For nearly 13 years , playing videogames has been a plausible career choice for many people around the world. Some professional gamers have generated millions in profits, with entire teams and organizations that receive generous sponsorships from private companies and a fan base that grows year by year.
eSports is a form of competitive video gaming with multiple players battling against each other usually in teams, often in matches that are streamed live to throngs of young fans.
A report by the marketing intelligence agency Newzoo showed that eSports were the regulated competitive activity that showed the highest audience and market revenue growth. The eSports sector went from 76 million casual and 56 million regular viewers in 2012 to 195 million casual and 145 million regular viewers in 2017 . In monetary terms, the sector went from generating USD$130 million to $456 million in revenue over the same period.
Global eSports revenues will hit $1.1 billion in 2019
, up 27 percent since last year amid ballooning revenues from advertising, sponsorship, and media rights to competitive video gaming and brand investments through those three avenues will make up 82 percent –or $897 million- of total revenues. In all, brand support will have nearly tripled since 2015, according to data from Newzoo.
In order to put in perspective the profitability of this activity, the most successful professional gamer to date, Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi , has earned USD$4.97 million in global competitions, sponsorships aside.
North America is set to generate $409 million of eSports revenues in 2019
, the most of any region, Newzoo’s report found. China will generate 19 percent and South Korea 6 percent , with the rest of the world comprising the remaining 38 percent.
Though the eSports industry exists in Mexico , it is still slowly moving towards professionalization. Mexico’s eSports Federation (FEMES) was inaugurated earlier this year, endorsed by the National Sports Commission (CONADE) .
Furthermore, organizers Javier Rodríguez (Secretary-General) and Ismael Silva (chairman) have decided to create the Central American eSports Confederation (CONCECARES) , which aims to promote the inclusion of this sport in the 2024 Paris Olympics .
In order to promote the development of this activity in Mexico, the FEMES has created three major leagues: Gold, Diamond, and University.
The institution will host Tekken and Soulcalibur tournaments , though Secretary-General Javier Rodríguez now aims to obtain operating licenses from EA Sports , the company behind some of the world’s most famous sports games such as FIFA, Madden, and NBA Live.
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