Introduction to eSports

[iPickle]

Good Gaming promo video:

[iPickle]

Street Fighter 4: An Introduction to eSports:

The year was 2010, and I was a junior at college looking for a new game to play. After playing a lot of Smash Bros. Melee over the previous 3-4 years, I was ready to move on. One of my good friends introduced me to the world of Street Fighter, and things were never the same!

http://www.ign.com/blogs/beggar89/2014/07/23/street-fighter-4-an-introduction-to-esports

[iPickle]

It’s time to get into e-sports, and Valve is showing the way:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/07/its-time-to-get-into-e-sports-and-valve-is-showing-the-way/

I've written before about how the world of e-sports opened my eyes, combining the sense of community and shared enjoyment with one of the things that many people of a more nerdy disposition enjoy: video games. E-sports present games at their very best, showing off some of the greatest players and most exciting matches in any genre.

The e-sports scene is growing bigger and more serious. The tournament that got me hooked—the Valve Software-sponsored Dota 2 competition named The International—has returned this year with a prize pool in excess of $10 million. While Valve stumped up the first $1.6 million to get things going, the Dota 2 community itself contributed another $8.9 million to the fund. The winning team is currently set to take home $4.8 million.

That's a lot of money. It's the biggest prize pool of any e-sport competition, and it's bigger than the prize pools in other, more established competitions. The 2014 US Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta had a prize pool of about $8.6 million with a top prize of $1.6 million. This year's Tour de France has a prize pool of $2.99 million, and the yellow jersey winner will take home $612,000 when the race finishes on July 27.

The world of e-sports can, however, be tricky to get into. While at a high level, any competitive game can be described simply enough—punch the other guy until his health drops to zero, shoot the enemy opponents until they're dead, blow up the enemy's base—recognizing what's going on at any one time and identifying which player or team has the advantage and the momentum, knowing the difference between a bad play, a good play, and a great play is challenging.

FURTHER READING


REVIEW: DOTA 2 IS A COLOSSAL TIME-SINK THAT YOU SHOULD PLAY
Just make sure that you have a few hundred spare hours before you start.
This complexity can limit the appeal of the e-sports world. I follow Dota 2 religiously, but while I've tried watching League of Legends—a so-called "MOBA" game very similar in type to Dota 2—I can't figure out what on earth is going on. It's incomprehensible.

Recognizing this barrier to entry, Valve is doing something a little different for this year's International to get people a little more involved. Alongside the regular commentary and Twitch.tv broadcasts, the group stages, which start today, will include a special Newcomer's Broadcast.

This broadcast will explain what's going on in much more beginner-friendly terms, taking the time to explain what items do, why teams have been drafted the way they have been, and why the teams are playing in a particular way. The intent is to open the world of competitive Dota 2 to a wider audience.

You might find that Dota 2 isn't the game for you; if not, there are plenty of other options to choose. If first-person shooters are more your thing, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Team Fortress 2, and even Quake (in its Quake Live guise) all see professional play. League of Legends offers similar action-RTS gameplay to Dota 2, albeit with a more rigidly enforced meta and certain elements that lean ever so slightly in the pay-to-win category, and Infinite Crisis puts comic book superheroes into a similar MOBA setting. The venerable StarCraft 2 is a conventional base-building RTS game that continues to draw big audiences and big money. And there's an abundance of fighting games, from Super Smash Bros Melee to Ultra Street Fighter IV. If you're after something a little less frenetic, Hearthstone is also starting to pick up.

Find the one that works for you, and you'll open up a world of regular competitions, for most games are a mix of the purely online competition along with the occasional LAN tournament. Some, such as the regular Dreamhack events, are multidisciplinary, with many different games all on display. Others, such as the International, focus on just a single game.

Based on our experience with Dota 2's layers and complexity, the Newcomer Stream isn't going to make everyone a Dota 2 expert overnight. Those new to the e-sports scene will still find they have much to learn if they're to keep their Kappas per minute at an acceptable level and avoid the perils of copy pasterino cappucino, but the newcomer stream should be a fine introduction to a world that's every bit as entertaining as that of traditional sports—and then some.

[iPickle]

Amazon and the $1-billion esports empire
29 SEP 2014

http://mg.co.za/article/2014-09-29-amazon-and-the-1-billion-esports-empire


Esports makes for compelling viewing for millions of ordinary gamers, especially when prize money is in the trillions, writes Alistair Fairweather.
Amazon concluded a deal to buy Twitch, an electronic sports broadcaster, for nearly $1-billion. (Reuters)
If you’d told most people in 1994 that in 2014 there would be a website dedicated to watching other people play video games, they would have laughed at you. And yet on Friday Amazon concluded a deal to buy Twitch, an electronic sports broadcaster, for nearly $1-billion.

This is less insane than it might sound. Electronic sports (esports) tournaments are already watched by tens of millions of people around the globe. The larger tournaments have prize money in the millions of dollars, and the most successful professional players earn more than $1-million per year.

One of the most popular games – League of Legends – is hosting the finals of this year’s world championship at South Korea’s 67 000-seater Sang-am Stadium. Only a few thousand tickets remain available for the event, starting at R350 per person. The higher priced tickets were sold out within minutes. The prize money for the winning team? $1-million. Not bad if you’re a 17-year-old nerd.

Esports is a burgeoning sector of the world’s fastest growing form of paid entertainment: multiplayer online gaming. The global games industry is on track to hit $100-billion in revenues this year. That’s more than the world’s entire film and TV industries put together.

But how on earth can video games be considered a sport? Simple: the games in question demand timing, teamwork and strategy. They have rules and limits. They require lightening fast reflexes, preternatural awareness and a cool head. A novice playing against even moderately skilled opponents would not just be beaten, they would be obliterated.

It’s this component of objective skill and ability – a factor only present in video games since the late 1990s – that makes for compelling viewing for millions of ordinary gamers. In that sense it’s no more strange than the millions of middle aged men watching the Ryder cup this weekend. It may seem like a silly game to some, but players know how difficult and unforgiving it can be.

The appeal of esports is unquestionable – Twitch alone has 55-million viewers in a single month. But does this deal make sense for Amazon? On the whole, yes it does. Twitch, unlike many other young online companies, appears to be making a profit. Although it does not share its revenue numbers publicly, analysing its advertising sales and subscription numbers suggests revenues of around $72-million in 2013.

Twitch also has a clever affiliate strategy, similar to YouTube’s. Both professional players and gifted amateurs can broadcast their own games via Twitch and earn a cut of the advertising revenue. This community content drives Twitch’s revenue throughout the year, so that it does not rely entirely on large professional tournaments.

Whether Twitch will fit comfortably in Amazon’s stable is another question. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s reigning emperor, is famously irascible and domineering. The freewheeling geekiness of Twitch may be at odds with Amazon’s laser focus on efficiency and logistics.

But in many other ways the fit is ideal. Amazon has enormous depths of expertise in affiliate management, the marketing of user generated content and computing infrastructure. It has a global payment network and the kind of scale that allows you to relentlessly drive down input costs. The reach and resources it can provide Twitch could put it in the same league as YouTube (which flirted with buying the company earlier this year).

But mere facts will not be enough to convince most people that Twitch, and esports in general, is anything more than a fad. These scoffing dismissals remind me of people’s attitude to Facebook in 2006. And who remembers that company anymore?

[iPickle]

College eSports video:

[iPickle]

Chicago college wants more female eSports athletes:

CHICAGO -- Robert Morris University may be the first college in the nation to offer athletic scholarships to video gamers, but the Chicago college is struggling to overcome the gender divide in the gaming world.

Last week, dozens of college-aged League of Legends players from different backgrounds attended the university’s eSports Exhibition Day as either recruits or hopefuls looking to impress the coaches and win an eSports scholarship.

However, few of them were young women.

Kurt Melcher, the coordinator of the program, said recruiting female players is proving to be a challenge. In an email to Fusion, he said response to the gaming scholarship offer drew a response of approximately 100 males for every female who expressed interest.

The university’s varsity team has two high-performing females and hopes to recruit one or two more to round out the 30-member roster.

“The fact does remain that there isn't the same amount of interest from female players compared to males,” Melcher wrote.

That is not to say that they aren’t as capable. Melcher knows women are just as driven and competitive as their male peers.

“It will be interesting to see how the female players at RMU perform with all things equaled - time, coaching, opportunity, presence. I don't think they will disappoint,” he said.

One of the players, a young woman named Sandra, was recruited from California to play for the varsity team.

With hot pink and purple-tipped hair, she stood out in the crowd of male gamers attending eSports Exhibition Day.

“The League of Legends community, like the gaming community in general, is 49 percent female, but the fact that it’s all men in the competitive scene puts more pressure on you as a girl,” she said. “Even people at other levels are looking at you and thinking, ‘Well, we’ve never seen your kind at this level before.’”

Sandra had a chance to show her gaming skills on Saturday after touring the campus. Recruits and hopefuls participated in games that pitted teams of five against each other, with virtually every computer occupied at the Ignite Gaming Lounge in Avondale, Chicago.

The eSports scholarship will cover up to half of tuition and room and board costs for League of Legends players. Robert Morris plans to join the Collegiate Star League, which boasts gamers from more than 100 universities.

Kiara, a scholarship hopeful from the Chicago area, said the fact that Robert Morris University is offering eSports scholarships could help change the perception of female gamers. She said she frequently felt the gaming world depicts girls as sexual objects and not serious gaming contenders.

“The whole thing is sex-appeal dominated, especially with the streamers. You’re often treated like you can’t do anything, that you have to be protected, or that you can only play female characters,” she said.

Kiara hopes to work as a video game designer for Bethesda or Square Enix, the company that makes her favorite console series, Final Fantasy.

While both young women agree it’s better to remain genderless in the online gaming world when possible to avoid harassment, they want to work to make it more welcoming to women in the future.

Sandra hopes to study business and marketing at Robert Morris University and pave the way for other female players.

“I really want to go into the gaming market and try to gear marketing more towards women,” she said. “[I want to try] to encourage them to feel more comfortable, to do what they love doing no matter what.”

http://fusion.net/american_dream/story/chicago-college-female-esports-athletes-970515

[iPickle]

DOTA 2 explained and system requirements:

Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena video game that came out last year and has become the most actively played game on Steam, with daily peaks of over 800,000 concurrent players. It is the only sequel to three famous games: Defense of the Ancients (DotA), Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne mod. Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena game where the gameplay focuses on combat in a 3D environment, seen from a high-angle perspective (bird in the sky view). The player may command a single controllable character called a "Hero", which one can pick from a selection pool of 108.
Dota 2 is a game about teamwork, gaining experience, and gaining gold. Ultimately your aim is to destroy the enemy team’s building called the Ancient which lies within the enemy strong hold. In order to get there, you have to defeat enemy creeps, enemy towers, and enemy heroes. The game is played in discrete matches involving two five-player teams with each team occupying a stronghold at the opposite corners of the map. There are basic units of soldiers called creeps that fight for you. They are spawned every 30 seconds from each of the three lanes on the map for both sides. For most of the game there are 3 melee creeps and 1 ranged creep. Later on a Catapult is added, and eventually in the game there are more melee and ranged creeps. Creeps also slowly gain max hp over the course of the game.


Dota 2 heroes

More than 100 heroes to choose from!
At early levels your heroes are very weak and cannot clear creep waves and towers by yourself. To get stronger you need items. To get items you need money. You can gain gold by getting the last hit on the heroes or creeps. When you land the final blow on an enemy creep (last hit or lh) you receive a random amount of gold for the kill (about 35-45 gold per creep). You also get gold when your team destroys an enemy tower (about 350-450 for a last hit on a tower, 200 if your teammates or team kills it). You can get a lot of money quickly just by precisely giving last hits to creeps. You also gain experience when enemy creeps and heroes die around you, defeated by your team. When you have enough experience, you gain a level. You start at lv. 1, and can grow till lv. 25.


Almost every single hero gets 3 basic skills, 1 ultimate (or ult), and the option for stats instead of levels. You can level up each basic skill up to 4 times, each ultimate for 3 times, and you acquire 10 levels of stats by the time you reach lv. 25. Each level of stats gives you +2 strength, +2 agility, and +2 intelligence. Every hero has some kind of combination of each of his skills and his ultimate. The trick is to find that combination, different for each hero and use it to devastate opponents. It takes time but once you get the hang of it, Dota 2 is hard to let go. To learn more on the game, visit their official blog.

http://www.sportskeeda.com/e-sports/dota-2-explained-system-requirements

[iPickle]

Are School Scholarships For eSports The Next Big Thing?

Although it doesn’t get half the coverage or consideration that the bigger, more active sports do, there’s no denying that eSports is a hugely popular pastime. From the rampant fanbases that surround eSports’ professional players to those who pay good money to watch tournaments in person (and sell out stadiums as a result) the numbers are all there to carry eSports forward into a larger form of entertainment.

And we can expect those numbers to increase by massive margins over the next few months and years. New games like Hearthstone give players a new way to test their gaming mettle whilst old favorite League of Legends does its bit to get new players involved and the millions of dollars that Dota 2 offers in eSports prize money remain an ever dangling carrot.


10 Unwritten Rules of Pokemon You Should Be Familiar With
Surprisingly, eSports could even be boosted by educational institutions. With students now having the possibility to get into school based on their educational and gaming merits, Robert Morris University have just launched an eSports scholarship. With the scholarship potentially worth over $20,000 (RMU will offer 60 scholarships of up to 50% off of the $44,000 cost for tuition, room and board) many might wonder why an educational institution might pay so much money for students to enrol, knowing they’ll spend much of their time playing a free-to-play video game.

But when Kurt Melcher, the Associate Athletic Director at Robert Morris came across the game earlier this year and “couldn’t believe how elaborate it was,” League of Legends proved to be a potential remedy for the university’s number problems.

League of Legends Akali vs Baron

Due to the possibility of crippling student debt, some students just avoid higher education altogether and this is having a knock on effect at RMU who have witnessed a decline in enrolment. The scholarship won’t necessarily make education affordable and one entrant into RMU’s League of Legends program recognises the fact that even though he’d be better of financially if he went to a state university, the opportunities gifted to him as a professional gamer on a scholarship are too big to refuse.

Despite the big money hand-outs, RMU does still have a budget to adhere though. By increasing its amount of athletic scholarships it seems like an anomaly next to schools who have decreased them but this League of Legends scholarship actually kills two birds with one stone. The school is paying around $100,000 to retrofit a classroom with the relevant tech in order to accommodate the new students’ gaming and while that might seem like a high price to pay, it’s more expensive to add a running track, swimming pool or other facilities needed to accommodate athletic scholars who got in for non-eSports reasons.

Furthermore, while it might seem like the school is banking on the game’s popularity to boost its own, it’s worth noting that they’ve also hired League of Legends coach Ferris Ganzman to lead the team to victory. That doesn’t necessarily mean RMU’s team is poised for success but as Ganzman put himself through college coaching other pro LoL teams (earning around $3000 a month in doing so) they certainly have a better shot.

Hearthstone Male Only Tournament Changed

So will RMU’s scholarship add fuel to eSports’ already blazing flames? The school received 2,200 inquiries form all over the world when Riot (League of Legends’ developer) posted about it on their website which suggests that there’s serious popularity there. Those inquiries were mostly from male League players though and gender diversity and making an inclusionary space for all gamers has long been eSports’ problem so whether RMU takes this into consideration when putting together its team is yet to be seen.

It will also be interesting to find out how RMU plans to make its team sustainable with its best players graduating year in year out but as the university is still conducting trials for its program, that, along with how the scholarship program will encourage interest in eSports, is something to think about in the future.

http://gamerant.com/video-game-esports-college-scholarships/

[iPickle]

The Case For eSports in Schools:

Thomas Arnold is best remembered for his reforms of the education system based on the tenets of Muscular Christianity, and most famously for his focus on the importance of team games, especially rugby, in developing character. I would like to argue that eSports could perform a similar function today, and should become a part of every school’s extra-mural programme.

Video gaming gets a bad rap, but a raft of research now suggests that playing video games is healthy, and leads to a positive sense of well-being and social engagement. Up to 3 hours a day, that is! Any more than that and players experience negative side-effects. I’m not going to bore you with a well-documented summary of the research – this article by Jane McGonigal presents the case pretty cogently. What I want to do is to make the link between Thomas Arnold and his Victorian notions of turning unruly louts into gentlemen, and playing video games competitively, and in teams.

IMGA0505Games such as DotA, CounterStrike, League Of Legends or Smite all involve players in a team game with a premium on strategy. Players need not only to plan a strategy over how they will collaborate to win the game, but they also need to learn how to communicate with each other to co-ordinate this plan in-game, and switch strategies in pre-determined game plans when their opponents have “figured out” what they are doing. Each player has a role to play in the overall strategy, and players train before a match to work out tactics they can use. If you can spot what your opponents are up to and trump their strategy you can set traps and gank them!

I cannot vouch for this, but I believe that eSports involves considerably more strategizing than a game like rugby. But even if it is merely the same, I believe it offers the chance for boys and girls to learn to work together on developing strategies and tactics in a setting which does not usually endanger one’s collar-bone! There are many children who can never hope to attain the physical prowess necessary to be chosen for a team at rugby or hockey, but all children can learn to play video games at a level which will involve them in strategizing, collaborating and communicating effectively.

Even the so-called casual gamer, when they play an eSport will need to fit in with the team strategy. I run a gaming club and every Friday I sit listening to kids screaming at each other because someone has not fulfilled their part in the game plan! Kids are frank, and can be cruel, but in eSports they tend to support each other as well. You don’t destroy an individual you are going to have to depend on next Friday when you play again! Older players tend to stop their game and give advice to newbies. It is a noisy, but quite warm and fuzzy environment.

Gamers have something of a reputation for being foul-mouthed, racist, sexist and bent on trolling behaviours, but in a school environment the atmosphere is one of camaraderie and sportsmanship – maybe because there’s a teacher present! While teenagers are racking up those 10 000 hours they apparently spend playing video games I believe it is vital that we give them a structured, disciplined environment to learn how to play with sportsmanship, largess and collaborative bonhomie! If we leave it to chance that they will fall in with the right crowd online we might be in for a rude shock. Let us rather, as teachers and parents, encourage youngsters to join a gaming club at school, compete with other schools, and learn the etiquette of gaming from the ground up.

In South Africa, Mind Sports South Africa runs an inter-school league for eSports. I firmly believe we need to integrate eSports into the sports curriculum, and recognise its importance in socializing screenagers!

https://digiteacher.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/the-case-for-esports-in-schools/

[iPickle]

48% of the gamers in the US are women

A survey published by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) revealed that women are almost as participatory in the electronic games industry in the United States as men. In the world’s largest gaming market, the female audience represents 48% of all people who play in the country. The male audience are with the other remaining 52%.

Furthermore, 59% of the population of the United States, or about 184 million people, consider themselves gamers or have some kind of social involvement with electronic games of any type of platform (PC, consoles, laptops, smartphones or networks).

The survey was conducted with families in more than 2,200 homes throughout the United States. Without specifying the exact number of people interviewed for the reported results, parents and children were asked about their habits with electronic games.

The average age of the players (male and female) is 31 years old, and 36% of this group are women aged over 18 years old. And male players under 18 make up just 17% share in this market.

“People of all ages are playing games. There is no longer a specific stereotype for ‘gamer’, since a player can now be your grandparents, your boss and even your teacher,” said Jaison Allaire, psychology professor at the University of North Carolina, in a supplementary statement to the research results.

http://wsvg.net/48-gamers-us-women/

[iPickle]

Watching eSports - Twitch is the world's leading video platform and community for gamers with more than 55 million visitors per month. We want to connect gamers around the world by allowing them to broadcast, watch, and chat from everywhere they play.

cable television for tomorrows youth

http://www.twitch.tv/

Your Favorite Games

Broadcast all the games! There’s a universe of gaming video waiting to be discovered on Twitch. Whether you’re into retro favorites, strategic esports titles, first-person shooters, or massively multiplayer pasta cooking dating simulators, if you love playing it, you’ll find it on Twitch.

The Best Players

Twitch is home to the most dedicated and highly skilled gamers on the planet. They shatter world records. They cruise through the newest titles. They make headlines with world-first accomplishments, and they make it all look easy. Discover why they’re the best at what they do on Twitch.

The Biggest Events

Twitch features the best gaming events, period. We have it all: large-scale gaming competitions that pack stadiums, community marathons that raise millions of dollars for charity, and video game industry events where the future of gaming is forged. And that’s just the beginning.

The Coolest Shows

Twitch is where you’ll find the best online video shows in the gaming world. From behemoths like Joystiq, Gamespot, and Destructoid, to insiders like LiveonThree, ManvsGame, and Day9, this is where you’ll find the vanguard of live gaming entertainment.

[iPickle]

Women Now Make Up Almost Half of Gamers

http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/gaming-no-longer-a-mans-world-1408464249-lMyQjAxMTA0MDEwOTExNDkyWj?tesla=y

[iPickle]

Riot Working to Ensure a New Career for Retired eSports Players

http://lol.mmosite.com/news/08192014/riot_working_to_ensure_a_new_career_for_retired_esports_players.shtml

Riot Games is taking measures to ensure professional League of Legends players can continue to have a career once they "age out" of eSports.

[iPickle]

Can 'World of Warcraft' Game Skills Help Land a Job?
Some Job Seekers Add Experiences on Role-Playing Platform to Résumés, LinkedIn


http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/can-warcraft-game-skills-help-land-a-job-1407885660?mobile=y

[MRDALE]

Nice board you got here! ;)

[iPickle]

The future according to World of Tanks

http://www.redbull.com/en/esports/stories/1331668885275/world-of-tanks-esports-interview

[iPickle]

Armchair Athleticism



Drawing Players into MOBAs Through Accessibility and Investment


http://tortedelini.wordpress.com/2014/07/27/drawing-players-into-mobas-through-accessibility-and-investment/

[iPickle]

Gamers Watched 2.4 Billion Hours of eSports in 2013


http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamers-watched-2-4-billion-hours-of-esports-in-2013/1100-6420035/


The popularity of watching eSports continues to soar worldwide, with 2.4 billion hours of eSports video viewed during 2013, according to a newly released IHS Technology report.

According to the report (via Gamasutra), that figure is up from 1.3 billion hours in 2012 and is only expected to continue growing: By 2018, that number will reach an estimated 6.6 billion hours. 2013 marked the first time that eSports viewing online surpassed that of television, and it did so by a large margin--almost three times as many hours were spent watching eSports online than on television. By 2018, online viewing will represent 90 percent of time spent watching eSports.

[iPickle]

I was thinking, why not have 2 boards..LOL. I put them in different sectors on the iHub boards. Still educating myself.

[iPickle]

eSports as viable career path for students?

Have you ever been told to leave the video games and head outdoors?

Turns out that maybe mom was wrong about needing to put down the console. Perhaps you were just training for an eSports tournament. A $10 million prize for winning a video game competition could certainly help with college tuition.
Choi Seong Hun, left, who goes by the gaming name "PoLt" and Choi Ji Sung, known as "Bomber," both of South Korea, compete against each other in the finals of the Red Bull Battle Grounds "StarCraft II" video game tournament in Atlanta on July 13, 2014.

Choi Seong Hun, left, who goes by the gaming name “PoLt” and Choi Ji Sung, known as “Bomber,” both of South Korea, compete against each other in the finals of the Red Bull Battle Grounds “StarCraft II” video game tournament in Atlanta on July 13, 2014.

eSports — short for electronic sports — are professional, structured video game competitions where gamers battle it out to see whose skills are the cream of the crop. Competitive gaming in the United States is just beginning to receive recognition among the standard athletic world — ESPN.com began broadcasting an eSports championship just this past weekend.

But for the professionals at Red Bull Battle Grounds, a StarCraft II tournament that brings in highly trained, college-age players from all over the world, eSports is part of their daily lives.

With its first leg taking place at the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, the Red Bull sponsored tournament saw players from the United States, Canada, Argentina, South Korea, Austria, China and Australia — of the 64 that qualified for the single-elimination stage, two had received athlete visas.

RELATED: Video gamers toy with upcoming game trends, careers amid E3 2014

These visas are a relatively new immigration option for collegiate gamers, first issued in 2013. In accordance with the visa, and in order to stay at their peak performance level, they must train for an average of six to eight hours a day.

The Red Bull Battle Grounds tournament pits some of the world’s highest scoring players of StarCraft II, which is set in a galactic universe during a time of war. In the real time strategy game, players choose one of three species to maneuver the terrain, gather resources and destroy the other player’s base, while protecting their own from combat units.

The tournament itself will move on to Detroit in August and then to its final round in Washington, D.C. in September. The top player, determined in a group round and single-elimination bracket, will take home a $50,000 cash prize.

At the Atlanta competition, players sat in the center of a packed arena. A giant screen projected their gameplay. Broadcasters analyzed the players’ moves and backgrounds throughout the games, and journalists were outside the arena ready to speak to the competitors once their rounds were finished.

Olivia “Livibee” Seeto

Olivia “Livibee” Seeto, a 22-year-old professional player and recent visual arts graduate from the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, was impressed by the quality of the competitions in the United States — particularly that of the Red Bull tournament. After receiving a 12-month work visa funded by donations from her fans, Seeto has competed in two U.S. tournaments so far.

“Australian tournaments are nothing of the caliber that United States tournaments are,” she says. “The eSports scene in Australia hasn’t been established just yet due to our slower Internet connection. The production for the Red Bull tournament is the best I’ve ever come across … there’s constant coverage of players, interviews and very little down time.”

For college students, this emerging professionalism in gaming has opened up an expansive list of career options. Being a gamer is just one of them.

Robert Switts, who goes by the gamertag “SirRobin,” is a professional player from the Atlanta area. A marketing graduate of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., Switts says that his winnings from StarCraft tournaments, in addition to running the StarCraft club on campus, helped make his college career a memorable one.

“My biggest winnings were expense-paid travel. Being able to fly out for weekends really made college enjoyable.” However, traveling forced Switts to learn how to balance academics and eSports: “It did have some strain on college. I remember coming back from a competition in Dallas — I got back in on a Monday at 2 a.m., and I had an exam that morning at 8 a.m.”

In order to help juggle players’ busy schedules, some hire managers to assist with travel, schooling and training. Presently, 14 professional players even receive personal, corporate sponsorship. Red Bull currently sponsors Choi “Bomber” Ji Sung, the winner of Atlanta’s competition.
Choi "Bomber" Ji Sung, raises the championship trophy after defeating Choi "PoLt" Seong Hun on July 13, 2014 (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Choi “Bomber” Ji Sung, raises the championship trophy after defeating Choi “PoLt” Seong Hun on July 13, 2014 (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Originally from South Korea, Sung travels to the United States for competitions and his been sponsored by the energy drink company since 2011.

Sung’s competitor in the final round, Choi “Polt” Seong Hun also receives corporate sponsorship from CM Storm and had his manager help him attain an athlete visa. After receiving his degree in animal bio technology at Seoul National University in South Korea, his visa allowed him to come to the United States to study at University of Texas and train as a professional gamer.

Since going pro in 2011, Hun says he’s been in “too many tournaments to count.” He says his biggest win, however, was at the 2011 GSL Super Tournament: “Out of the 64 of us, most were Korean players. I placed first and won $100,000.”

Aside from becoming a professional gamer, there are plenty of job opportunities for young adults related to the eSports scene. Many have found full-time jobs in the industry after graduating, with the video game industry employing more than 120,000 people.

Cameron “Camd0zer” Reed, head administrator and journalist at Electronic Sports League America, served as the host for the Red Bull Battle Grounds Atlanta tournament. Known for his characteristically swirled mustache, Reed has been working to make a reputable space for eSports journalism since his 2013 graduation from California State University.

After attending his first StarCraft convention in 2010, he decided he wanted to produce more story-based, human interest content related to eSports. He believes this type of storytelling, along with Millennials’ genuine interest in video games, will be what launches eSports into a mainstream sport.

RELATED: Student plays video games for 24 hours straight … and lives to write about it

“We were raised on video games … we’re starting to become the target demographic, where the media we want to consume is going to start becoming the mainstream media,” he says. “I think it’s just an organic, natural thing that’s going to continue to grow.”

Despite this serious desire to move into the mainstream, the competition’s attendees — the professionals, fans, journalists and casters — still had one overall goal in mind: to have fun.

Alex Rodriguez, a 23-year-old gamer known as “Axeltoss” in the StarCraft world, has already established a name for himself in the eSports industry. After studying communications and journalism at Texas A&M, Rodriguez has gone on to pursue a broadcasting and producing career with a focus in gaming.

“My sophomore year, I discovered the whole eSports scene. That was an opportunity to pursue something that was exploding and getting bigger,” he says. “I learned that there was commentary behind video games, and I thought, ‘I like video games, I like casting,’ so I thought this was the perfect fit and dove into it.”

Rodriguez’s advice for college students wanting to break into the eSports industry remains simple: “At the barebones, identify and follow your passions and see how they fit into the equation of the eSports world. The most important thing is to remember that, at the end of the day, gaming is a celebration of really hard work and, above anything else, fun.”
Melissa Cruz is a rising senior at Georgia State University.

http://college.usatoday.com/2014/07/24/red-bull-battle-grounds-shows-that-esports-is-a-viable-career-path-for-college-students/

[makingwaves]

Pickle I have to applaud you for compiling probably one of the most comprehensive and informative sites/boards on the internet for esports. I hope the all guys @ Good Gaming have ventured over here. This would be a great board to have enthusiastic amateur gamers directed to to really get them psyched up about going pro.

[iPickle]

Even the NFL has taken notice of eSports. St. Louis Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold is an avid gamer who attended his first MLG competition in Anaheim in 2013. He liked eSports so much he bought Call of Duty Ghosts team Rise Nation Gaming, which was one of the teams that competed at X-Games Austin a few months after the Activision and Xbox $1 Million Call of Duty Championship in Los Angeles.

Big brands gravitating towards eSports


http://fortune.com/2014/07/24/esports-sponsors/

[iPickle]

eSports Milestone: Video Game Tournament Featured On ESPN, Angry Feedback Mirrored Soccer Coverage, So...We Win?

This seems to be progressing more quickly than I would have predicted. We were just talking about a milestone of sorts being reached in eSports, or professional video game tournaments. Last month that milestone was an American university actually offering athletic scholarship money for eGamers. If you look to other sports to measure the legitimacy of eSports and its acceptance as a competitive platform by the general public, it was kind of a big deal.

Probably not nearly as big a deal as having a major eSports tournament featured on ESPN, though.


Yeah, the biggest name in cable sports featured an entire segment, with guest Gabe Newell, covering The International, a Dota 2 tournament with a $10 million-dollar prize-pool. I can already hear some of you groaning over ESPN choosing to cover eSports, decrying it as not really sports and all that, but I'll just rebut that by reminding you that the network runs poker coverage all the time, so there. Interestingly enough, as Kotaku highlighted, it wasn't poker that angry Twitter users appeared to be mirroring with their complaints over the coverage. It was soccer/futbol.

And if that isn't a complete win for eSports, I don't know what is. Note that the response wasn't hugely against the coverage, but the fact that the tenor of anger back at ESPN that did exist sounded very similar to the coverage of a legitimate sport, even if it isn't the most popular sport in America, is probably a better response than most of us supporters could have hoped for.


https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140721/13172927959/esports-milestone-video-game-tournament-featured-espn-angry-feedback-mirrored-soccer-coverage-sowe-win.shtml

[iPickle]

Computer games at the Olympics? It may seem like a far-fetched idea to some, but with eSports gaining ground by the day, mainstream legitimacy is ever closer.


Last weekend saw ESPN show select matches from the Defense of the Ancients 2 (DOTA2) championships. Culminating in the final airing on ESPN 2, this was an eSports first. If you think of the confused faces in sports bars around the world, you'll have some idea of how monumental it was.

The eSports momentum has been building for some time. Last year, Riot Games, creators of League of Legends, successfully lobbied the US Citizen and Immigration Services to begin issuing professional athlete visas to top eSports players. That's one of the most influential federal governments on the planet saying that yes, these gamers are no different than more traditional professional athletes.

During the London 2012, petitions began springing up for eSports at the Olympics. A crazy concept to many, but when you consider some of the minority sports represented, eSports could have as good a claim as many Olympic stalwarts.
A screenshot of League of Legends gameplay
A screenshot of League of Legends gameplay

Many of the doubters, myself included, are guilty of viewing things through western eyes. StarCraft 2 is often jokingly called 'South Korea's national sport' and there are whole channels dedicated to eSports. This year's League of Legends world championship will fill the Sangam Stadium in Korea. It's this level of interest that is overwhelming to the uninitiated. If the Olympic sports were based on population, we'd already be cheering on a zerg swarm attack for the gold.

In case I'm painting eSports as an Asian peculiarity, in 2012, Forbes named League of Legends the most played PC game in the world, with over 32million players logging 1.3billion hours of gameplay. That's global popularity, even if it doesn't have the pop culture status of Mario or Sonic.

Money may be the ultimate convincer. 35million people viewed the recent League of Legends world championships online. Twitch.tv, a site that deals primarily in streaming games, secured $20million of funding last year and is currently the fourth largest source of Internet traffic during peak times in the US. This is a massive growing audience that advertisers would be foolish to ignore for too long. As with Gaelic Games on Sky Sports, new fans are quick to pick up a new sport if it proves entertaining.

With so much proven interest and the demographic growing older, surely it's only a matter of time before public opinion starts to recognise that the skill and hard work involved in eSports is equivalent to that of any other professional sport.
- See more at: http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/games/esports-bid-for-mainstream-victories-30447616.html#sthash.Zoi24HLy.dpuf

[iPickle]

eSports bid for mainstream victories

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/games/esports-bid-for-mainstream-victories-30447616.html

Computer games at the Olympics? It may seem like a far-fetched idea to some, but with eSports gaining ground by the day, mainstream legitimacy is ever closer.

[iPickle]

What Kind of Video Game Makes the Perfect eSport?
03 Jul 2014

By Tyler F.M. Edwards
EElectronic sports are a rapidly growing field, pitting competitive gamers against each other in high-octane contests of skill. Thousands of fans sit down to watch professional gaming matches, like “League of Legends” and “StarCraft II” with the same eager anticipation once saved for Super Bowls and other physical sporting competitions.

Only a handful of the thousands of popular video games are worthy of being called eSports. In the same way that only a handful of gamers will ever achieve the skills necessary to become eSports stars.

So what are the qualities that turn a game into an eSport? Of course, there’s the obvious factor: competitive multiplayer functionality. But there’s a lot more to it than just the potential for competition.

Complexity

The first thing a prospective eSport needs is the proper degree of difficulty: it needs a high skill ceiling, allowing the best of the best to show off their talents. If it’s relatively easy to achieve perfect play, then the accomplishments of the pros lose their appeal. When everyone is the best, the best becomes average.
perfect eSport

“Starcraft II” is THE perfect eSport video game.

“StarCraft II” is a great example. Playing “SC2” at a competitive level requires constant map awareness, management of the economies of multiple bases, excellent tactical decision making, a broad understanding of the opponent’s capabilities, and careful control of one’s army in battles where a single wrong move can spell disaster. To do all this at once requires an almost superhuman capacity to multitask.

Approachability

Ironically, an eSport must also be approachable for the average player. This stands in almost direct contradiction to the requirement that a game have a high skill ceiling, and it’s one of the most difficult tightropes for a game to walk.

In order to succeed as an eSport, a title must first succeed as a game. A game that isn’t fun to play for the average Joe will not become popular, and if no one’s heard of it, no one’s going to pay to watch it played competitively.

Thus, developers seeking to create an eSport must ensure that their game is easy to jump into for the average player.

“League of Legends” has perfected this balance. While mastering its countless hero combinations and item builds requires an incredible degree of knowledge, learning to play the game at a basic level of competence is quite simple due to the limited skill set of each playable hero.

Balance

Each playable race or character must be equal to the in power and potential, or the competition becomes unfair. Nobody wants to watch a boxing match between a heavyweight champion and a middle school student. Excitement flares when two evenly matched opponents duke it out until superior skill prevails.

Thus, developers must work very carefully to ensure that no units, characters, abilities, or strategies thoroughly outclass all others. Absolute balance may never quite be achieved, but with diligent effort, a game developer can minimize any imbalances enough that they do not significantly impact competitive play.

The need for balance can also place certain limitations on a game. “StarCraft II’s” three races enjoy near fifty percent win ratios with each other, showing superb balance, but that balance flies out the window in team games, where players of multiple races may work together. Combining the capabilities of multiple races makes balance impossible, and for this reason, team “StarCraft” matches are not a major part of the eSports scene, despite their popularity among casual players.

Just the right amount of change

An eSport must be constantly growing and evolving. A developer that no longer actively supports its game will soon find its appeal as a spectator sport evaporating.
perfect eSport

The multiple characters of “League of Legends” help make it the perfect eSport video game.

There are two sides to this, the first being balance adjustments. Every eSport will have a metagame, a constant strategic arms race between players seeking to find the best techniques. This metagame will invariably lead to players discovering that certain tactics are stronger than the developers ever intended, thus upsetting the balance.

The players are doing nothing wrong here; they’re just trying to win. The onus then falls on the developers to adjust game mechanics to resolve the newly discovered imbalance.

It’s also valuable to bring changes and new content to keep the experience fresh. A stagnant metagame will bore players and viewers alike. Every few years, “StarCraft II” releases expansion packs with new units and mechanics, while “League of Legends” and “DotA 2” regularly introduce new playable heroes. Even small balance adjustments can liven up the metagame and make things feel fresh again.

At the same time, though, excessive change can be destructive. Changing too much too often makes the game chaotic, and forces players of all skill levels to constantly relearn strategies. Nobody enjoys that.

Ease of viewing

Games are designed to display all the information a player needs in an easy to digest format. An eSport must also do the same for the spectator. Viewers need to be able to look at the game being played before them and readily grasp what’s going on, even if they’ve never played the game themselves.

Fighting games for instance simply present two opponents on a single screen, and games like “StarCraft II” and “League of Legends” feature top-down views that can readily move to any part of the battlefield.

Art design also plays an important role. Excessive spell effects or muted colors can reduce the action to muddied and incomprehensible visual soup.

Developer’s will

Most important is the desire on a developer’s part to create a truly great eSport, not an easy thing to pull off. eSports require meticulous design and constant attention. In an industry often focused primarily on the bottom-line, that kind of long-term, high-risk investment presents a big risk.

But creating an eSport does have great rewards for those who put in the hours. Developers often take a cut of tournament proceeds, but there’s more to it than the financial gain.

eSports can serve as unorthodox but powerful marketing tools. When people hear that thousands of spectators tune in to watch a game, that speaks highly of the game. Becoming an eSport is a badge of honor that a game can wear as proof of the incredible efforts of its developers. It’s one of the best assurances of quality a consumer can see.

eSports attracts a strong community of dedicated players. This can keep a game relevant and popular long after similar titles that do not become eSports fade into obscurity.
- See more at: http://adanai.com/perfect-esport/#sthash.jqdd67lq.dpuf

[iPickle]

Esports Expand Into The Mainstream, And Sponsorship Dollars Follow

http://www.sponsorship.com/iegsr/2014/02/18/Esports-Expand-Into-The-Mainstream,-And-Sponsorshi.aspx



Online gaming provides a clutter-free environment to reach young adult males.

February 18, 2014

While online competitive gaming has a long way to go in securing sponsorship revenue on par with traditional sports properties, the industry is quickly making up lost ground.

Once the domain of computer hardware, microprocessors and other endemic categories, a growing number of non-endemic brands are staking their claim to the growing sport of competitive gaming.

American Express Co., The Coca-Cola Co. and Nissan North America, Inc. have recently entered or expanded their presence in the electronic sports waters.

Electronic sports center around online video game competitions, many of which feature professional gamers. The competitions are played on personal computers and feature League of Legends, Dota 2 and other free-to-play multiplayer games. Many of the competitions include both on- and off-line play.

Properties in the esports space range from tournament organizers (Major League Gaming, etc.) to software developers (Riot Games) and individual teams.

And companies are signing deals across all three tiers.

Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. earlier this month sponsored a Major League Gaming competition to promote the upcoming Blu-Ray, DVD and digital high-definition release of Ender’s Game, a film adopted from an eponymous military science fiction novel.

The movie producer sponsored the Feb. 5-16 tournament under the “Ender’s Game on Blue-ray Tournament” moniker.

Meanwhile, American Express and The Coca-Cola Co. last year partnered with Riot Games, Inc., the publisher of the blockbuster League of Legends multiplayer online (MMO) battle arena video game and the organizer of the League of Legends Championship Series.

American Express is leveraging the partnership with a specially-designed prepaid card that offers gamers special in-game rewards. The partnership affords status as the official payment partner for the League Championship Series and official partner status of the World Championship.

The Coca-Cola Co. in 2014 is titling the Coke Zero Challenger Series, a new development series for the League of Legends Championship Series. The partnership supports the brand’s tie-in with video games and related platforms.

At the team level, Nissan in late 2013 announced a partnership with Team Curse, a team of pro gamers who compete in the Legends Championship Series.

WHO IS THE CORE PC/MMO GAMER?

WHO IS THE CORE PC/MMO GAMER?
Source: 2013 Newzoo Data Explorer, Market Sizing & Profiling Data—Based on an aggregate of 18 key countries.

Corporate interest in electronic sports is largely driven by three factors:

Access to a hard-to-reach demographic. Competitive gaming provides access to young adult males, a demographic that does not traditionally watch TV.

Sixty-nine percent of PC/MMO gamers are men, with 21 percent between 26 and 30 years of age, according to Newzoo, a market research and consulting firm that specializes in the gaming community.

A large participant base. The size of the electronic sports community is staggering. Case in point: 32 million people play League of Legends each month.

Global reach. Electronic sports tournaments can provide sponsors global reach through live video streams of both online and off-line tournaments.

Most tournaments stream competitions through their own web sites or Twitch.TV, a streaming platform dedicated to the gaming market. And viewership of live games is growing: The Electronic Sports League recorded 81.3 million view sessions on Twitch in 2013, up from 5.4 million in 2009.

Electronic sports properties also can provide reach through social media. World of Warcraft has 5.3 million Facebook likes, League of Legends has 4.1 million likes while Dota 2 has 1.4 million likes.
Electronic sports tournments can rival the intensity of a rock concert. Above, the 2013 League of Legends World Championship at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

Software Developers Create Proprietary Tournaments
Riot Games and other software developers are increasingly creating proprietary tournaments for their flagship titles.

Riot Games several years ago created the League of Legends Championship Series while Valve Corp. hosts The International for Dota 2. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in 2005 launched BlizzCon, a hybrid conference/gaming event that promotes Warcraft, StarCraft and other titles.

The events draw significant demand. The League Champions Series last year sold out the Staples Center in under one hour, while BlizzCon sells out in less than five seconds. BlizzCon takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center.

To no surprise, software developers are finding more interest from non-endemic brands for proprietary tournaments and events.

“Historically we have focused primary on endemic brands, but lately we’ve been approached by non-endemic brands in categories like CPG, auto, beverage and confection. We certainly are open to expanding into those categories provided they fit the look and feel of a BlizzCon partner,” said Jonathan Zweig, Blizzard Entertainment’s vice president of global corporate alliances.

BlizzCon partners include DirecTV, Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp.

Whether endemic companies or lifestyle brands, BlizzCon looks for partners that can enhance the on-site experience. For example, Intel showcased a beta mobile version of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft at BlizzCon 2013.

“It’s was great for Intel, but also great for us to provide cool content to fans.”

In addition to a presence at the convention, BlizzCon sponsors gain exposure on the event’s pay-per-view broadcast on DirecTV, free and pay-per-view online broadcasts and promotion through the organization’s social media channels.

ESL VIEW SESSIONS ON TWITCH

ESL VIEW SESSIONS ON TWITCH
Source: Newzoo, Turtle Entertainment Group GmbH

Case Study: American Express And Riot Games
The financial services company designed the American Express Serve Prepaid Account to enhance the gaming experience with a rewards program tailored to the League of Legends community.

The RP+ rewards program gives gamers the opportunity to earn Riot Points , a virtual currency that can be used to purchase in-game items like boosts or customizations.

And those transactions are significant. Global free-to-play gaming revenues are expected to total $13.4 billion in 2016, up from $6.5 million in 2012, according to Newzoo. Credit cards are the dominate payment option with 78 percent of players using a credit card to make purchases, according to the research firm.

Consumers that sign up for the card can pick one of five cards that feature League of Legends Champions—Teemo, Vi, Lux, Twisted Fate and the Summoner’s Cup—or the League of Legends logo.

“Riot Games is passionate about serving their players and giving them avenues for enhancing the game experience,” said Stefan Happ, senior vice president of US Payment Options with American Express, in a statement announcing the partnership.

Nissan Uses Team Curse To Support Digital Campaigns
Nissan uses its partnership with Team Curse to support three online marketing campaigns: the Your Door to More video contest; Passion Portrait human genome campaign; and the Open the Briefcase social media game.

“We pitched the concept of using electronic sports to deliver results for some of Nissan’s marketing campaigns. During that process we proposed we could deliver a certain amount of traffic, click throughs and interactions, and we delivered on those beyond expectations,” said Steven Arhancet, director of eSports with Curse, Inc., which manages and sponsors the team.

The team promoted the programs via social media and streaming games. The popularity of the team on social media is significant: Joedat “VoyBoy” Esfahani has more than 130,000 fans on Facebook and 154,000 followers on twitter.

“As soon as one of our players turns on his computer, he’ll have 30,000 watching him live. He can say ‘go to this site and click on that.’ That doesn’t exist in traditional marketing.”

Nissan used two of the marketing campaigns to promote specific models: Your Door to More (Versa Note) and Open the Briefcase (Rogue); The company uses the Passion Portrait campaign to promote the Nissan brand.

TBWA/Chiat/Day inked the partnership on behalf of Nissan.

[iPickle]

eSports Market Brief: 71M watch competitive gaming

Competitive gaming, or eSports, are a rapidly growing market with viewership increasing almost eight-fold in the last four years, according to our estimates and those of our pals Newzoo. We estimate the total viewership in the eSports market to have surpassed 70 million in 2013, doubling year-over-year. In the United States, males account for 70% of frequent viewers and participants. In two new reports, we delve into the potential of the eSports market.

eSports market



Two new reports—our own April Digital Games Market Trends Brief and Newzoo’s Sizing & Profiling eSports’ Popularity in the West—find that U.S. viewers are dedicated viewers, watching eSports an average of 19 times a month for over two hours at a time. The lion’s share of U.S. viewers are males between 21 and 34 years old, giving advertisers a unique opportunity to access the elusive demographic. In our eSports Market Brief we investigate the growth of the overall worldwide eSports market, in addition to taking a granular look at U.S. viewers and their viewing patterns.

“[With] the booming popularity of streaming services like Twitch, ESL and MLG, it is becoming easier than ever for gamers to connect with other players and form communities that culminate in competitive gaming.” –Joost van Dreunen, CEO of SuperData

Other key conclusions from the report include:

Worldwide viewership has doubled in the last year, reaching more than 70 million viewers
Prize pools are likewise increasing, hitting $25 million in 2013 as Dota2 competition The International offered a record-breaking $2.87 million in prize money.
Publishers and major consumer brands alike are experimenting with eSports in order to connect with affluent young males, which account for more than 3/4 of U.S. eSports viewership.

http://www.superdataresearch.com/blog/esports-brief/

[iPickle]

Blizzard will now pay for you to play esports at the college level
by Jason Johnson

http://killscreendaily.com/articles/blizzard-now-paying-you-play-esports-college-level/

We’re one step closer to realizing everyone’s childhood dream of getting a scholarship for playing videogames, as Blizzard has begun a campaign to promote and fund collegiate esports. The way it works is this: the Starcraft developer incentivizes campuses who sign up for their Membership Milestone Program, giving them grant money to throw pro-caliber esport tourneys.

Part of the incentive program is aimed at college kids. If they form a club and register it through the program, they can earn website domains, cash prizes, mice, headsets, a trip to Blizzard, and most importantly, free t-shirts, because gamers love free t-shirts.

Placing esports in colleges alongside sports like lacrosse seems like the right step towards esports becoming more widely accepted as a sport. Riot Games already has a similar program in place for League of Legends, and this will give official school-sanctioned esports a further push. If only they had Smash Bros. teams when I was in college.

[iPickle]

EA Looking at eSports Game Development:


Madden NFL 25 / 11 Apr 2014


By Dustin J. SeibertElectronic Arts may begin designing games with eSports competitions in mind.

GamesIndustry International reported EA CEO Andrew Wilson suggested his company's future titles and franchises -- sports-themed and otherwise -- could be created with the purpose of using them in televised eSports competitions as the industry grows. Highly popular EA franchises like the Madden and Dead Space series could work in such competitions.

"We have some ready-made franchises for this in our sports properties, but we also have a number of other franchises that people may not typically think about as eSports opportunities," Wilson said. "We think there might be an opportunity in the future, so it's something that you're going to see more of from us."

Major eSports competitions include World Cyber Games and the Evolution Championship Series (EVO). Reportedly more than 71 million people watched competitive gaming last year.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/11/ea-looking-at-esports-game-development

[iPickle]

Expanding the meaning of ‘student athlete’ through eSports

educational institutions across the United States are embracing a new group of student athletes who don’t use helmets, balls or bats but favor headsets, keyboards and gaming mice. ]


- See more at: http://universe.byu.edu/2014/07/18/expanding-the-meaning-of-student-athlete-through-esports-2/#sthash.2TqPwB1l.dpuf

[iPickle]

The 10 best esports documentaries of all time:

http://www.dailydot.com/esports/top-10-esports-documentaries/

[iPickle]

ESPN Partnering With Valve to Stream Dota 2 Esports Tournament


http://www.gamespot.com/articles/espn-partnering-with-valve-to-stream-dota-2-esport/1100-6421184/

Quote:
This is one of the first instances of ESPN collaborating to bring esports to its platforms. In June, Major League Gaming players competed at ESPN's XGames event in Austin. Today's announcement shows a growing push for an esports presence on mainstream media networks.

[iPickle]

Over 100 colleges have made video games a sport, according to this video:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/25832027/chicago-university-offers-video-game-scholarships

CHICAGO (Associated Press) - All those hours spent in front of video games, it turns out, could pay off for some college-bound students.

A small private university in Chicago is offering hefty scholarship for players of one game in particular. League of Legends is one of the most popular games for organized team competitions.

Robert Morris University Illinois says its program recognizes the growing legitimacy of what are known as eSports.

Associate Athletic Director Kurt Melcher will be in charge of the school's new eSports program.

He says Robert Morris is at the "forefront of providing opportunities for a diverse student population with different interests and skills."

Starting this fall, the scholarships will cover up to 50 percent of tuition and 50 percent of room and board. That's worth more than $17,000 per student.

[iPickle]

Good Gaming's new splash page has landed. Looks sharp!

Quote:Join thousands of Good Gaming members in learning from the best eSports athletes in the world!



http://good-gaming.com/

[iPickle]

CMGO's eSports Subsidiary, Good Gaming, Accelerates Original Timeline For New Unrivaled Web Platform

June 23, 2014 / CMG HOLDINGS, INC, Chairman, Glenn Laken proudly announced the positive progress of its subsidiary, GOOD GAMING's web platform and media/splash page. Mr Laken spoke of the company exceeding all original timelines, knowing gamers worldwide are anxiously awaiting it's arrival. "We're thrilled to announce the progress of the platform. We anticipate GOOD GAMING being a dominant player in the eSport sector. This acceleration should boost our financial and margin projections."

Good Gaming is in Iteration 4 of the design process for our web platform and updated media/splash page. The overall UI (User Interface) look and feel has been locked in for PC and Mobile web browsing. Good Gaming is anticipating a roll out of the updated media/splash page within the next two weeks, and initial Alpha testing of the web platform within the next four to five weeks.

Due to time constraints and GG's aggressive innovation schedule we made the decision to choose another web developer. Caxy Interactive has been nothing but a relief for us. Their excitement and passion adds another level of energy we couldn't possibly recreate on our own. At every milestone, checkpoint, and team update Caxy Interactive has never failed to exceed our expectations. In most cases, Caxy Interactive has sparked new, exciting, and unique ways to provide value and quality for our membership. Caxy Interactive has also taken an active role in getting involved in eSports by playing the games, speaking the lingo, and reproducing our ideas into actual productive web design. Their entire team has shown they share the same passion and excitement we do on a daily basis for our dream and it shows in their work and visuals they have provided us to date.

Good Gaming is on track for a limited Open Beta for the beginning of August, with most features of our web platform being functional or fully completed. Based on feedback we garner during Open Beta, we anticipate going Live with the web platform in the beginning of September, well ahead of mid-October estimates we were operating with a year ago.

Good Gaming is taking all steps to insure that our web platform brings not only an unrivaled set of tools and utilities for up-and-coming eAthletes, but also an appealing style that will mold our membership in their quest of becoming better gamers. Based on our experience, feedback from our current partners, and our growing family of contributors we know there is a tremendous need for the top notch service we will be providing. Good Gaming is exceeding our original timeline and goals for supporting and sponsoring new eAthletes into professional ranks of eSports.

Based on current information and the continued acceleration of eSports Good Gaming believes that our financial projections and margin projections will be exceeded. While this has been a thorough process, as veteran gamers we know excellence, mastery and esprit de corps are virtues that are earned and worth the time spent to perfect.

The Good Gaming team has worked tirelessly on this exciting project for three years, and is ecstatic with the accomplishments made since its inception into CMGO. The thought that we are in the final stages of this dream is both sobering and exciting. We could not be more thrilled, more confident, and more proud of where we are now and where we are headed. We are extremely confident that our members are going to be ecstatic by what we are bringing to life and cannot wait to introduce Good Gaming to all gamers worldwide. As we get closer to going Live there will be additional updates regarding our upcoming events.

[iPickle]

eSport Beginners - Riot Games Sets Up New Onboarding Program For ‘League of Legends’ Beginners

http://gamerant.com/league-of-legend-tutorials-onboarding-guides/

[iPickle]

Porn purveyor wants to sponsor eSports?

http://www.lazygamer.net/general-news/porn-purveyor-wants-to-sponsor-esports/

[iPickle]

Just Dance becomes an eSports title for 11th Electronic Sports World Cup


http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/25/5843310/just-dance-esports-electronic-sports-world-cup

[iPickle]

Fishing and eSports:

This new fishing simulator aims to expand into eSports territory
By Emily Gera on Jul 04, 2014 at 7:30p @twitgera

http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/4/5870477/dovetail-games-fishing-train-simulator-esports

Train Simulator developer Dovetail Games announced a new fishing simulator game by the name of Dovetail Games Fishing, with plans to expand the game into eSports territory, the studio announced on its official website.

The company's upcoming simulation title sees players tackle the full fishing experience by selecting equipment and rigs based on particular types of fishing and objectives, survey the location, prepare gear, and use a new casting and reeling system called "Total Cast Control" where they will test their skills by finding, attracting, catching and landing fish.

The new fishing game will "take advantage of the very latest technologies available to deliver a game that is at the cutting edge of game design, both in visuals and playability," the studio says in a statement. However, there are also plans to bring this to the world of professional gaming.

"Dovetail Games Fishing will be an evolving live service that will grow and expand in ways defined by us in partnership with fishing experts and our community," says creative director Chris Roberts in a prepared statement. "We believe that this combination of technology, team commitment and community involvement will enable us to create the ultimate fishing simulator, which will also allow us expand into the e-sports arena."

The game may also make use of virtual reality technology to give players a more realistic experience of stalking, casting and landing fish.

$CMGO

[iPickle]

League of Legends more popular than the World Cup?


http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/126977/Is-League-of-Legends-more-popular-than-t

[iPickle]

Dota 2 eSport tournament soars past $10 million. Last year it was $3 million. Big money following eSports.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/07/02/couriers-corner-10-million-reasons-were-in-love-with-esports


$CMGO

[iPickle]

eSports video from the X Games:

[iPickle]

eSports goes to college:

Is online gaming a sport worthy of including in a college's athletic program?

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140618/loop/online-athletes-loops-robert-morris-u-give-scholarships-for-esports



Robert Morris University thinks so, announcing this month that student-athletes can compete in League of Legends online games as part of its newly launched "eSports" program, calling it an "online sport."

Citing video game competitions' "large surge in popularity," the university announcement said the school "recognizes the value and legitimacy of eSports and is excited to add eSports to its already rich athletic curriculum," which also includes championship-winning women's lacrosse and men's basketball teams.

League of Legends is an online multiplayer battle arena game modeled in part off of World of Warcraft, which pits players against each other in one-on-one fights and team battles.

The move to integrate League of Legends and the eSport category with the college's athletic program also makes eSport athletes eligible for athletic scholarships to the Loop university.

RMU is the first school in the country to offer athletic scholarships of up to 50 percent tuition and 50 percent room and board to qualified gamers who join the RMU "League of Legends" team.

The eSports program will organize video game competitions hosted at its Loop campus, but playing out in the online game's digital arenas. RMU's team will join the Collegiate Star League, made up of 103 universities including Arizona State, George Washington and Harvard.

Kurt Melcher, RMU's associate athletic director, said he's happy to see online athletes included in the school's sports program.

"League of Legends is a competitive, challenging game which requires significant amount of teamwork to be successful," he said in a statement.

"Robert Morris has always been at the forefront of providing opportunities for a diverse student population with different interests and skills."

The university announced plans to begin recruiting student athletes for the inaugural "League of Legends" from high school students who have competed in the "League of Legends" High School Starleague.

Last summer, the U.S. State Department determined that competitive online gaming was a legitimate sport, and participating, qualified players can move to the U.S. under the same visas provided to professional athletes in traditional sports.

RMU's League of Legends team will begin competing in the fall of 2014. Incoming students interested in consideration for the team should contact Melcher at 312-935-4110 or [e-mail]. Application fees will be waived for eSport "League of Legends" applicants.

[iPickle]

Competitive Gaming & Economic Value
June 06, 2014

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140606171535-29379103-competitive-gaming-economic-value

The average NFL football game, as of 2010, only provided 11 minutes of real action, and the average baseball game, as of 2014, only provided 14 minutes of real action. Both are popular sports, but the emerging trend among younger audiences is that they enjoy watching video games broadcast over the internet. Esports, a form of competitive online gaming, typically features live video game streams on Twitch TV. Competitive gaming feels like 80% action, 5% advertising, and 15% entertainment while watching the broadcasters analyze the gameplay.

Last year, according to information from a recent Washington Post article, internet users spent a whopping 2.4 billion hours watching Esport video game streams. While many may think gaming is dominated by males, there are plenty of popular female streamers that are household names to the gaming world.

I'm going to be writing regular articles about gaming, and its impact across several sectors of our lives. I will give a quick overview about gamers, and then discuss why there is economic value for gaming related activities.


Who is a Competitive Gamer?

An internet gamer is anyone who likes to play video games with other people. Competitive gaming is where gamers compete with one another in a formal Esport, or in a massive multiplayer online (MMO) game where people or gaming groups compete for ranking or virtual resources.


I run one of the longest lasting gaming groups in the country, and I established it in 1995. We play MMO's, which need to evolve better in an Esport, where we compete against other player groups for rankings. Over our 19 year history, we have consistently ranked at or near the top in North American rankings in competitive play MMO's. Our membership ranges from senior corporate executives to college kids, and they all have a passion for gaming. I have done community management and consulting for Ubisoft and Electronic Arts / Bioware remotely from my own home. In 2009, I was a panel speaker, sponsored by Trion, at the Austin Game Developers Conference.


Shared Action and Competition

No gamer wants to go out like this......crushed by mammoths!

The type of game really does not matter because the thrill of playing against other people is what it is all about. The bottom line is that the gamer is spending time with friends, enjoying all the comforts a living room can provide, and streaming game exploits for the world to see. There is a mass market and a mass audience willing to watch Esports, or other forms of competitive video game play. Check out slides 4 and 5 from SuperData's April 2014 report.


Recent games have either tied Twitchtv streaming capability into the game client as a standard feature, or they have made it easier for people to use external streaming tools, such as Xsplit, to produce videos. This ease of access has created an explosion in the number of streamers and people watching streamers in the last two to three years.


Gamer Economic Value
Gamers Earning How Much Money?

The online version Forbes published an article in April, 2014, highlighting some gamers earning $300,000 per year. Many other online games are not an official Esport, but the stars of those games can just as easily generate legions of faithful viewers. Tales of gamers earning thousands of dollars a month broadcasting from their rooms are becoming more and more common these days. Online game broadcasting is becoming so lucrative that some countries are evaluating methods to collect taxes from the revenues the gamers earn.

Everyone cannot be an internet mega star, but ordinary people can make surprising amounts of money just doing basic things with game broadcasting. There is even one guy, for my Georgia friends, around Atlanta that makes $62,000 just making game videos.


Creating a Skilled Workforce

The Community College Daily recently published an article that discussed how gaming is encouraging more people to go into software design tracks. Gaming, in short, is helping to build a knowledge economy, and a skilled workforce. Gamers tend to stay on the leading edge of technology trends such as:

Video editing and production
Social media platforms
Web design and graphics
Software development
Mobile application development
Network administration
Marketing and communications
Technology hardware and design
Productivity enhancing software

I don't know too many employers who have no need for at least one of those skills. You can't put gaming on your resume, but gaming can help to steer people into the knowledge economy we need in the future. Incorporating gaming into education and other learning experiences simply makes sense.


The Tournament Economy

Professional gaming tournaments tend to be held in the big cities, but semi-pro and playoff competitions are held all over the United States and Europe. Unlike major sports leagues, your town does not need to roll out sporting arenas that cost hundreds of millions of dollars and 20+ years to pay off bonds. A gaming tournament could be something as simple as this open area image above, or complex like the image at the start of the article.

If your town has a local college or other event hosting area, with a decent internet connection, it could probably work with state officials to build tournaments. Blizzard, the World of Warcraft producers, recently announced a partnership with The Electronic Sports Association (TeSPA) to expand Esports tournaments to colleges that have local gaming chapters. TeSPA has a pretty impressive list of corporate sponsors as well.

As Esports and competitive gaming goes mainstream, corporate sponsors such as Coca Cola, American Express, and others have come to the table to participate.


Esports Bars & Local Events

Local gaming events can also be organized around restaurants or bars that are willing to cater to a gaming audience. The gaming world calls it "Barcraft". Barcraft is a concept where bars or restaurants host actual gaming events, or help broadcast gaming league events taking place elsewhere.

In Europe there are Esports bars, such as Meltdown, that are expanding, and they have developed a franchise model to potentially expand their presence all over the globe.


Concluding Thoughts

The gaming scene is a vast, growing, market that will only continue to grow in the years ahead. It is also something that is not on the radar screen of many event organizers, economic development professionals, workforce planners, or other business and community leaders because it has only come of age over the last 5 years. The big cities are going to get the big tournaments, but smaller cities and other businesses can still benefit from hosting smaller gaming events in their community.

The last parting thought is that luring game development studios is very important, but the people consuming these games, like me, are creating and driving a market of our own as well. Georgia is working on Digital Economy Planning, and I am working to move the conversation forward so the Southeastern states in the USA can think about ways to get in on the action.


$CMGO

[iPickle]

online esports viewership exceeded that of television for the first time in 2013, with nearly triple the number of hours of viewing. By 2018, it adds, online consumption will represent the overwhelming majority of time spent watching esports, accounting for nearly 90% of viewing hours

esports burst out of niche to challenge traditional sports broadcasts
Details
Editor
| 31 May 2014
The global market for video game competitions known as esports is booming, with viewership rivalling traditional sports in some regards, says a new study from IHS Technology.

IHS defines esports video as live and on-demand programming that presents organised gaming competitions. The market also includes content directly related to those events, such as highlights and pre-game shows.

The esports video: A cross platform growth story report calculates that viewers watched 2.4 billion hours of esports video in 2013, almost double the figure for 2012. The analyst predicts this figure will rise to 6.6 billion in 2018 with online video viewership key to growth.

Prior to the mass availability of live online streaming platforms, esports programming in the western world was largely consigned to highlights packages on major channels or live games on little-known cable networks. However, IHS now calculates that online esports viewership exceeded that of television for the first time in 2013, with nearly triple the number of hours of viewing. By 2018, it adds, online consumption will represent the overwhelming majority of time spent watching esports, accounting for nearly 90% of viewing hours. Moreover the survey notes that the rise of online video platforms such Twitch and also YouTube has helped the major esports events achieve large audiences by aggregating viewers from around the world. Individually these regional audiences may be too small to be viable on traditional television but by aggregating esports viewers, platforms like Twitch and YouTube can achieve real scale.

“esports videos have rapidly transformed from a niche activity into a widely watched, global, cross-platform entertainment category,” explained Dan Cryan, senior director, digital media research for IHS.

“Several factors are contributing to the surge in esports viewing. These include the fact that key game titles have reached maturity and game publishers are taking a major role in promoting esports competitions. Furthermore, esports viewing has been boosted by the emergence of online video platforms that are capable of handling large-scale live audiences.”

Read more: esports burst out of niche to challenge traditional sports broadcasts | News | Rapid TV News http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2014053133904/esports-burst-out-of-niche-to-challenge-traditional-sports-broadcasts.html#ixzz33KaJTNpj

[iPickle]

ESports are the Future:

by Benjamin Kathwaroon


http://b-ten.com/esports-future/

There is a new competitor in the world of entertainment sports, one whom will, in the coming years grow to completely overshadow or at the very least rival the world of more traditional sports such as Baseball or Soccer. Baseball diamonds are the arenas of the past, and in the future, athletes will compete in an arena much more like that found in the LCS, which hosts the incredibly popular title from Riot Games, League of Legends.

This new chapter in the history of sports and competition is titled “ESports”. Already having grown into worldwide phenomena for those of us who actively use the web, esports are becoming a more and more mainstream form of competition and entertainment. It wouldn’t be surprising if within the next few years a mainstream culture around esports would emerge, with TV channels dedicated to it’s coverage, and while this may seem to be a stretch, I believe that it won’t be all that long until you even start seeing “Team Liquid” ESports jerseys in amongst the “Philadelphia Penguins” hockey ones.

When the word “ESports” is used, most people who have a basic knowledge of the term will more than likely think of games such as League of Legends, Dota 2, or perhaps the Starcraft series. What some people may not know, however, is that esports is a much broader term than being limited to Real Time Strategy (RTS) or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games. For example, the third overall highest earning ESports athlete according to esportsearnings.com is Johnathan Wendel (aka Fatal1ty) who in just 2005 made over $230,000 from professionally playing the 2004 game Painkiller. ESports have only grown in popularity since then. ESports covers every type of game, though some may be more popular to play competitively, ESports leaves room for smaller cliques and fandoms to compete. To give one example, there’s a small community that competes playing a game I mentioned in my last article (linked here) called Spelunky. They see who can get to the later stages of the game and beat the bosses of those stages faster, or they make up challenges to see who can achieve it first. There may not be the same amount of publicity associated with these cliques, nor the same possible monetary rewards, but this flexibility is what I think gives ESports so much potential to flourish.

Now why am I so insistent that ESports will become a mainstream success? Well, aside from the simple fact that it is already a success among the online community, there is a lot that gives this kind of competitive entertainment an edge over traditional sports. The most blatant and in my opinion important one of these advantages is that it appeals to a new generation. Every group has that one person who loves sports, sure, but I would argue that for every one of those people, there are three others that play a game which is also played as an ESport, and would want to watch it. I argue that as fans of baseball or hockey grow fewer and fewer, fans of Starcraft and League of Legends will skyrocket to immense numbers. Esports caters to the future, caters the the newer generations, and the ones that will come after them. In Korea, this has all already happened. The Starcraft and Starcraft 2 communities in South Korea have already seeped into the mainstream, so much so that instead of watching hockey in a bar, it’s quite common for them to be showing a championship match of Starcraft instead. Korea is so obsessed with this game, in fact, that it has come to be considered the unofficial national sport.

[iPickle]

eSports documentary: video

[iPickle]

World's First Video-Game Stadium, Coming to Macau's Neighborhood:

Quote:The arena will be the centerpiece of a $2.8 billion gaming theme park. A Hong Kong-based developer, Lai Fung Group (1125:HK), has just announced plans to build the video-game complex, which would be the first of its kind and mark a sort of coming of age for “e-sports.”

The project is one of the fanciful proposals that has money pouring into Hengqin Island, which sits in the Pearl River Delta, adjacent to Macau’s booming casino wonderland and its 30 million annual visitors. For the last five years or so, China has been planning to develop Hengqin as a sort of Macau-spillover zone connected by bridge to both the gambling hub and Hong Kong. The idea is beginning to bear fruit. Chinese news reports this week pegged the overall value of projects being recommended by the local government at about $22 billion.



full article:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-25/hengqin-near-macau-to-host-the-worlds-first-video-game-stadium

[iPickle]

Coca-Cola is one of the biggest brands to enter eSports.

Quote:"Our partnership with Riot symbolizes how serious we are about the space," said Matt Wolf, head of gaming, The Coca-Cola Company. "Pairing Coke Zero with League of Legends and collaborating with Riot on a new amateur series will bring something special to the players and help elevate eSports to a new level in the world of international sports. By working with Riot to create a road to the pros, we hope to deliver something authentic and unique to a vibrant and passionate player community."



full article:

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/11/06/esports-sponsorships/?section=money_technology&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_technology+%28Technology%29