The United States has some of the best competitors in the world. We have the best basketball teams, American football teams (of course), and the best competitive eaters. We like to be the best at everything, it’s kind of an American trait. One thing that I don’t feel has gotten enough attention in America is eSports. ESports is becoming a massive stage with as many people watching these competitions as there are watching the NHL, NBA, or NFL. We now have many former athletes like Shaq who are investing in the sport as well. Yes, I called it a sport, and there are several articles that discuss the legitimacy of eSports as an actual sport. While it may not involve as much athleticism as other sports, one article does mention that the level of the stress hormone, cortisol, in eSports players rivaled that of a race car driver. The article goes on to mention that the players’ heart rates registered similar to that of a marathon runner. It is also true that the U.S. government now recognizes eSports players as “athletes” by allowing them to obtain athletic visas for competitions. Even though our government recognizes these players as athletes, the U.S. has not embraced eSports like many other countries.
Just to give you a brief history, eSports started back almost as early as gaming was created, but the terminology is fairly recent. Early on, gamers might compete in arcade game competitions. As consoles and better computers were introduced, there came the rise of computer and console gaming competitions. These events only drew niche crowds, though, because the accessibility of consoles or powerful computers was limited. The technology was also somewhat expensive and hard to set up the events when you had to bring bulky computers or consoles and set them up in a small room. Once the prices of consoles and computers became more affordable, gamers were able to set up more of these competitions. The Internet began to become more available to the average person as well, which caused developers to take notice. The game developers then began to take advantage of online play and created arenas where gamers could compete against each other over an Internet connection. This has led us to where we are today where anyone with a decent Internet connection can participate in an online match against other players from around the world.
Korean teams are at the forefront of eSports, with some of the best teams in the world. This is in part due to the fact that several development companies are located in Asian countries. It also helps that many Internet cafes sprang up in the mid to late 2000’s in these Asian countries. This made online PC gaming more openly available to the average individual. In the U.S., the accessibility of online PC gaming is limited to those that can afford to purchase a PC and a decent home Internet connection. Therefore, those who have a PC and a good home Internet connection are the only ones that even have a chance to compete on the world stage. That makes the pool of competitive gamers for the U.S. significantly smaller than those of other parts of the world that compete in these events.
It does not help that many people in the U.S. do not view competitive gaming as a serious investment of time or effort. If you look at comments on social media platforms about eSports, many Americans will say something like, “Why don’t these kids get a real job? They should stop wasting their lives playing games.” This is very much a mindset that has been created in the United States and formed since video games began being released. This is in part due to the stigma that has been associated with people who play video games. The animated comedy show, South Park, has done its fair share of taking jabs at gamers and nerds alike. One episode that they dedicated entirely to the MMO(Massively Multiplayer Online) game, World of Warcraft, depicted the best player in the world as a sweaty, greasy, overweight, older man who sat at his computer eating snack foods while playing. That is the ideology that the average American has in their mind when they think of a “gamer.” Because of this stigma associated with gamers, Americans have failed to take eSports competitors seriously. These are the reasons why the U.S. has yet to fully invest in the world of eSports despite the fact that it is proving to be a very lucrative venture, with some of the championships totaling over $10 million.
We are seeing more and more real investments in eSports from traditional sports players and teams recently as they see the opportunity for the sport to grow. Many companies, including those unrelated to computers or gaming, are investing in eSports teams to be able to make their brand recognizable to the youth that love to watch the events. Former NBA player Rick Fox purchased a top-tier League of Legends team and rebranded them as Echo Fox. Another former NBA player and potential Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal, invested into an eSports team of his own, NRG, along with MLB players Alex Rodriguez and Jimmy Rollins. FIFA also announced a group to strategically invest in the world of eSports. I feel like we’re going to see more and more professional athletes and companies invest in eSports as the sport continues to grow and mature into a venue that can not only rival traditional sports, but has the potential to draw much larger crowds.
