galaxy Zoo) at the University of Portsmouth. The manifestation of e-sports in a non-game context is particularly beneficial to science because it brings distinct industries together. Many of these industries would otherwise not enter any form of discussion if not for the maturity of technology adoption.

An international coalition of Game studies scholars has openly called for new and connected research methods that reflect the complexity and ambiguity of contemporary living and playing.

Future of e-sports

Though esports present unique opportunities to engage and capture an untapped audience, it is not a substitute for traditional and outdoor play. E-sports is a unique way to reach excluded young people. In the near future, we should expect to see some esports in colleges, higher education institutions, and the workplace.

Gaming and e-sports are not substitutes for outdoor play and real sports. See my e-Learning industry article: Online Gaming Safety: Top Tips For Parents, Guardians, And Players on the eLearning industry’s blog.