Are Gaming and eSports One at the Same Time: Key Differences

Many people consider gaming and esports to be the same thing. Too frequently, esports athletes and gaming influencers are confused, and many people are unable to distinguish between one from the other. This article will help you to clear your doubts. Both are different in their aspects.

Are you Interested in Esports?

Electronic sports, or “esports,” is a video game competition. Esports are frequently planned multiplayer video game contests between professional players, individually or in teams. Although organized competitions have long been a part of the video game culture, until the late 2000s, most of these were primarily between amateur players. Since then, professional gamers’ participation and live streaming of these events have experienced a significant increase in popularity. By the 2010s, esports substantially impacted the video game business. As a result, several game companies were actively designing and supporting tournaments and other events.

The first such tournament for video games was held on October 19, 1972, at Stanford University for the game Spacewar. Bruce Baumgart won the five-person free-for-all competition, while Tovar and Robert E. Maas took first place in the team competition. So, who invited Stanford students to participate in the “Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics,” with the grand prize being a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone?

Who Plays Esports?

Even though it might be difficult for fans of traditional sports leagues like the NFL or NBA to imagine, eSports operate similarly at their highest levels. In reality, the NBA held a draft this April to kick off the league’s new eSports division based on the NBA 2K franchise of basketball-themed video games. With all the fanfare and ceremony usually reserved for players on the court, 102 professional eSports professionals were chosen at the draught.

Even colleges have joined in on the fun. The National Association of Collegiate Esports, a regulating body, has approved varsity eSports programs at more than 50 institutions. NACE championships award thousands of dollars in prize money, which is used to fund the winners’ scholarships.

A Peek at a Booming, Billion-Dollar industry, eSports

Esports revenue will total $906 million globally in 2018, according to Newzoo research. It’s anticipated that amount will hit $1 billion by 2019.

That is an affluent market for businesses, video game developers, and players. For example, the event in Jacksonville included Madden 19, a game from the venerable EA Madden Franchise. More than 130 million units have been sold as part of the EA Madden Franchise’s nearly 30-year history, generating more than $4 billion in sales.

Similar to traditional athletics, eSports competitors can earn a fortune: The prize money awarded at tournaments, which can reach millions of dollars, is often divided among the members of the winning teams. According to this, the absolute best players in the world can easily make seven figures a year. In addition, sales of tickets to these competitions help the competing teams and the event’s organizers. That well-known League of Legends competition from 2017? The event brought about $5.5 million in ticket revenue.

According to a statement by the video game firm, EA Sports postponed the final three Madden Classic qualifying matches to examine safety procedures for participants and spectators.

 

Gaming

Gaming is all about having fun

While some video games are played competitively by esports teams, all gaming takes place outside events recognized by the government. Its primary purpose is to provide sheer amusement and satisfaction. For instance, the majority of streamers on Twitch are gamers. They occupy their fan base by playing video games behind a computer during the typical workweek. They are entertainers who provide content for people who appreciate it and are good at what they do, drawing in tens of thousands of viewers at once. They are not, however, esports athletes as a result.

Top Streamers

It is no secret that most of Twitch’s top streamers, including Ninja, Dr Lupo, and others, didn’t get one of the 300 slots in the Fornite World Cup, the game’s first-ever esports competition. This demonstrates the considerable difference in skill levels between even the most well-known streamers and professional gamers. Unlike esports stars, gaming influencers are more renowned for their winning personalities and ability to connect with their fans than for their prowess in a particular game.

Mode of Gaming

Whether played on a console, computer, or mobile device, gaming also includes those who play games alone or with friends for leisure. Fun for one player that is adventure-focused and has a lengthy playtime time (up to 100 hours), sometimes includes puzzles and riddles, including titles like Fallout, Mario Odyssey, and The Legend of Zelda. These games are ideal for a gaming fan to play on Twitch with a small but devoted audience because they typically have a lot of attention to detail in the landscapes and storylines.

Mobile games, including Candy Crush and Clash Royal, are the last and by far the most popular type of gaming. These are the games that people enjoy playing and passing the time with since they appeal to a broad demographic of players of all ages. Nine million people play Candy Crush every day for an average of three to six hours, making it one of, if not the most, played smartphone games.

How Important Is the Difference?

Companies must recognize these distinctions to enter a market where gaming and esports are quickly grabbing the interest of the Millennial and Gen Z audience. A lot of marketing chances for sponsorship are built into esports, like traditional sports, because they are professionally organized. However, there are many other forms of amusement in the gaming category. Therefore, it also presents many chances for brands, but before businesses can naturally enter, these prospects must be appropriately considered and validated.

Because of this, businesses should consider how esports differ from gaming when coming up with their campaign approach. For example, depending on the campaign’s goals, engaging with a streamer to reach a smaller audience more frequently may be more advantageous than sponsoring a huge tent-pole esports event with 1 million concurrent viewers. For another company seeking longer-lasting interactions, the opposite may be true. Too frequently, marketers have erroneously combined gaming and esports into one category in their media planning with little regard for their differences. But there must be a differentiation if we are to advise our clients to make investments in this field correctly. 

Get in touch if you’re interested in learning more about the esports and gaming industries, the expanding influence of gaming on our culture, or how to effectively collaborate with streamers and esports leagues to attract the elusive millennial male audience.