The phenomenon of esports is experiencing one of the highest growths in followers, gamers and stakeholders, do you still not know what esports is? Thanks to electronic sports, the doors have been opened to new business ideas in a sphere that already moves large amounts of money, we’re talking billions here and more to come. Things like video game competitions with a professional character, which are no longer just a game but a profession and a lifestyle.
Facts About Esports
- Most of the audience prefers to play esports on weekends (62%).
- The vast majority of respondents say they prefer to watch and play esports (86%) before just playing (7.6%) or just watching (5.7%).
- Women represented almost 9% of respondents, compared to more than 80% of men. At first glance, this figure may seem very low, but it hides a 293% increase in female representation compared to last year.
- The home PC is still the preferred device for watching sports (60%), followed by the mobile phone as the second option (22%) and, thirdly, but very far from the top is television (5.9%).
- The esports had 147 million frequent viewers and 192 million occasional viewers in 2018.
- Spain is the third fastest growing country in the sector.
What is Esports?
The esports or “electronic sport” are a novelty in the field of video games. This concept is used to name the competitions organized at the professional level. They are multiplayer competitions of different video game disciplines. Their operation is effortless: each sport has its own rules and has access to different devices and platforms online or offline.
Although at first, it might seem that the format would not be successful – an audience that would not enjoy watching as much as playing themselves – it has already been seen how these video game competitions in which spectators observe how other gamers play, hook.
Video games are no longer just child’s play. Nowadays, video games fill stadiums and arenas of more than 40,000 people, there are competitions all over the world, and they are even “trending topic” in social networks. Their expansion has led to an increase in business models interested in promoting electronic sports and creating a new ecosystem.
What Games are Considered Part of Esports?
Currently there are a lot of games that are considered esports titles. Any game can be an esport title in their own way, so long as there is competition and the passion to be the best, the esports mentality is present. Below are some of the more prominent esports titles in the industry.
- League of Legends
- Star Craft
- Counter Strike
- Dota 2
- Call of Duty
- Fornite
- FIFA
- Overwatch
- Hearthstone
- Smash Bros
Common Themes Between Top Esports Titles
The video game industry is almost infinite, so not all video games can be considered esports. There are some rules or conditions that must be met to be considered electronic sports. Although it is not an official regulation, these are some of its most outstanding and common features:
- The game must allow the confrontation between two or more players (games that are not multiplayer are discarded), and they must compete on equal terms. Players cannot pay for more experience; only the ability of competitors comes into play.
- There must be leagues and official regulated competitions organized by companies or sponsors that echo the event in the media and have professional teams and players. Such as the LVP (Professional Video Game League), the Superliga Orange, the ESL Masters Spain, or the LCS EU.
- To reach a significant number of fans who play or follow competitions to create informative demand. Currently, there are already several platforms that offer to follow this type of competition in streaming; the most famous is Twitch owned by the giant Amazon. Also, other private channels are pointing to the trend as Movistar TV that has an alliance with the newspaper As or Gol TV that has an exclusive program to talk about these competitions.
There are hundreds of games that can meet these rules. However, only a few reach enough video amateurs to enter the list of electronic sports.
Business Opportunities in Esports
The economic figures that video games have achieved in recent years show that they are a robust and booming economic sector with thousands of followers around the world. Esports are already getting tickets from great players such as La Liga esports, which is already part of several electronic sports projects that have football as a common thread. These competitions fill stadiums and get thrilling audiences all over the world! The common practice of users of all ages to these video games has consolidated a very influential audience.
According to a study by the company Newzoo: esports could surpass in spectators and final revenues such as the Super Bowl or the Champions League football in less than ten years (i’m thinking this will happen in less than 5 years). The possibility of streaming the games of other players around the world is already possible, thanks platforms like Twitch or Mixer. These streaming platforms receive millions of users per month who want to enjoy the best strategies of professional gamers as if it were a television program.
This demand alerts the media attention to private channels such as Movistar, Orange, Bimbo, Gol TV, Neox, Deloitte, among others, and of course, all manufacturers of computers and peripherals are already interested in esports as a business.
Therefore, the sports ecosystem offers several opportunities in business models:
- Competitions: we find an ecosystem made up of teams, players, prizes, tokens, and transfers.
- Marketing: working with sponsors, audiences through social networks and on the web, media, and content, and Youtubers.
- Academy: through university agreements, new talents, online training centers,
- Merchandising: with competition teams, clothing and accessories, and agreements with sponsors.
Economic Data on Esports
At economic levels, the figures are impressive. According to SuperData, in 2016, the industry had a worldwide turnover of 452 million euros and is expected to exceed 600 million euros in 2017. Last year revenues rose to 865 million. Expectations remain positive: in 2019, it is expected to surpass the 1100 million barriers, and in 2020 it is expected to reach 1500 million according to Newzoo.
And if the economic data frighten (for good, confirming the momentum of the industry), the audience influences the spectacular development: Spain, according to Game Track data, with more than 16.8 million followers, mostly men and women aged 25 to 34.
What Does this Say about the Future of Esports?
Esports isn’t just playing a video game with friends anymore in your living room. With numbers and growth in the industry like this, everyone will want to get their hands involved in the industry whether you’re a professional gamer, streamer, event coordinator or some other relatable position in esports. To be honest, one of the most important aspects of esports is to create a new generation of professionals who can utilize their expertise in different video games to create an athlete-like lifestyle in addition to boosting players, values, and healthy habits.
Esports business is boomin’!
