Will Esports overtake Sports?
Recently, there has been a lot of growth in Esports events, and this is making people wonder if Esports will take over the world of sports. The reason for this is that people are getting very excited about Esports events these days. People these days talk about Esports just like they used to talk about sports back in the day. Hence, in today’s blog, we will be taking a deep look into whether Esports will overtake sports with some deep insights and analysis too. So, without wasting much time, let us get into the whole case!
Reasons why Esports may be displacing sports
Now we will be getting into some of the reasons why we feel that Esports is already gaining more popularity and relevance than just normal Sports:
Streamers
With the start of the pandemic, going out was completely cut off as an option. Hence, all our entertainment was on the screens of our mobile phones and computers. As a result, people began to gravitate toward streamers and streaming channels. Sports could not be played for a year or so to avoid any gathering at all. Guess what came to the rescue? Watching video game streamers play their favorite games! They have been there for the longest time, but it is their time to shine now. People started to get interested in Twitch and Youtube Live, where different players would be streaming their content and playing games. This not only rekindled the inner child's desire to continue playing video games, but also increased public awareness of the Esports industry.
Twitch has already become one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world and is now under Amazon. There are more than a hundred categories of video games and numerous streamers under these categories. All you have to do is open Twitch, and you will be bombarded with content 24 hours a day. All of this has made people more interested in watching and keeping up with Esports than Sports. Also, you can feel close to the streamers. They do not only play games and talk formally about them. They are frank, and real, which makes them all the closer and more realistic than star athletes.
Additionally, streamers, who are professional gamers, have also managed to play with celebrities, which has attracted their fan base to them. Many pop stars like Drake, Travis Scot, etc. have managed to collab with a lot of streamers and attract the fan base to each other's fields.
Esports Are Attracting More Gamers and Expanding Their Audience
Once upon a time, the only people who were concerned with Esports were the gamers, who were quite few in numbers. With the growth of video games, Esports events have started to grow. For example, League of Legends events have always gone over the top since 2018, and so on. Therefore, one cannot say that Esports has come up in the last 2 years due to the pandemic. Of course, the Lockdowns acted as a catalyst, but that does not mean that Esports did not exist before that. It's just that only the closed community of gamers was more interested in these events than the general public. However, according to statistics, Esports viewers came to an average of 270 million globally in 2016, which had increased to as much as 495 million in 2020. It's more than a double number, and hence one cannot say that Esports is now only for gamers.
Esports events now not only cater to gamers but also target a demographic. They are focusing on people who fall into the age group of 18–37. They are the most active in the Esports world even now. As a teenager, you will always be attracted to video games, and when you come across Esports events, the organizers make sure to keep you hooked on them. This brings in the sports level of addiction, where one would want to keep on watching and following a specific sport as they have a better understanding of it and they genuinely enjoy it. Another reason why Esports are getting more popular with this demographic is that people at this age group have not had many opportunities to play sports outside for various reasons. They are closer to technology than the previous generations, and they have also played much more video games. All of this leads them to feel more connected to Esports events than other traditional Sports events.
Globalization
This is another one of the aspects of gaming and Esports events that make them so likable and universal. Unlike traditional Sports, Esports events are not always held as per their nationality. For example, in a game of cricket, it is always one country against another. Even if the match is not being played against other countries, it could be played against different regions. There seems to be a division. However, Esports events are not always like that. Many teams play together irrespective of their nationality, religion, or any such differences. The community is extremely homogenous. Except in extremely high-level tournaments, there are no such divisions among teams. This makes the community all the more wholesome and better.
Additionally, video games are played all over the world. There is not a single country in this world where video games are not available. Therefore, this becomes all the more inclusive and everyone can follow these Esports events with ease.
Prize Money and Income
It is no secret that some of the best gamers or streamers in the world are millionaires. Well, you could also say that in traditional sports, there are a lot of people who are millionaires. However, it is an extremely difficult path to follow. Most of the athletes must have struggled to find funding to attend major tournaments and practice. This is where Esports becomes a more beneficial position. For getting good at a game, all you need is a PC or mobile (whichever area you want to go to) and an internet connection. Many pros have also confirmed that you do not need to have an expensive set-up at first to be good at gaming. All you need is to practice and make a name in the small community first. Then you can go ahead and post yourself on Youtube if live streaming becomes difficult.
Gradually, you can rise to the heights, and even get hired by Esports organizations. Then you can earn by streaming or posting your videos and also winning in tournaments. All of this brings in a lot of income prospects, which is much higher than traditional sports.
In fact, in a recent study, it has been found that the international 10 DOTA 2 championship had a prize pool of $34,333,844, which was divided equally among the winning team. The Super Bowl winners each won $100,000 per player. This is a huge disparity. A lot of gamers do not even stream, and yet they are some of the richest names in the industry.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Esports are completely taking over traditional sports. When sports events are being held all over the world simultaneously with Esports events, both the viewers are quite close to each other. Hence, it would be wrong to say that Esports gained popularity only because of the pandemic. There is more to it, and the Esports community keeps changing itself to keep things fresh and attract more audiences. Whereas, traditional sports have gotten stuck in time. With the advancement of technology in the gaming world, it will not be long before Esports take over the world. It is just the beginning of being included in some of the important sports events like the Asian Games 2022 and others.
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Ananta Ghosh
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Until next time,
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