Esports officially arrives in Japan

Digital tech to bring down borders

CHIBA, Japan, Feb 11, (AP): A crowd cheers, banging on balloons, in front of glitzy stages, each with a giant screen. The rising stars at the sprawling Makuhari Messe hall are the quietly seated men in hoodies and T-shirts, with names like Noppi and Refresh, jiggling on buttons and grimacing at screens.

Esports has officially arrived in Japan.

Although Japan is home to video game giants like Nintendo Corp., Sony Corp. and Bandai Namco, massive game fans as well as individual star game players, it’s surprisingly behind the rest of the world in esports — professional game-playing recognized as a sport that’s vibrant in the US and Europe.

But with talk that elite computer gaming may become an official Olympic sport, Japan is determined to catch up.

Esports has become a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games, a sign that mainstream recognition is growing. Global esports fans are estimated to number 500 million by 2020, according to game-market researcher Newzoo.

Japan Esports Union, or JESU, was launched Feb. 1 to promote esports, issue licenses to professional players in Japan, standardize rules and qualifications and support and nurture future players. The union has won the backing of Japan’s game software makers as well as technology companies, such as video-sharing niconico.

With this weekend’s take, the “Fifty Shades” franchise is set to pass $1 billion in total revenue. The second installment, “Fifty Shades Darker,” opened to $46.6 million the same weekend last year, and “Fifty Shades of Grey” debuted to $85.2 million in 2015.

That means big money can be legally up for grabs at tournaments, expected to spring up here, with powerful sectors at work to make sure esports is booming in Japan.

Game Party Japan 2018, at Makuhari, in the Tokyo suburb of Chiba, began Saturday and continues through Sunday as the first esports event after JESU was set up. The biggest cash prize goes to the winner of mobile game Monster Strike at 8 million yen ($73,000).

One reason Japan fell behind the rest of the world in esports is that Japanese game fans tend to play solitary games, like role-playing games, in contrast to the contest-style games that thrive in esports in the rest of the world, said JESU Vice-President Hirokazu Hamamura.

But the appeal of watching esports is much like regular sports, such as soccer or baseball, Hamamura and other advocates say.

Story

“It’s the story that is there,” he said. Leopold Chung, an official with the International Esports Federation, or IeSF, which promotes esports, was at the weekend event to meet with JESU officials.

Chung said that anti-doping requirements, legal help with contracts and the protection of retired players are crucial. He believes esports holds potential for places like Africa because of the ability of digital technology to

In second place is Sony’s adaptation of “Peter Rabbit,” which is set to draw in $22 million from 3,725 domestic sites, ahead of forecasts. The film stars James Corden as the voice of the titular rabbit, with Domhnall Gleeson as the heir to Mr. McGregor’s farm and Margot Robbie, bring down borders.

“Because of the technology, our communities are connected,” he said.

Even esports believers acknowledge hurdles remain before “Call of Duty” can become as culturally mainstream as the 100-meter dash. Such violent games would be out at the Olympics, for one. And the Olympics’ nonprofit banner may conflict with the commercial nature of video games, they say.

“It’s a great alternative for children rather than watching TV all the time,” said Chester King, chief executive of British Esports Association and eGames, who is leading the push for esports to become a legitimate sport.

“It’s like chess. You never get a parent saying to a child ‘you’re playing too much chess,’” he added, stressing that video games are good for mental fitness.

At the esports finals of “Street Fighter,” winner and star player Itabashi Zangief posed before cameras and received a trophy and cash prize, after smashing his opponent in a dazzling knockout on the screen.

“I played a good game, but I need to work harder,” he told the crowd.

Akihito Sato, a 28-year-old salesman, who was watching, said the appeal of esports is how quickly the satisfaction comes, unlike other spectator sports.

“When a match gets close, it’s so exciting to watch,” said Sato. “But it’s over in something like three minutes. It’s instant.”

Elizabeth Debicki, and Daisy Ridley as the voices of Peter Rabbit’s sisters. The film is directed by Will Gluck and received an A- CinemaScore. (RTRS)

NEW YORK:

After years of reported behind-the-scenes friction, tensions between two “Sex and the City” stars erupted into public view Saturday.

The star of the popular HBO series, Sarah Jessica Parker, had long been known to have a difficult relationship with one of her three co-stars, Kim Cattrall.

There were reports, regularly denied by Cattrall, that she was the one holding up plans for a possible second sequel to the original movie version of “Sex and the City.” (AFP)

ISLAMABAD:

Qazi Wajid, one of Pakistan’s veteran television actors and radio entertainers, has died in the southern port city of Karachi. He was 87.

Wajid was hospitalized on Saturday night for chest pain and died on Sunday morning.

Born in 1930 in the eastern city of Lahore, he started his carrier as radio drama artist and remained attached to the “sound box” until television was introduced in Pakistan in 1964. Wajid won a presidential medal for his achievement in the field of radio and television dramas in 1988.

In television dramas, Wajid performed a wide variety of characters, both comedians and serious. His colleagues referred to him as the “academy.” (AP)