Learn about the emergence of our esports industry and how it evolved from Sega games to Unreal Engine realism with leagues or tournaments with prize pools reaching millions.
Welcome to the era of e-sports. It is finally official. Gaming has become recognized worldwide. There are even leagues or championships and a lot of money to be made. Playing online games for a living sounds like a dream job for every kid. We used to play Call of Duty for fun, but now there are prize tournaments for pro players now. It is funny how things have evolved from nothing to a multi-billion dollar industry over the years.
Well, maybe not years. More like a few decades of developing computers, graphic engines, and a community of players. The Internet and social media really made a huge leap in popularizing sports online along with other popular games. There have also been a few bumps on this road. It seems like you can’t make a new hot industry without some controversies along the way.
Recognizing The Potential
It is important that e-sports online games have become acknowledged. They even gained recognition from the Olympic Games Committee. Pro players are now seen as athletes who invest time in training their skills. Governing bodies like IESF or Entertainment Software Asociation help popularize the industry. Becoming institutionalized like online casinos means attracting a lot of real money. Developers, betting sites, and all big gaming brands are interested in contributing their part. As a result, we witness new graphic engines, cool gadgets, and first-class gaming equipment. Plus, this is just the beginning.
Many compare the popularity of esports with casino games, but such a comparison is not fair. First-person shooters or strategy games like Dota do not target that same audience. Besides, most online casinos are luck-based instead of skill-based games so that is where their comparison stops. They do overlap in some controversial ways. Sports titles like Madden, Fifa, or Gran Tourismo do encourage betting or competitive spirit in gaming. Regardless, virtual sports are becoming a big moneymaker. That means more tournaments, more prizes, and more new cool hardware and software.
Enhancing Drugs, Forced Labor, And Lootboxing
Everybody heard about Lootboxing systems embedded into certain video games. Like Quake, Doom, or Warcraft, some of them are widely popular in our esports community. Many want to draw a clear line between roulette, slots, and video games. Well, Lootboxing is just the tip of the iceberg. Even the best online casinos NZ can offer are more discrete about sports betting. The gambling industry is sponsoring many esports tournaments or individual players. We guess that money makes this world go round.
Like any other athletes, even Mortal Kombat players use enhancing drugs to sharpen their concentration. This causes some to advocate regular drug testing after matches. Many Asian players complain about burnout training schedule that leaves them exhausted. Some report hand or wrist injuries as a result. All these issues require more scrutiny and proper regulations. So, if you prefer an online casino, go for it. E-sports are not made for everyone. Just for those who are very passionate about their favorite games. Those who live, breathe and sleep Tekken, Fortnite, and The League Of Legends.
Future Plans
With some help from social media, e-sports are going global. We bet that they will even make it into the next Olympics as a fully recognized sporting activity. In the meanwhile, developers will make faster, stronger consoles and even more realistic games. Tournament rewards will get bigger, and players’ earnings will hit the roof. We are looking forward to new innovations in every field of gaming. Millions of new kids are eager to join multiplayer servers around our globe. You should be ready to have more fun than ever.
Recently, the new Unreal Engine 5 was released. Soon, the unreal realism will become a standard in all online games out there. We just hope you saved enough money to buy new graphic cards and super consoles that can support it. It just shows how much this industry has evolved. We can expect only more VR innovations in the future. Players can expect more cool gadgets and bigger earnings and rewards. Just imagine living the life of a pro player and making millions like Lebron or Daniel Riccardo. All that just by playing e-sports online. Yes, we live in a cool era.
We just hope that the whole controversy about gambling in e-sports will not cast a shadow on its progress. If you are new to virtual sports, try WarCraft, Dota, or NBA 2K for a start. Test your skills and see if you got what it takes to be a pro. In the meantime, just enjoy online games for fun, like it’s meant to be.