Charm of e-sports wins fans at Asiad
After nearly 20 days perched at the front of the Main Press Center at the Jakarta Asian Games, a huge video board had become all but ignored.
But when live broadcasts of the Asiad’s first-ever e-sports competition started on Wednesday, all eyes were on the screen.
Many journalists accustomed to covering traditional sports seemed to be a little bit confused when they saw the gaming characters of League of Legends employing dazzling magic to fight each other. Confused, but mesmerized. Just as one of my colleagues who never played before said: “Although I don’t know what they are doing, I just feel so excited now.”
As a journalist who has reported on the e-sports phenomenon from its beginning, I’ve experienced the deafening roar of tens of thousands of spectators during tournaments for different leagues in China many times. But witnessing the attraction that e-sports presents for traditional sports fans for the first time was something special to behold.
During the final of the LOL competition between China and South Korea, I asked some “neutral” spectators if they had ever played League of Legends. None of them had, but after witnessing the frenzied action between the world’s best players, all professed a desire to try it.
Their reasoning sounded similar to what fans of traditional sports might say.
“I would like everyone to share their joy,” said Kenneth Fok, president of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation.
“Not just people from the e-sports world, but also traditional sports fans from the region. It is a process of communication, education, mutual understanding and mutual respect.
“By bringing e-sports into the Asian Games, I hope officials, NOCs, the OCA family and traditional sports fans can see what the e-sports world is about. As the IOC has recognized, e-sports can be a great platform to engage youth and spread Olympic ideal.”
It has been a joy to see that e-sports has been recognized by more and more people in the world, but it’s always important to remember that professional gaming is much different than recreational play. After all, what we truly want is the healthy development of the industry as opposed to nurturing a new generation of gaming addicts.
With no shortage of top gamers in China, the priority of the sector is to nurture a wide range of other talents, ranging from game designers to broadcasters.
There are an estimated 260,000 vacant positions waiting to be filled in the Chinese e-sports industry, according to a university e-sports development report published in May by the Network Film and TV Center of the Chinese Communist Youth League in Beijing.
Let the gaming begin!