Esports: Is it Just a Game?

The field of Esports has taken the internet by storm. Much like real-world athletes inspire younger generations to pursue a career in sports, or simply to be active individuals, gamers look up to Esports champions for the most optimal way to play a video game. Effectively, this has created a concept that became known as “Meta Gaming,” where there’s a popular way to play a game, and most, if not all, players who engage with ranked matches follow.??

An Early Beginning?

Though Esports have only recently hit the mainstream, the concept has been around for quite some time. Indeed, the very first “official” competition was kicked off at Stanford between 5 students who battled to win a year-long subscription to Rolling Stones. The game was Spacewar, and the battle raged on in 1972. Afterward, the first large-scale tournament took place in 1980 when 10,000 gamers took to the arcades and showcased their destructive abilities in the phenomenal Space Invaders. Following this event, Esports slowly grew in popularity to include fighting games such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighters and later on FPS games such as Counter-Strike and Apex Legends.??

The Surge?

The popularity of gaming altogether, as well as the ease of access to Esports events have largely contributed to their fast growth. Indeed, contrary to traditional sports, in order to watch game tournaments, all that is required is an internet connection and a web-capable device. Most, if not all, Esports event take place on Twitch or YouTube, platforms that are highly familiar to gamers worldwide. Following that massive success, large brands saw an opportunity and started sponsoring teams to compete. Who? BMW, Audi, Honda, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Red Bull, Intel, are some of the biggest multinational names that are involved in Esports, but there’s many additional businesses embracing the field. Consequently, more and more organizations such as Team Solomid (TSM), Cloud9 (C9), and Team Liquid, started to appear.??

In addition to the revenue generated from sponsorships and ad revenue, Esports team can earn massive prize pools should they claim victory in a major event. Take DOTA 2, which is known to break records in terms of prize pools, who offered an impressive USD $40 Million to the top competitors. This is an extreme though, as typically prize pools can range anywhere between 1 and 10 million USD. Additionally, it has become common practice to place wagers on Esports events which rewards the viewers who invest their time into following the action.??

The Consequences?

As we have previously mentioned, the field of Esports can be highly lucrative for both teams, developers, and sponsors who rarely ever claim a percentage of the prize pool. However, there’s the other side to this practice, and it is the side of the gamers. Esports has nurtured what is known as a meta gaming culture. In a nutshell, pro players figure out what’s the optimal game style, from build to spells, share their knowledge with the community who then follows the guides. Not only does this kill creativity when it comes to exploring game style options, but it also pushes players to prioritize efficiency which often leaves players who aren’t following the “meta” by the waste side.??

Arguably, meta gaming has always been part of the community, but through Esports, it has been pushed to whole new extremes. In some instances, meta gaming isn’t necessarily negative as a lot of players seek to achieve the most out of the games that they play, and having pros pave the way and devise strategies that they publicly share does help people achieve new heights. However, it can also hinder the experience for many. Take Overwatch for example, it was found that the most effective strategy is to pick 3 healers and 3 tanks, completely bypassing the fun DPS role that gives the game its signature fast-paced game style. What became known as the GOATS meta was hated by many, but players were forced into it if they wanted a chance at victory at high levels.??

Conclusion?

All in all, Esports is a field that has been slowly but surely growing, and with more people turning their attention toward gaming, it is nearly guaranteed that the field will keep on growing. That said, some developers have gone overboard while trying to cater to Esports, losing the essence of their game in the process. True, Esports is highly lucrative, but sacrificing fun gameplay and a balanced experience in order to create a good show may end up causing the game to pay the ultimate price.??