The Financial Effect of Esports on The Economy

From the small screen to the big screen, Esports will be the new mainstream sport in the United States in time. It’s a combination of what every teen boy loves, video games, as well as some great competition. esports is an industry built off of video games. It is a way for teens and young adults to compete against other skilled players in whatever game they prefer. There are thousands of titles that qualify as “competitive”. These titles vary from League of Legends and Call of Duty to Super Smash Bros. Although esports may seem like a hobby or a friendly competition to some, these players make it a career. In order to make this hobby a career, you need to go through various. “155 million Americans regularly play video games”(Campbell, 1). If 155 million people play video games, then the chances of one actually “going pro” in the video game business is very slim. In order to make your chances better you need to buy the right equipment, play or practice for the right amount of time each day, compete in tournaments, and of course, be very skilled. The prize pool for some competitive tournaments can be up to 10 million dollars. Although these players can make up to seven figures a year, there are those who question whether esports is suitable source of income, should be considered a profession, as well as a sport. However research shows that players can compete for up to $250,000 each at a tournament, and train their bodies in the gym to better perform. Therefore, esports is a suitable source of income, a profession, as well as a sport.

Gaming is a suitable source of income, a job profession, and a sport for many reasons. Research shows that these tournaments and events that the players go to can be hosted in very large venues and can be packed with people.”And this weekend, Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, will be packed for a championship final event”(Montagne, 1). These people that fill up the stadiums are not watching the players perform for free. They pay good money to watch because that is what the players do best. Not only are the people paying money to view the competition, but the players also get paid in the end for playing. If you are getting paid for something that you do on a regular basis, then you have a profession at whatever you are doing. An article from CNN reports that “The general consensus is that if physical exertion and sheer power are dispelled, reflexes and mental agility come to the fore.Still, mindful of the saying that a healthy body is a healthy mind, many professionals spend hours in the gym to help keep their brains sharp’’(Young, 6). In this excerpt from the report by CNN’s Henry Young, he basically tells the public that what makes a sport a sport is exerting physical strength in whatever you are doing. If the players go to the gym to keep the performing abilities at its peak, it is considered a sport. Call Of Duty is a franchise in the gaming world, making one game per year, the have made a good amount of money. This is one of the top 10 competitive games in the esports industry. Call of duty hosts competitions for players to compete in with a prize pool of $50,000 to $100,000. For example, this past year 2016, the biggest Call of Duty tournament or event was hosted in September. The prize for the first place winners was $800,000 to the team. This money would then be distributed between the four man squad that competed. “They take $250,000 for their efforts and pride in providing inspiration for the world beyond the shores of North America”(Nino, 1). In this text, Nino is talking about the victors of the last Call of Duty XP tournament, Team EnvyUs. Although that was the biggest Call Of Duty tournament, there are still smaller events that take place around the year. Such events include MLG Anaheim, MLG Dallas, UMG Dallas, and UMG Orlando. Each one of these tournaments has a prize pool of $75,000 to $150,000. With the amount of money that the players are bringing in from one event, it seems that it is a very good source of income. Sources say that players earn large amounts of money for competing. “Competing professionally was never my initial intention as a player, and until our fourth place finish at CoD XP [which earned his team $100,000] in 2011, I hadn’t even acknowledged the possibility of creating an occupation from a hobby”(Craddock, 1). This player competes in Call of Duty based e-sports. The fact that he won $100,000 for placing fourth just shows that e-sports is more than suitable for a source of income.

The authors of these sources do not use many rhetorical strategies, if any. There is reason for this. One of the sources is in form of audio, and others were not very developed. One rhetorical strategy that the audio source used was the strategy of dialogue. With this, the audience can get a better perspective or view of what is being discussed. In a regular article or newspaper, if it had little dialogue, it could be difficult to interpret what it is actually talking about. So this dialogue is very important in the development of an article, newspaper, etc. In the other sources such as the one by Matt Craddock and Red Bull, they used many quotations from people. This was used to give credibility. This is good because not only does it give credibility, but it puts the article into a deeper perspective. It is basically the same use as the dialogue discussed before, except quotations give credibility. Without these rhetorical strategies, the articles, audio files, and newspapers wouldn’t be as developed. The dialogue doesn’t just give the audience a better view or perspective of what they are talking about, but it gives the article more life. In other words, it basically makes the source less dull or boring.

After going through all the sources that were researched, competitive gaming should still be considered a job profession, considered a sport, and as for a suitable source of income, it is. If anything, through all the research conducted, one should have a stronger opinion of why all of those things are true(Suitable source of income, whether it is a sport, whether it is a profession). This is because all the information researched has said something about the players making a certain amount of money(usually high). “Competing professionally was never my initial intention as a player, and until our fourth place finish at CoD XP [which earned his team $100,000] in 2011, I hadn’t even acknowledged the possibility of creating an occupation from a hobby”(Craddock, 1). As for whether e-sports should be considered a sport, after reading through the sources, one should think that it should be a sport. The reasoning for this goes back to the source when it explained what makes a sport a sport. This source not only explained what a sport is, but it also explained why gaming is a sport. “The general consensus is that if physical exertion and sheer power are dispelled, reflexes and mental agility come to the fore.Still, mindful of the saying that a healthy body is a healthy mind, many professionals spend hours in the gym to help keep their brains sharp’’(Young, 6). Just because you are not running up and down a field, does not mean you are not competing in a sporting event. These players deserved to be recognized, even if they are sitting in front of a screen while competing. Now the final argument as to whether e-sports should be considered a job profession. This argument is very simple to resolve. The players are competing for money. Regardless of what they place in the tournaments or events, they are paid for playing. Whenever one is getting paid repeatedly for completing a task, if they want to call it their profession, they are obligated to do so. Not saying that anytime you get paid for doing something, that something is your profession. Although, if you feel that it is, then there is nothing wrong with it.

In short, esports is a business for those who want to make video games not just a hobby or something to do when you are bored, but a career. The industry is literally built by the community. Without the people, the players would just be playing video games. It is a way to test your skills against other players all around the world. From the United States, to Asia, even making its way into Australia. The wonderful thing about esports is that it can please anyone. This is because esports has so many different competitive games that people are able to compete in. The topic discussed throughout the essay was answered through a little research and a few sources. The product being that, e-sports should be considered a sport, a job profession, as well as a suitable source of income. Although esports doesn’t benefit the world as much as other job professions do, it still is something people want to make a career. That is their passion. That is what a job really is. Therefore, it should be respected as one.