Recently on ESFI, popular eSports journalist Chris Schetter released an editorial piece about the boom/bust of gaming. Schetter discusses the influx of tournaments and prizes being awarded for Starcraft II, as well as the need for an internal organization in gaming, similar to that of the PGA in golf.
Below is an excerpt from the article:
The notion that e-sports is a cyclical beast – that periods of rapid inflation and deflation are a given – seems to be one that’s widely held. Even the most starry-eyed optimist would have to admit that the pace of the current uptick in activity and attention around the scene can’t be sustained indefinitely. In just three years time, the American scene went from its post-collapse emptiness to one that’s arguably too full; nearly a million dollars will be distributed to StarCraft players alone through a handful of different invitationals and prize circuits this year.
It’s too soon to address questions of whether the audiences around these competitions will grow in proportion to the money being dumped into them, or whether the return-on-investment can’t keep pace, and a contraction is in store for us in a year or two. If the latter proves true, just as it had in 2008, it would seem to lend credence to gaming being cyclical. However, an analysis that stops there would be incomplete, and would let gamers as a whole off the hook for allowing that to be the status quo.
Read the entire article on ESFI by clicking here.
Photos: MLG