This post is provided by Adrian.
Today, the esports industry is absolutely huge, and is full of opportunities for entrepreneurs. The esports industry is worth a whopping 1.08 billion dollars worldwide and is lucrative in European, Asian and North American markets. Since 2016, the industry has been steadily growing by around 8.5 percent every single year. Before you invest in an esports business, you are going to need to know a little bit about the history of competitive gaming. Here is a whistle-stop tour around some of the key events in the history of esports.
Origins
Esports’ origins can be traced all the way back to 1972, when the inaugural space War championship competition was held at Stanford University in the United States. Space War was a rocket combat game not dissimilar in feel to Space Invaders. The grand prize for the victor of the tournament was a subscription to Rolling Stone and the invaluable knowledge of one’s own intergalactic prowess. Video games were a real novelty in 1972. The first commercial Pong machine had not even been installed yet. Pong would turn out to be the first commercially viable videogame.
StarCraft
Not much happened to the world of competitive gaming until the release of StarCraft in the 1990s. Until StarCraft brought competitive gaming into the public eye, gaming was seen as something done in private or with friends – not competitive strangers.
StarCraft changed all that. 50 million people watched the 1998 competition, with many viewers based in Asian countries. The space based real time Strategy game was perfect for competition. It was an extremely skill and strategy based experience. The best players were able to think about strategic execution, all while making hundreds of decisions every minute. The rise of StarCraft also prompted the creation of specialist gaming PCs and laptops. These devices are now standard features of any esports competition. Check out the Lenovo website for laptop deals gaming.
Counterstrike
Counterstrike was a modification of the game Half Life that was released in 1999. It became the premier game for esports in the First Person Shooter genre. As the popularity of the game increased, prize pots for victorious gamers grew. By the mid 2000s, winners of Counterstrike tournaments could expect to see six figure prizes coming their way.
Major League Gaming
In the early 200s, investors started to realize the potential of professional spectator esports. Several organizations were set up with the express aim of making esports into viable public facing events. Major league gaming is one of the most successful organizations to come out of that era and hosted immensely popular Smash Bros and League of Legends tournaments that received television coverage.
Twitch
Twitch is a streaming platform ideally suited to streaming games and hosting live discussions. This has made it the perfect platform for esports. Twitch has become an immensely popular platform for broadcasting professional gaming. Its success led to a huge purchase by Amazon, which is pumping money into the streaming service in a way that only Amazon can.
About the author: Adrian’s passion for health and fitness sees him pushing himself to the limits, whether he’s rambling around the English countryside, bungee jumping in New Zealand, or camping under the stars in Yosemite. Now a freelance sports writer, Adrian firmly believes the great outdoors is there for all to explore and enjoy.
