Has the electronic sports (e-Sports) phenomenon officially arrived in Guyana? This is the firm belief of sports journalist Michelangelo Jacobus, who served as the coordinator of the recent inaugural I-Bet Supreme FIFA 20 ‘League of Champions’ e-Sports tournament.
The crowning of Emuwnah Pross, who vanquished Tevin Bremner 3-1 on Thursday evening in a hard fought contest, serves to reinforce the sentiments of Jacobus. After all, the event which was held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, attracted hundreds of viewers every night and was viewed as a tremendous success.
Jacobus said, “This is an area previously untouched; I say untouched despite there being like two FIFA tournaments being held before; those were organized as one day events and that was it. The difference now is that we are introducing these leagues that will run over a couple of weeks, with a set number of matches on specific days. Throughout the world professional gamers make a living from e-Sports, some specialise in one game, others are all-rounders. The idea is to create a gaming community here with our tournaments where gamers can have a chance to earn a consistent income as we get deeper into the e-Sports market.”
He added, “I see it with a potential to attract viewership on the various platforms. We already had a few hundred viewers over the nights that we live streamed via Facebook and this is one of the biggest positives from the inaugural tournament. Also the level of competition was pretty high and that’s another plus, the final eight competitors will become the first ranked players in Guyana and have already booked their spots for the next tournament.”
E-Sports is viewed by analysts as a revolutionary movement, an ideology, essentially challenging the true definition of a sport. However what is E-Sports? Simply put, it’s a form of organised competition utilising video games between professionals. Yes they are professionals in this realm; gone are the days of recreational arcade rivalries and culture and enter the commerce of capitalism.
The most common genres for professionals are first-person shooters, fighting, card games, battles royals, real-time strategies and multiplayer online battle arenas. Why is e-Sports so popular and commercially lucrative? The rising popularity of e-Sports is intrinsically linked to the financial juggernaut that is the Video Game Industry (VGI).
According to analysts such as SuperData Research, VGI, despite not being afforded the identical level of publicity and profile, is larger than the movie and music industry combined and still has not plateaued in growth.
In 2018, the United States VGI had already matched the country’s film industry on the basis of revenue, following a banner year of US$43 billion in revenue. Overall, the VGI generated $119.6 billion in revenue during 2018, according to SuperData Research.
Numbers never lie! Microsoft, the giant of Silicon Valley and a beneficiary of the VGI through its successful Xbox series, estimates that they are more than 2.5 billion gamers, a whopping 26% of the earth’s population. No wonder e-Sports is coming into its own.
This astronomical number effectively translates to dollar signs for similarly minded tech heavyweights and major enterprises such as Sony, YouTube, Google, Facebook, Samsung, Oculus, Amazon and Apple, who see this as a new frontier in the proverbial battle for dominance in an internet and social media age via game streaming services.
Let’s not stop there, the gaming industry, according to the predictions of SuperData Research and other experts, will generate US$196 billion in revenue by the year 2022. Similarly, due to the continued rapid growth of the industry, it is projected to reach well over US$300 billion by 2025. Presently, the industry is valued at an average of US$93 billion and is on track to eclipse that figure.
Let’s dig deeper into the e-Sports realm. According to SuperData Research, Asia is the leading market for e-Sports with well over US$321 million in revenue. This is followed by North America at US$230 million and Europe at US$180 million. The rest of the world, Guyana included, comes in at US$29 million. From generating US$748.8 million in total revenue in 2015, E-Sports is projected to eclipse US$2 billion by 2021 according to SuperData Research.
Even the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has rightly noticed the rise of this entertainment genre. The IOC at an October 2017 summit, acknowledged the rising popularity of e-Sports and concluded that competitive gaming can possibly be considered a viable sporting activity due to the comparable levels of training and preparation that are initiated by the participants in comparison to traditional athletes.
Presently, the stumbling block that could present an issue with e-Sports securing the IOC’s stamp of approval lies in the type of games that are synonymous with the industry and whether they are compatible with the confederation’s rules and regulation. However, legitimizing this virtual reality in future Olympic Games could be a reality.
But how does this apply to Guyana and by extension the Caribbean? E-Sports is uncharted territory in this region and that equates to commercial opportunities through marketing, tourism, and sport development.
In the age of the internet and the social media boom, Guyana can be the new frontier, an avenue to highlight the nation to millions of viewers (in 2017, the audience of e-Sports reached more than 350 million), in what is an entertainment based industry. Job creation is another by-product of this realm through direct manifestations such as professional players, managers and event coordinators as well as indirect avenues through service providers and merchandising.
With Guyana’s expected windfall as a new oil producer, franchising could be the next step in the economic sweepstakes of e-Sport. Imagine a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) – like machine with all the trimmings similar to television and broadcasting rights. That is already a reality in Asia, North America and Europe.
Academic opportunities should not be overlooked as more universities and colleges expand their respective curricula to represent this emerging market, a testament of its rapid rise from obscurity to mainstream phenomena. Unlike traditional sports such as soccer, cricket and basketball which have been halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, E-Sports is pandemic-proof like most other internet-based activities.
While truly a spectator sport, players need not be in physical proximity to each other to initiate a championship; as such social distancing is maintained in the current climate.
Jacobus said, “Understanding the gaming world is one of the biggest reasons for this step into e-Sports. The potential is there for a revolution in Guyana, but the process will be done step by step, it’s in its infancy stage and I’m sure we can move strength to strength, the vision is there, the execution will happen and as it evolves I’m pretty sure that amazing things will happen.”
E-Sports has become an infectious activity that shows no signs of slowing down and is poised to take over the world, one controller at a time. Maybe it’s time for Guyana to become part of the proverbial ground zero. As long as gaming exists and cell phones rule the roost, the gaming industry and e-Sports will thrive. After all, the internet and streaming is truly global. Long live games!
