杂志汇中国与非洲

Tan Jun, 30, can still feel the adrenalin rush he experienced last November when watching the world’s premier competitive gaming event of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship (LLWC).

As an indication of the rocketing popularity of gaming, the grandscale, full-house event took place in Beijing’s iconic National Stadium, dubbed the Bird’s Nest, and usually reserved for major music concerts and international sports events.

“The price of a single ticket for the final game fetched an amazing 6,666 yuan ($1,052), but still they were sold out,” Tan, who now runs an esports, or electronic sports, players’ team, told ChinAfrica.

Held in China for the first time since the esports event of LLWC was launched in 2010, the championship is regarded as a milestone in terms of public and commercial recognition of competitive gaming as a sport in China. According the world’s leading gaming market research and predictive analytics firm Newzoo, based in the Netherlands, the LLWC was the most watched event on Twitch, a live streaming video platform, in 2017, generating $5.5 million in ticket sales.

With the viewership climbing over 100 million and onsite audience totaling 40,000, the event has catapulted gaming from a public perception of it being a casual pastime to a multi-billion-dollar business. Ticket sales are just the tip of the iceberg in esports revenues over the past year. Newzoo’s 2018 Global Esports Market Report released recently predicts that global esports revenues will reach $906 million in 2018, a growth of 38.2 percent year on year. China’s contribution is expected to be especially prominent, accounting for $164 million, 18 percent of the world total.

Fast-growing business

However, esports was a bleak business in China 10 years ago when the global financial crisis struck, due to lack of sponsorships and limited awareness. In 2011, China’s second-generation rich represented by Wang Sicong, the only son of Chinese real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin, opened a lot of doors for the sector with their reputation and money.

In August that year, Wang pledged to integrate the industry of esports with a post on his Weibo, Chinese equivalent of Twitter. He invested heavily in the sector, buying a dying team for about $6 million and renaming it Invictus Gaming or iG. In 2012, iG won first place in the International Dota2 Championships in Seattle, claiming the prize money of $1 million.

Later, Wang expanded his esports interest to the extended chain of esports broadcasting. In 2015, he launched Panda TV, an esports streaming channel, to compete with Twitch. He also made efforts to push forward unified standards for league competition. Following his lead, other young Chinese wealthy businesspeople and entertainment celebrities also invested in esports teams and related businesses.

One of them is pop singer Jay Chou in Taiwan, China. As a dedicated enthusiast of League of Legends (LOL), he has his own team and invested 18 million yuan ($2.8 million) to build a 1,700-square-meter esports bar in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province.

The influx of investments and the growing public awareness on esports as a mainstream entertainment sector auger well for its longterm progress. Chinese Internet analytics firm iResearch reported that the market value of China’s esports hit 65 billion yuan ($10.3 billion) in 2017, an increase of nearly 60 percent year on year.

China is also contributing greatly to esports player numbers in the world, said Newzoo. The 2017 Statistical Report on Internet Development in China released by China Internet Network Information Center showed that 420 million out of 751 million Chinese Internet users played competitive gaming in 2017. “Growing up in the era of the Internet, people born in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s accept esports as a natural phenomenon,” said Ding Dong, former Director of Sport Information Department with China’s General Administration of Sport (GAS). Visitors test their gaming skills at an esports exhibition in ShanghaiDATA　Global Esports in Numbers

Global Esports R evenue Growth

Global Esports Audience (million)

Total Audience Growth R ate (y.o.y)

A gaming anchor for a live streaming channel comments on a professional esports event420 million

out of 751 million Chinese Internet users played competitive gaming in 2017

$10.3 billion

China’s esports market value in 2017

Supporting policies

Recognition of esports as an official event and support from the government have lured venture capitalists to the sector. It will be part of the program at the Asian Games in Djakarta, Indonesia this year, and also a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou of China. In late 2017, the International Olympic Committee officially agreed to add professional gaming competitions to the Olympics program.

“Esports should be a gl obal professional medal event due to its nature of sportsmanship, and spectatorship and because it is an intellectual confrontation that tests people’s agility, intelligence and willpower,” said Jin Yibo, head of Chinese Internet giant Tencent’s esports business, adding esports requires the same intense preparation and training as that of traditional sports.

In 2016, China introduced a series of policies to support esports sector. In March, the GAS held a national China Mobile E-Sports Games. In April, the National Development and Reform Commission issued an action plan to promote economic restructuring through consumption, which clearly encouraged businesses to host national and international esports events.

These initiatives triggered the zeal of capital for the sector, with JD.com and Suning Commerce Group investing heavily in the esports business. In December 2017, the two giants won berths for LOL Pro League, China’s top national esports event, at the cost of 90 million yuan ($14.2 million). Insiders say winning the berths means the businesses could share the considerable revenues from sponsorships, advertising and media rights.

“The commercial potential is not only about holding league competitions or tournaments, but also about a whole industrial chain,” said Jin. He estimated the value of the sector will reach 100 billion yuan ($15.8 billion) in the next few years, with additional multiple sources of revenues coming from game publishing, live streaming platforms and gaming peripherals.

From the state level, China’s policy of fostering characteristic towns nationwide set a long-term bright future for esports. By virtue of the policy, esports-themed towns attracting related businesses and complete training facilities are being built to nurture professional players and tapping into the commercial potential of offline establishments.

“With these changes and support, I am confident that my future career is extremely bright,” said Tan.

Africa’s calling

According to Newzoo’s report, improving IT infrastructure and urbanization are driving the growth of audiences and awareness of esports in Africa. Though esports is a fledgling industry in Africa, young African businesspeople are showing great interest in gaming by creating titles inspired by African mythology, style and history.

Kenyan George Ahere is one of them. After finishing his fouryear software engineering major at a Chinese university, he went back home and started a game developing firm in 2016. His company recently released a debut title Mzito for mobile devices, currently the best way to reach the biggest audience on the continent. “Lowering prices and improved Internet connectivity have led to a boom in smart devices,” Ahere told gamesinsudtry.biz.

The Ericsson Mobility Report released in 2015 predicted that by 2020, 70 percent of Africa’s population would have smartphones; and 90 percent of the continent’s population would have access to mobile Internet. These statistics are driving Ahere’s vision, and he is prepared to seize the opportunity being presented in a predicted boom of the gaming industry.

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