It seems like Esports have begun not more than a decade ago,
but it actually originated in the 1970s. It is hard to believe that 'Electronic
sports' made its way into our lives that long ago. Initially, very people were
fond of Esports due to a lack of technology. But, time passed by in a blur, and
technological advancements started to rule over the world. These innovations
made Esports grow with a manic pace. The industry that wasn't known by anyone, in the beginning, has now become mainstream all around the globe.
Let's have a look at where and how Esports started.
The 1970s:
The era of Birth
The first-ever video game competition by Esports, known as
'The Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics,' was held in 1972. Around 10,000
participants registered themselves in the competition. Annual subscription to
‘The Rolling Stone’ magazine was set to be the prize for the winner.
The 1980s:
Better consoles introduced
It was the decade when better gaming options were introduced.
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released that made the people go
crazy over the improved gameplay, controls, and graphics. After five years,
another console, the Sega Genesis was launched, which gained phenomenal
popularity.
The 1990s:
Beginning of the tournaments
Gaming companies started to commit with Esports to hold
tournaments on a higher level, which helped Esports gain fame in a very short
time. Several leagues took place during this decade, such as QuakeCon (1996),
Professional Gamers League PGL (1997), and Cyberathlete Professional League CPL
(1997).
The 2000s:
Esports became mainstream
Esports was quick to become mainstream in the late 2000s.
This was mostly because more multiplayer competitive games were being created
like League of Legends and DOTA, but also with the introduction of two new
generations for video games in 2006 and 2013, respectively. This gave a massive
boost to the Esports industry, and by 2010, most of the games had multiplayer.
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Also see https://www.visualistan.com/2019/05/the-esports-boom-and-the-numbers-behind-the-sectors-explosive-growth-infographic.html
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The 2010s:
Esports dominated
The enormous impact on Esports was with the acquisition of
Twitch by Amazon for $970 million in 2014 as it became the top platform to
conduct Esports. Fast forward to 2019 and cloud-based streaming services were
introduced by many gaming companies, most notable is Google's Stadia which
enabled players to eliminate the need for high-end hardware to run games and
gave Google a competitor in the Esports industry which was dominant by this
time.
Esports
now:
The global rise of Esports has made it difficult for most
companies to ignore it. More companies, investors, tech giants, and developers
have made Esports tournaments high-profile with a bigger competing pool, higher
winning price, and, most importantly, more and more audience is attained every
year. To put it in perspective, almost 6 billion hours were spent watching
Esports in 2018, which is expected to rise to 9 billion hours by 2021. Nearly
50% of the viewership comes from Asia.
Future of
Esports:
Most of the video game genres are strategy, shooters, and
sports, so that we may see a more diverse genre selection in Esports. Esports
is globally covered by many media sources worldwide, which is why the
tournaments may be held at international levels.
With the incredible history of Esports evolution, we do not see its popularity to slow down anytime in the near future.
With the incredible history of Esports evolution, we do not see its popularity to slow down anytime in the near future.
Infographic by: Visualcapitalist.com
