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The Herman Trend Alert
April 22, 2015 The Rise of E-Sports
A new spectator sport is gaining worldwide popularity. It is attracting the interest of millions of fans. Each fan, on average, dedicates more than an hour a day to watching their favorite players play---competitive gaming, or e-sports. E-sports professional players compete for million-dollar prize purses. The college circuit offers scholarships to 'student athletes'. E-sports tournaments are often played for sold-out stadium crowds, while the global viewing audience is projected to surpass 140 million by 2017. An audience of that magnitude is difficult to ignore, if you are targeting young, affluent, tech-savvy men (and women) who have become devotees this "new sport".
From its beginnings in South Korea. . . Now, thousands of professional gamers worldwide make their living playing videogames, while millions of fanatical fans watch. This global phenomenon is attracting both live and remote audiences.
Drivers of competitive gaming Gaming. Growing in popularity, gaming itself---and especially that of free-to-play games---has fueled interest among both players and fans. For example, one of the most popular games, "League of Legends", expects to add another 42 million new players in 2015, allowing it to reach a new high of 94 million monthly active users. Millennial engagement. Most participants and viewers of e-sports are between ages 20 and 35. This generation grew up with videogames and enjoyed the advent of live streaming video in their early adulthood. Connectivity. Internet speeds continue to improve, fueling the expansion of connectivity and especially live-streaming technology. This advancing technology is allowing e-sports to build on its core audience and reach an ever-expanding number of viewers. Community. The multiplayer nature of many of the most popular games encourages players to form teams and create communities around the games, intensifying their engagement. Accessibility. With a low barrier to entry, fans themselves play the same (mostly free) games that they watch. Moreover, unlike other professional athletes, many expert gamers make themselves accessible to fans through social media. Money. The exponential growth of tournament prize money has further increased interest in e-sports. And the growth of corporate sponsorship---from gaming companies and others---has pumped more money into e-sports, attracting more competitors and increasing public interest.
What is coming. . . Special thanks to Michael Vidikan of Future in Focus for their excellent Global Briefing on e-sports. To read the entire report, subscribe to their service at http://www.futureinfocus.com.
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