Video games have become very popular in the last few decades. From the early days of arcade games to Playstation’s craze, video games have come a long way and have become one of the primary sources of modern entertainment worldwide.
Gaming has become so popular that people no longer only play it as a mere hobby, as it has now gone mainstream and become a career outright. Professional gamers from around the world participate in “Esports” tournaments where they form gaming teams and compete for cash prizes.
The team behind NJgames recently came out with an interesting infographic showing that competitive gaming tournaments started about 40 years ago with the Space Invaders tournament, and four decades later, has created a multi-billion dollars industry. Esports is now one of the most lucrative industries in the world with professional gamers now earning salaries similar to that of traditional athletes.
eSports made a successful debut at the 2018 Asian games and with an appearance at the Olympics looking likely, here are some things you need to know about the industry.
What is Esports?
Esports simply means Electronic sports. It is competitive gaming at a professional level. Games involve professional players who play for a cash price individually or as a team in front of spectators.
Similar to watching traditional sports, spectators gather into stadiums to watch their favorite gamers perform at Esports tournaments. Sell-out crowds are a regular occurrence at Esports events and considering the fact that that the industry was struggling just 5 years ago, it goes to show the rapid Rise of Esports in the last few years.
Although gaming is naturally competitive, there is a huge difference between an Esports tournament and a friendly game at home between friends, similar to how there is a difference between a friendly pre-season basketball match and the NBA finals.
Esports is more than just gaming and although it may sound absurd to some to compare gaming to the NBA finals, the comparison is more than justified due to the remarkable strides the gaming industry has made in the last few years and although there are a lot of differences between the two, traditional sports and Esports have plenty of similarities too.
Types Of Games Played as Esports
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)
MOBA is one of the most popular types of games among spectators and players alike. They are primarily strategy-based where two teams consisting of two or more players each face off against each other.
In the MOBA games, every team has a goal, which is to defeat their opponents and destroy their base in most titles. MOBA games are all about teamwork and working closely with your teammates is a key aspect of the game. League of Legends and Dota 2 are currently the most popular MOBA Esports games.
First Person Shooter Games
FPS games are also very popular on Esports. In these games, players choose a character that they will control and use a weapon to engage in direct combat with an enemy.
FPS games have been in production since the 70s but modern titles are far more in-depth than earlier versions despite the basic concept remaining largely similar. Players view the game from the perspective of their characters and use various weapons to complete their objectives.
Call of Duty is arguably the most popular FPS game worldwide.
Real Time Strategy Games
Real-Time strategy games are a combination of strategy and combat. They are usually a blend of strategic resource management and tactical combat where a player’s task is to swiftly destroy opponents while protecting their territory.
Real-time strategy games are not as popular as MOBA and FPS titles, but games like Starcraft and World of Warcraft are still popular titles at Esports tournaments.
