Games in Mainstream Media
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Back when I was a kid in the early 90s, games were considered something that was entertaining but really just for children. And even then, only the “nerds” played games. They were seen as something of a privilege, and when you grew out of being a child you were supposed to drop them and never play games again.
These days, that attitude has changed completely. Games have gone from fun pastime to a competitive sport, where people are earning money and fame. It’s about to hit the biggest stage, too: in the 2020 Olympics, Intel is holding an e-sports tournament for $250,000. The popularity of video games has had a massive increase and, in this blog, I’ll go through that uprising and talk about how it’s gone from a hobby to a potential career.
Intergalactic Spacewars!
A typical Spacewar machine. ©Be-quipe.com
When I was younger, the thought of playing games for a living was nothing more than a dream of a child who didn’t want to work in an office as a career. I loved playing games; they had become less of a hobby and more of an addiction to me. I knew it would never happen. I don’t think I was ever “that good,” but I also hadn’t heard of e-sports or anything similar. The idea has been around since 1972, though, with the 1972 Intergalactic Spacewar! Olympics.
The game was Spacewar, a deathmatch-style game in which players go 1-on-1 in a spaceship battle. The only goal of the game: destroy the opponent’s ship. It took place in October 1972 on Stanford’s Campus in Silicon Valley. Stewart Brand, a 33-year-old biology student, emerged victorious and became the first person ever to win a video game tournament.
The First Winner of a Esports Tournament. ©Be-quipe.com
League, DOTA, and Modern Tournaments
The 2019 League of Legends World Finals in Paris, ©Riot Games, League of Legends, LoL Esports, SortirParis.com
Jump forward to my young adult years, and the whole thing has exploded in popularity. e-Sports have become a part of mainstream media, with Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) 2, League of Legends and Fortnite leading the way.
The League of Legends 2016 World Championship finals had 43 million viewers, just slightly ahead of the 2016 NFL Pittsburgh Steelers/Denver Broncos AFC Divisional matchup. The NFL, of course, is arguably one of the most-watched sports in the United States.
The finals of the 2019 League of Legends World Champions had an average concurrent viewership of 2.9 million people with the final match peaking at 3.7 million concurrent viewers and the semi-finals reaching 3.9 million. If that isn’t enough, what game developer RIOT does during the opening ceremonies is beyond belief. During the opening ceremonies, there’s singing and RIOT uses some pretty cool digital effects — the 2018 Opening Ceremony comes to mind — to create an awesome intro to the teams and the game itself.
©Riot Games, League of Legends, LoL Esports
The Olympics & Beyond!
With the upcoming 2020 Olympics, e-sports seek to set more records, with a tournament being held for both Street Fighter V and Rocket League. This will be the first time e-sports will be considered an Olympic event, something that many are excited about. A total of 12 nations will be pre-selected to compete and, in March, qualifiers will happen to determine the top four players of each of those nations. There will be a live qualifier in Poland where 20 teams will compete to see who earns the right to compete against Japan during the Intel World Opener at the Olympics in Tokyo. Only seven teams will earn that right, an exciting prospect for anyone who will be playing and watching.
© Intel/Psyonix/Capcom
With so many options now available, and with so many more to come I’m sure, a career in gaming seems more obtainable than ever. While I will never be half as good as some of the ones that make money off of this, that dream may be obtainable for you, with a bit of practice and a never say never attitude. Thanks for reading! Kevin signing off. Happy gaming!
Kevin Mazurimm
Kevin Mazurimm is a second year student at Algonquin College in the Professional Writing Program. He is an avid lover of video games, owning over 400 on steam alone, and is an up and coming writer of fiction.
