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As the demand for competitive, multiplayer gaming continues to grow, many are predicting that soon, gamers battling it out against one another on our TV screens will become the norm.
Often misunderstood as a level of gaming reserved for the world’s elite gamers, eSports in its simplest form is the notion of competitive gameplay, one that continues to go from strength to strength as games such as Call of Duty and Starcraft offer highly-engaging and deeply competitive multiplayer elements that pit players against one another.
The area has grown so much over the past few years that many believe the concept could soon be considered as a viable sport.
General manager of eSports at IGN, David Ting, believes that eSports could soon be a staple of our TV viewing like any other.“It’s really just a matter of time,” Ting told sister magazine MCV.
“We can’t know exactly when it’s going to be accepted, but if you look at the number of people watching, we believe that it’s going to be recognised as a sport by mainstream media in the near
future, probably within the next five years.”
Ting also predicts that as a result, we could soon see established gamers garner interest and generate fame just like any footballer or sports star.
The numbers certainly don’t lie.
Last month saw the League of Legends World Championship Finals take place, which has quickly become the most popular eSports event in the US. Over eight million unique viewers tuned in for the event via TV and online stream, which certainly shows the sport has a viable audience.
With numbers like this, the idea of watching competitive gaming doesn’t seem so alien after all.
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