The past year "was by far the biggest year for professional video gaming, with 334 million people watching the championships for League of Legends," according to Bryan Lufkin of GIZMODO. Mix in bigger sponsors, "more tech company money, better hardware, and virtual reality, and 2016 could be the year this phenomenon really takes off." E-sports "are already huge, but their growth potential is staggering." Research firm Newzoo estimates that "the industry’s revenues" could hit $1B within two years, and revenue is also expected to balloon 43% by '18. For the past couple years, "juggernaut global brands like Coke have leapt on board for sponsoring gigs."
The past year "also marked record numbers in the e-sport-watching audience." Twitch, the website that streams video-game competitions and videos of people gaming, "shattered all sorts of numbers this year: In August, 27 million humans watched a tournament for the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike on Twitch."
Going forward? The L.A. Times reported that there will be "a huge burst of investment and rapid professionalization" in e-sports. The paper also predicted that advertisers and e-sport event organizers "will find new ways to enter emerging markets like Latin America, ramp up marketing and crowdfunding efforts," and maybe even build arcades or "arenas" for e-sports." On top of that, American cable network TBS "will air 20 live video game competition events over 2016." It is "part of a new e-sports league that Turner Broadcasting and talent agency WME/IMG is forming." One of the biggest challenges, "besides getting the tech up to snuff," is getting mainstream audiences to accept e-sports as something worth watching. While comparably niche in the West, e-sports "are huge in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, where some of the top players make millions" (GIZMODO, 12/27).
