Move over basketball! The e-sport trend is scoring

Iwas somewhat taken aback when I received an iron frying pan as an invitation to 360 Technology’s new smartphone release.

But I got the point when I read the words printed on the frying pan — “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.” It’s a line from the popular game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which implied that the company was about to release an e-sports smartphone.

Electronic sports, known as esports, have entered the virtual battlefield of competitive video games, with influence stretching beyond the millennial fan base. The genre is attracting millions of new fans in China, including women. They are joining the “hardcore players,” mainly teenage males who spend hours a day in front of computer screens.

E-sports have entered the scene of diversified games, including mobile titles, powerful smartphones, online broadcasting platforms and emerging professional event organizers.

It is attracting new industry players beyond mainstream video game firms and computer gadget vendors. They include phone makers, broadcasting platforms, event organizers and even TV stations, which are all targeting the huge pool of gamers and e-sports audiences and fans. Rising sales of mobile game gadgets and the emergence of professional tournaments offering big prize money are bolstering the trend.

“We understand a ‘0.1-second delay’ means ‘death’ in games,” Li Kaixin, president of 360’s mobile business, told the media event unveiling the new flagship model N7. “Therefore, we keep all things fully optimized, including chips, memory, batteries and graphic displays.”

Journalists posted photos of the frying pan invitation on social media, evoking positive feedback on social platforms such as WeChat and Weibo. People are talking about it. Even if they don’t play the game, they know a pot is associated with it.