Esports has become trend for the video game community playing competitive for fun or money. Allowed players to experience new element even expand on the games. Suddenly core mechanics become super important with players needing to know everything about the game. Metagame which is outside knowledge of the game becomes important knowing animation length and mindset of your opponent. Information can help decide games knowing strategy helps decide strategy against opponent. Hearthstone shows this clearly with certain decks being picked based on opponent decks. Starting out bunch of players experiencing video games in new light soon become competitive experience. Bunch of amateur setting up leagues back in 2000s expanding to various companies supporting. Amateurs playing for fun used various websites to setup leagues now studios creating said games have say. Once just small group of amateurs turned into global business with various gaming studios putting real money behind it. Supporting Esports allows companies keep community active possible to create whole new source of revenue. Economics of the situation teams can disappear due to couple bad results. Even high ranking teams can disappear around only handful of teams which have lasted years. Income can be unstable with amateurs finding it hard to climb. Big leagues may have millions to play for but smaller leagues with most of the players much smaller pool.
Once started out as bunch of amateurs enjoying games in competitive setting has exploded into global force. Still the numbers are tiny compared to number of units sold of video games worldwide. Remains to be seen if Esports can become real global trend in Asian markets firmed rooted. Taiwanese government has started the process on classify to make it become real sport.
Support can be patchy at times with some studios providing bare basic support. Signs that big companies are starting to take notice with some being quickly over others. Sony has created Playstation Plus league the competitive face of Sony. Microsoft supported Esport leagues on xbox for years helping grow it around consoles. Even Nintendo started to get into it supporting super smash bros small leagues. Riot games supports pro players playing them wage during championships. Recently Call of duty has been pushing the trend with casual game getting it own championship based on league of legends model. Parent company Activision-Blizzard has created an Esports division to help support the platform.
Old media is starting to take notice with massive demographics which has disappeared tuning in to these events. BBC has done deal to allow Esports to appear on iplayer using BBC3 platform. Gambling companies are starting to get into the act with big firms now allowing bets to be made. Mainstream has started to take notice of something which started outside of mainstream playing catch up.
However does have darker side with big risk comes big reward. Players suffer sometimes from mental health issues pressure of winning. Cheating has been an issue along with doping to get better results. Turning hobby into job runs the risk of removing all the fun you once had.
Watched Esports in the past due to how interesting it can be not the only person.
Don’t view the whole trend as bad could help certain titles but yearly releases don’t become big. May result in longer support for video games which is good news. One or two people have blamed it for creating unfun titles which focus on narrow ground of players. Some people see mobile as new big thing for Esports don’t view that as the case due to the platform unless it only media platform. Bright future just needs to get over barrier to entry and economic issues due to demographics involved. Could always go the same way poker did which had rapid growth followed by rapid declines in views.
Could never get into Esports due to high risk high reward mixed with high amount of time needed.