*For a more interactive article, please subscribe to the Jox Digital newsletter. Welcome to Week #1 of the Jox Digital newsletter. Your questions on gaming topics are answered here. Get ready to learn! Esports (yes, plural) get mixed a lot in conversations about gaming. But, what exactly is the difference between esports and gaming? Let's define the two words and get right to it!
Hi! I'm Dictionary Jox. Let me help define esports and gaming.
Esports: (n., plural) competitive video gaming with spectators. This is similar to traditional sports, but most of esports are seen digitally (live esports events are temporarily on hold due to the current pandemic). The correct ways to spell the word are "Esports" (if in the beginning of a sentence or in a title) and "esports" (for all else).
Gaming: (n., singular) playing video games for fun. Gaming can refer to all sorts (tabletop games, playing a game of tic-tac-toe, etc.), but in this context, we are looking at this as video games.
What is gaming? *Gaming Gurus, click here.*
What is esports? *Esports Enthusiasts, click here.*
Study Jox here. Class is in session.
We defined the beginning of a long conversation about the two. One is more competitive than the other. All esports are gaming, but not all gaming is esports. There are a number of subjects involved in the world of esports. Here's what the esports ecosystem looks like:
To simplify the complexities of the esports ecosystem, esports need fans, who consume content through streamers and pro teams on broadcasters/platforms. Such content can be seen either organized by themselves or by pro competitions. Game publishers encompass the gaming IP throughout the ecosystem.
What is missing in the diagram is the play by sponsors (endemic brands, or within the gaming space, and non-endemic brands, or those whose businesses are not primarily in gaming), which dive into every one of these categories.
Stat Jox will take it from here. Let's add some numbers in the mix.
Globally, according to Newzoo, over 495 MILLION esports viewers and enthusiasts will check out esports content this year. That's a +11.7% year-on-year growth. Newzoo forecasts over 646 million by 2023.
And that's considered a small number to the more than 2.5 billion gamers across the world, which spent over $152.1 BILLION in the 2019 games market.
To put this into perspective, the mobile version of Epic Games's Fortnite reached over $1 BILLION last month in player spending via the App Store and Google Play.
Speaking of which...
Here are the top six revenue streams in esports in 2020:
Sponsorships ($646.9M): They are appearing everywhere (i.e. virtually immersive and live event experiences, jerseys, ads, etc.).
Media Rights ($185.4M): Media channels are aiming to fill their programming with gaming and esports content.
Merchandise & Tickets ($121.7M): Represent your favorite teams and players in jerseys. Show up to a thrilling live esports event (let's hope soon!).
Publisher Fees ($116.3M): Licensing a game is what helps keep the relevancy of a game active and alive.
Digital ($21.5M): Product giveaways and campaigns are amplified as digital goodies and assets.
Streaming ($18.2M): In-game content can be featured in streaming content, especially drops and ads.
These esports revenue streams, forecasted by Newzoo, may have changed with the current pandemic (i.e. live events, large gatherings, etc.), but the virtual aspects of gaming and esports have increased in value. Consuming gaming content and being a part of gaming has only trended upward. Venture Beat captured this viewership.
Along with the viewership during these unprecedented times, according to WARC last month, 26% of Americans expect to play more games during the current pandemic. 21% of women and 32% of men expect to game more as well.
Resources to Experience More
Here are avenues to get involved in gaming and/or esports. Whether it is consuming content or volunteering in the next gaming tournament, being hands-on with gaming gets you closer to the gaming community.
Twitch: Streamers/influencers create gaming content and feature in exciting livestream challenges/collabs.
Esports Insider: Read more about the latest sponsorships deals, partnerships, tournaments, and activations.
Juked.gg: Gamers can view the latest esports tournaments through here.
r/gaming: This subreddit has 26 million+ subscribers who share all things gaming!
While the differences between gaming and esports are there, it is important to notice how esports have an upward trajectory (but a long way to go) to being recognized as a sport, enjoyed by the masses, and more. The debate is happening as we speak about whether or not it could be considered a sport. Traditional sports methodology trickles into esports, which has pros and cons as well.
While we could go on and on about gaming and esports, we hope you can digest this information more and gain a better understanding of possibilities with these two categories. And while the ecosystem has various levels of institution (i.e. local, high school, collegiate, semi-pro, pro, etc.), esports has an open playing field to join.
Game on,
Jox, Jox Digital Educator
info@jox.digital
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