The future of competitive gaming is bright

Video games have been around for decades. Pong, Atari, and Pac-Man are just a few of the classics we all know and love. Since the beginning, video games have done nothing but increase in popularity and revenue. It’s my opinion that within the next five years, video game and eSports will make a historic jump. eSports is a form of competition using video games and it has never been more popular than it is today. I’m sure the majority of you reading this article have heard of a video game called Fortnite, it has completely taken over the video gaming community and eSports world. In a nutshell, you are a single player, you airdrop onto a large island with ninety-nine other players. You must run around and collect weapons and “harvest” materials to build shelter. It’s every man for himself, last man standing wins.

Fortnite has truly revolutionized the gaming industry to the point where other gaming companies are changing their model to resemble that of Fortnite. It has broken the record for most online players at a single time. According to http://www.digitaltrends.com Fortnite had a record 3.4 million players playing at once. A craze that also has swept across the eSports world is streaming. Millions and millions of people log onto YouTubeGaming, Twitch.tv, and other platforms to watch the professionals play all sorts of competitive video games. These professionals surprisingly make professional athlete money as well. The hottest name in eSports right now is Ninja, which of course isn’t this professional’s real name. Tyler Blevins is a 27 year old who confirmed with a Forbes contributor that he is making $500,000/month streaming his Fortnite games on Twitch. He has sponsors, fans and millions of followers on all social media platforms. The world of competition is changing in front of our eyes.

Personally, I am a huge fan of anything competitive. Ask anyone who knows me, if someone is going to win and someone is going to lose, I want to watch it. eSports is becoming wildly popular among the younger generation. Parents are hiring eSport coaches for their kids. One of the leaders in this new video game coaching industry is http://www.gamersensei.com . Parents are hiring coaches from companies like Gamersensei like you would hire a coach for batting practice or swimming. In 2015 eSport competitions generated an astonishing $325 million in revenue. It has only increased since then. You might not consider these professional gamers true athletes, but their focus, strategy, hand eye coordination, and determination to be the best is what makes them better than us. They may not be able to throw a hail mary or hit a homerun, but they sure can outplay the vast majority of the rest of the world in their respective field. When you really get down to it, competitive gaming might just be the next big thing, I don’t believe the NFL, MLB, NBA, etc are going anywhere in the foreseeable future, but I think eSports will take a large chunk of kids from playing little league and getting sports scholarships. There are already multiple eSport scholarships available to students throughout the country. More and more schools will start giving out eSport scholarships as long as the industry is bringing in the money it already is. “Go outside and play” was something I grew up hearing and embracing. I loved the outdoors, I grew up with splinters, poison ivy and scraped knees. I also loved my Street Fighter and Yoshi’s Story on Super Nintendo. Now, don’t get me wrong, don’t get lazy, go outside and get your vitamin D, but next time Mom or Dad says you play too much, you’ve at least got a decent rebuttal. Large paychecks, scholarships and national recognition are all very enticing.