Leading eSports players at a show in Tokyo traded digital blows this week since dawdler Japan shifts to improve its game in the thriving segment that now draws almost millions of dollars per year.
Poorly dressed women hawking virtual reality operators and games will also battle for the attention of almost 250,000 male guests anticipated to visit the 4-day Tokyo Game Show, which started this week. But eSports took the center stage for the 1st time at the yearly event, since the best of the best encountered each other on virtual battlegrounds and in games such as Street Fighter V.
They may not have household names such as Beckham and Ronaldo quite yet, but champions of eSports are getting superstar status nowadays days with millions of individuals jumping into the action around the world. Leading players can make billions in prize cash alone from contests played in front of almost 50,000 spectators at packed stadiums. There will be a full medal game in China at the 2022 Asian Games, while the freshly minted Kenneth Fok, the president of Asian eSports Federation, is aiming for a place at the Olympics.
In spite of their rising popularity in parts of Asia and North America, eSports are only now taking off in Japan, which is the hometown to videogame majors such as Nintendo and Sony. Prize money limits and operating limitations on public gaming have kept growth in the videogame-crazy nation in an inferior position, but the leading billing at the Tokyo show might put eSports to the next stage, industry analysts claimed.
“I expect Japanese users will ultimately see that winning prize cash and making a living out of this as a profession is just as immense as being a tennis player such as (Kei) Nishikori or other pros,” claimed Chairman of game company JPPVR, Taichi Shibuki, to the media in an interview. “Not many users here are even aware of the word eSports. But this event might considerably alter things.” Unlike conventional separations for physical disabilities and gender, eSports can be played below equal conditions, he further added.