Alishan Jamshid

April 13th, 2020

Professor Furlong

Engl 210

Essay 3

Esports… The Undeniable Giant

Esports is a form of competition using video games. Esports is often organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. At one point in time gaming was not considered an actual sport and was seen as more of a hobby. The stereotype for gamers while I was growing up was nerdy kids that are unathletic and sit behind the tv screen all day. Gaming has evolved from a small community to a now recognized sport with a multi billion dollar industry behind it. In this paper I will be evaluating what has helped the evolution of Esports from a small community to a multi billion dollar industry.  

One factor that is helping the evolution of Esports from a small community to a multi billion dollar industry is the appealing factor to the young and emerging audience due to all of the technological advancements in recent years. This is talked about in an article by The European Business Review which is a well renowned and creddited site. In the article it lists some technological advancements that have changed gaming forever such as “Facial recognition, Voice recognition, Gesture controls, High definition displays, Amazing graphics, Virtual reality, Augmented reality” (EBR Editor, 1). 

I agree with this list because most of the technological advancements that are listed are what drew me into gaming when I was younger. High definition displays intrigue the people into gaming because it looks as realistic as reality. High definition displays and amazing graphics  allow games to bring the game as close to reality as possible. Virtual Reality is an advancement that allows you to see and feel as if you are inside of the game which is a big advancement in technology. The younger audience is intrigued by these new innovations to feel as connected to the game as possible. New features such as facial recognition and voice recognition allow you to make a realistic in game version of yourself.  A massive technological advancement that has highly increased the evolution of esports is smartphones. In the article it also says “The introduction of smartphones has brought the online gaming industry where it is today. Gaming with a device which fits in your pocket and is available round the clock has made online gaming more convenient and popular.” (EBR Editor, 1). This statement shows that mobile phones did indeed help the growth of esports. Mobile phones made it possible for casual gamers and people that do not game as hardcore and are not willing to spend several hundred dollars on a gaming console an outlet to join the fun. Popular pc and console games have also made mobile phone versions of their games for more casual players. This allowed mobile gaming to become its own community in the esports world.  

As stated above, the younger audience is a main factor in the growth of Esports. In this scholarly article by Michael G.Wagner named “On The Scientific Growth of Esports”Michael talks about the contribution of the younger audience. In the article it says “the most dominant influence of competitive computer gaming is most likely to be found in the way children manage information and communication technology as part of the cultural development.” (Wagner,1). This shows that the technological advancements are a reason to the younger audience being a driving force in the success of Esports. Wagner says it is a part of their cultural development. 

Another factor in the evolution of Esports is gaming clans and their following. A gaming clan is a group of gamers who play multiplayer games as a team. Most clans have professional teams that compete in tournaments. These clans are organizations within the community that bring a lot of its attention to it, they have millions of followers and pull in millions of views. One of the largest among them is the Faze Clan. FaZe Clan is a professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Los Angeles, United States. … In 2020, the organization expanded into the Asian market, acquiring a Thai PUBG Mobile and FIFA Online roster. Faze Clan has the highest amount of following in the esports world with each member having millions of followers and collectively pulling in billions of video views a year. Gaming clans cover much of the cultural influence aspect of Esports, Faze has the highest reach and most cultural influence among all clans. Teenagers and the younger audience find Faze Clan very cool and entertaining. In a New York Times article “Can FaZe Clan Build a Billion-Dollar Business?” written by Taylor Lorenz it talks about the influence of the clan and its members. Lorenz tells us that “When a group of members visited SoHo in New York City this summer, multiple city blocks were closed after thousands of fans flooded the streets”. (Lorenz,1) The line to meet Faze members spread over fifteen blocks. This shows the amount of influence the clan has within the community. The clan also holds a lot of cultural influence since they are also young like most of their followers. Some of the cultural influence consists of slang words only that members of the gaming community would understand, such as “nerfing”. Nerfing is what you would call something being downgraded in a game. 

Streamer’s social media and other online platforms generate a lot of the Esports industry’s interest. A high source of income for the gamers are tournaments. In tournaments, players compete for a cash prize and the sums of money are very large. For example, a German professional player named Takhasomi generated over $4 million in tournament prizes. Takhasomi made over $2 million from a single tournament dating back to 2017. In 2017 alone over $112 million in prize money was awarded to gamers in prize money. A Journal named “The Explosive Growth of Esports” tells us that a game creator company by the name of Epic Games rewarded over $100 million in prize money for its Fortnite tournaments alone. (BER staff, 1). Tournaments are possibly the most memorable ways to earn money,but they are not a revenue source that is very consistent. A more consistent alternative to that is streaming. Many players have turned to online streaming platforms to live stream their games. A top tier live streaming website would be Twitch, on Twitch viewers can subscribe to a stream at the cost of $5 a month . Streamers can also upload their recorded streams toYoutube which will generate them even more revenue through video views. Streamers acreage hundreds of thousands of viewers a stream and the top tier streamers even average millions. This keeps esports relevant and in people’s brains. After watching your favorite streamer play a fun looking video game it makes you also want to play. 

Esports has a very promising future as it continuously boasts millions of fans and billions of dollars in revenue. Gaming used to be considered a hobby and it now has earned itself the respect of being considered a sport. The Esports industry is also changing the image of an average gamer showing that anyone can be a gamer. Esports has had an audience of over 380 million viewers and generated an industry wide one and a half billion dollars in 2020, showing that it is only planning on growing. Esports has proven to be more than just gaming, it has shown its cultural impact with its day to day influence such as insider phrases, rituals and identity.

Citations

1. EBR, Editor. “How Has Technology Changed the Gaming Industry?” The European Business Review, 12 Nov. 2020, www.europeanbusinessreview.com/how-has-technology-changed-the-gaming-industry/. 
2. Wagner, Michael G. “On the Scientific Relevance of eSports.” International conference on internet computing. 2006.
3. Lorenz, Taylor. “Can FaZe Clan Build a Billion-Dollar Business?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/style/faze-clan-house.html. 
4. staff, Published By : BER. “The Explosive Growth of Esports.” Berkeley Economic Review, 24 Oct. 2018, econreview.berkeley.edu/the-explosive-growth-of-esports/.