Esports have been gaining in popularity steadily over the past few years as prizes in tournaments have ballooned from thousands of dollars a decade ago, to now tournaments reaching multi-million dollar prize pools. It’s not just the scenes becoming more professional, but the mainstream media also starting to sit up and take notice as major corporations, real sports teams, and even individual billionaires sign on to own esports teams. Even TBS is airing competitions live as a household event.
As the esports craze swept Asia, Europe, and quickly the rest of the world, most major publications had their eyes trained squarely in the opposite direction. Despite the fact that a professional Korean Starcraft player is more famous than any similar professional in the world of “real” Korean sports, traditional print media seemed to gloss over the subject, continuing to report on the growing esports scene as merely an interesting novelty.
esports exclusive magazine following shortly thereafter.
Esports competitions are being televised on major networks like ESPN and the BBC, and in the UK, people can even place bets on them through the popular betting service, Sky. (We recommend checking out our betting guide before you place your bet.) It’s clear that they’re making the break into public consciousness as a cultural phenomena, and soon esports’ biggest stars could become household names. But what does that mean for esports and the people who love it?
There has been a significant amount of derision from outsiders writing on the topic who have little idea what they’re talking about, but a strong negative opinion nonetheless. It’s no rarity for esports related articles to be permeated with condescension and outdated stereotypes about gamers and other people who enjoy participating in or watching esports. Some publications have even been accused of editing interviews with esports stars in such a way as to twist their words entirely out of context just to make them fit the narrative they had in mind for the story.
This rampant misrepresentation begs the question: is mainstream media attention really good for esports? For an activity that already draws a viewership of millions and prize money to match, that can sell out a full-size venue in less than hour for several years running, what does mainstream media really have to offer? Many esports enthusiasts feel that they could do without the poorly-researched op-ed pieces that completely misunderstand the hobby. However, if the media could clean up its act, be a little bit more open minded, see esports for what it really is and report it that way, the publicity could do great things for the industry.
Honest media attention could lead to a renaissance in esports the same way it did in traditional professional sports. Bringing it out of the so-called shadows and into the public eye can likely lead to more transparency and more accountability on the part of everyone involved. Regulations would be placed on the industry to protect players and fans alike and solve some of esports’ biggest issues, like underage gambling, discrimination and even match-fixing. Everything would be happening in the public eye, so the media would be able to perform its most valuable service- uncovering shady dealings and bringing them to light so that more people can be assured fair treatment.
In turn, this publicity will likely lead to esports events being held to a certain standard of decency that they haven’t been up to this point. Networks would likely want a family friendly show, free from the cursing and off-color jokes that usually accompany grassroots esports events. Like anything in the gaming community, these changes will not come without controversy.
