Move over ABs – esports is here
just as big as New Zealand’s beloved All Blacks.
That’s what Intel’s global marketing strategist Brenda Lynch claims anyway. She’s been with the company for 18 years, and working with esports for two.
‘‘Perhaps not in New Zealand today, but definitely around the globe, esports is becoming a huge global phenomenon,’’ Lynch says.
‘‘Those pro players, just like your rugby players in New Zealand, have huge, massive followings. Just thinking about the sport through the lens of it actually being a sport that was born on the internet, it really opens up the athletes to a much larger global audience so they have huge fan bases, millions of followers.
‘‘One of the gamers today, he’s not a pro-athlete, but he’s a streamer, and he has millions of people following him, just watching him play video games.’’
After meeting Macleod, I enter the arena where, over the course of the weekend, 18,000 fans fist pump, boo, yell ‘‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie’’ and ‘‘Henry’s a w.....’’ (the player accepted it with a grain of salt) as esports gamers take to the stage to play the world’s second biggest video game, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
I could have been at a basketball game. I could have been watching Super Bowl. But no, I was watching two giant screens as five (real) players from two teams sat behind computer screens and (digitally) threw smoke bombs, whipped out guns and knives, and basically killed each other.
I’ve spent my fair share of time watching video games, which usually ends in me blocking the television with my entire body to make it stop. But among the chants, spilt beers, bright lights, and the annoying blow-up balls bouncing over the audience, I was excited. I even declared myself a fan of ‘‘Rain’’, a 22-year-old Norwegian guy (his real name is Havard rain Nygaard) from the FaZe Clan, not because I was impressed with his skills – I had no idea what I was looking at – but because he had great hair.
It might be her job but, according to Lynch, the fact people sit down to watch strangers battle it out over a video game isn’t weird.
‘‘If you think of the age group of the people watching and participating in the sport, they’re all digital natives. These are mostly people raised with the internet and computing devices such as smart phones – able to take selfies and stream themselves – this is all stuff they have never lived without.
‘‘It’s a natural evolution to have technology and the passion of the younger demographic coming together to ignite this sport,’’ she says.
Outside the stadium, fans can experience the largest tech gimmicks on offer in virtual reality, augmented reality, and computer gaming. It is a candyland for the gamers – and big bucks for those in the industry.
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