Lautenbach said that esports' history has always been both "borderless and global"ROBERT BRUNI
The second day of the Lagardere Sports esports Rising conference opened with a discussion around esports organizations localizing in the future and the possible pros and cons the scenario presents. Esports team presidents said while they see the benefits of localization, they also need to be careful not to alienate current fans who are based around the world. NRG Esports President Brett Lautenbach said, “Esports has a very long history … and it’s always been borderless and global. These brands have always permeated everywhere. And I think a lot of people saw it as limiting to go back to this traditional model and say, ‘OK, most of my fan base is going to be based in the Bay Area.’” Counter Logic Gaming COO Nick Allen said there is a “concern of disruption” if localization is introduced to the “borderless ecosystem” that is esports. Allen: “If you’re CLG and you suddenly become a New York team, do you alienate all of the different players and fans that are aligned with your brand?” Allen said he thinks much of the success generated by the Overwatch League -- which utilizes a localized concept -- in its first year is due to its infancy. “They could take this risk and do it from the start,” Allen said. “They did it in the right frame that it needed to be successful.” Immortals President & COO Ari Segal said despite a team having a specific city-based location, it can have a brand position that has global resonance. He said of his L.A. Valiant OWL team, “While certainly we’re focused on owning the L.A. market to the extent that we can … the brand we’re trying to build stands for something larger than just Los Angeles.”
MONEY FOR NOTHING? Much has been discussed about the lack of cash flow for esports teams in their infancies, and a question from the audience asked if anyone on the panel was making a profit. After silence from all five panelists, Envy Gaming President & COO Geoff Moore said that, right now, it is “less about the bottom line,” and more about “all the things we’re engaged with on a daily basis.” Moore: “We have a lot of things to do and a lot of things we’re trying to do to prove where we are.” Infinite Sports & Entertainment President Ryan Musselman, whose firm owns the OWL Houston Outlaws, said he feels his organization is “on a path to profitability” after a recent scale-back that included 19 layoffs. Musselman: “We need to figure out what the fan monetization looks like. Is that subscriptions, micro-transactions, better merch?”
