Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:09 AM on Wednesday, March 8th, 2017
First of all it’s the viewership,” said Woo.”Last year we had 256 million viewers watching this stuff. That’s supposed to grow to 345 million by 2019. So there’s a huge growth opportunity there.
You’ve got the communities, the competitions are getting better, more digital platforms like Facebook Live and Twitter – this is all spurring the growth of eSports. And then tech companies like ourselves – we’re learning too.
Intel “in the leadership spot right now” when it comes to eSports VR
In an interview with Intel’s esports marketing manager George Woo, our sister site eSports Pro has talked about how Intel’s IEM esports events could be leading towards better adoption for VR
The IEM is a collaboration between esports outfit ESL and the tech giant, and Intel are using this event to talk about their plans for virtual reality.
“First of all it’s the viewership,” said Woo.”Last year we had 256 million viewers watching this stuff. That’s supposed to grow to 345 million by 2019. So there’s a huge growth opportunity there.
You’ve got the communities, the competitions are getting better, more digital platforms like Facebook Live and Twitter – this is all spurring the growth of eSports. And then tech companies like ourselves – we’re learning too. We’re learning how to address those audiences and create those amazing experiences, pushing the boundaries of innovation. And this year is all about VR.
We are going to continue to be that leader in VR. Are we going to say we’re going to have eSports in VR next year? No. But what we want to do is get this top of mind, get people experienced with the head units, start with the experience showcases, and the next iteration is broadcast – in which we did League of Legends and CS:GO with Sliver.TV.
If people didn’t have the head sets, they can still see in 360. It’s just getting that option rate higher and faster. The more that happens you get AAA titles, titles that might be more conducive towards eSports that the community gets behind, and so on. And we want to be at the forefront of that. Because we believe that IEM delivers the best VR Gaming streaming content in the world, and you need that with the whole suite of Intel products. It’s a natural fit. That’s why we want to continue to do this.”
Intel could be a powerful advocate for virtual reality, even if they admit in the interview — which you can read here — that Intel are mostly interested in it so they can ride the hardware wave that increased interest in virtual reality can give, but a rising wind lifts all ships, and developers looking to develop in virtual reality could also benefit from Intel’s efforts.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:28 AM on Tuesday, February 14th, 2017
Nazara said it will invest the $20 million over the next five years in the league, which will be a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies
Nazara Games is announcing it will invest $20 million in a new esports league in India.
While Nazara Games is a mobile game publisher, the initial sports in the league will include PC-based games such as Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Nazara said it will invest the $20 million over the next five years in the league, which will be a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies.
Nazara Games recently reported a revenue of Rs 220 crore, or $26 million, and 40 percent compound annual growth rate for sales over the past four years. The company said it plans to build the “most vibrant and all-encompassing ecosystem for eSports in India, which can produce Indian teams capable of winning in global eSports competitions across different games.â€
Nitish Mittersain, founder and managing director of Nazara Games, said in a statement, “Esports has become a cultural phenomenon in the last few years. Countries in Europe, Korea, China and US have seen massive growth in the number of players and spectators. Asia-Pacific accounts for 44 percent of the audience and is the fastest growing region globally. Given, improving internet connectivity in India today, launching an eSports league seemed the perfect way to reach out to the large group of esports enthusiasts in India.â€
The league will have two seasons per year and will feature six teams that will be selected through open and free online qualifier tournaments. All players and teams from India are welcome to join this qualification process by following the online registration once the website has been launched. The progress of all players in the qualification tournament and their progress beyond can be tracked by the entire Indian esports community through live web programs.
Manish Agarwal, CEO of Nazara Games, said in a statement, “We are excited to provide Indian eSports enthusiasts with a solid and player/community orientated eSports ecosystem, in which players can thrive, improve their skills and become top competitors at an international level. The eSports league will not only be great for Indian players but also for fans. This platform will provide very extensive and exciting coverage of the Indian eSports landscape and will allow fans to track the careers and professional achievements of their eSport idols on a daily basis.â€
This is monstrous news for AGORACOM Client VGambling (Soon To Be Esports Entertainment Inc.), Which Is The ONLY publicly traded eSports company in North America (GMBL:OTCQB).  The company is fully licensed, regulated and now funded as of yesterday’s press release announcing an $850,000 funding committment.
We strongly encourage investors to start their due diligence on $GMBL. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have secured them as a client and make them available to AGORACOM members and visitors as we begin the campaign to the general public.
“People my age tune in to watch NFL Football once per week. Millennials don’t understand this, nor do they want to. Their sports heros are professional teams of video game players from around the world engaging in competition everyday. They can’t understand the concept of waiting a week to watch NFL, or days to watch NHL, NBA or MLB games. You can scoff or make fun of it – but it’s only getting bigger every day. Ignore it at your perfil but don’t say I didn’t tell you so. Â Investing in eSports today is like investing in the NFL back in 1970, without having to wait 35 years for hyper growth”. – George Tsiolis
Posted in eSports Investing, VGambling Inc. | Comments Off on Huge eSports NEWS … NBA Announces The Launch Of eSports League That Will Mimic NBA. $GMBL Is The Only eSports Public Company For eSports Investors
Posted by AGORACOM
at 9:57 AM on Thursday, February 9th, 2017
eSports Wagering Company VGambling Secures $850,000 In Funding To Launch Online Wagering Platform
“eSports Is Now An Unstoppable Force That Will Surpass All Professional Sports Combined Over The Next 5 Years. The Numbers Are Irrefutable and Simply Massive. I Haven’t Seen A Wave Coming This Big and This Fast Since The Emergence Of Web 2.0. The Professionalization of Video Games Is Upon Us and 250 MILLION Fans Are Not Going Away. They Are Shunning Traditional Sports For Real-Time, Global eSports Games That They Can Watch, Play and Wager On.” – George Tsiolis, AGORACOM Founder
“Fortune Magazine has reported that the eSports fan base will outstrip the NFL in 2017, while Chris Grove of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming projects that fans of eSports fans will wager $23 billion by 2020â€. – Gary Graham, President & CEO of First Capital.
“People my age tune in to watch NFL Football once per week. Millennials don’t understand this, nor do they want to. Their sports heros are professional teams of video game players from around the world engaging in competition everyday. They can’t understand the concept of waiting a week to watch NFL, or days to watch NHL, NBA or MLB games. You can scoff or make fun of it – but it’s only getting bigger every day. Ignore it at your perfil but don’t say I didn’t tell you so. Investing in eSports today is like investing in the NFL back in 1970, without having to wait 35 years for hyper growth”. – George Tsiolis
Posted in eSports Investing, VGambling Inc. | Comments Off on Small Cap eSports Company VGambling Secures $850,000 To Launch Online Wagering Platform $GMBL
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:08 PM on Thursday, January 26th, 2017
“Facebook provides a great opportunity to offer this experience to new viewers around the globe and with a new level of engagement,” said Blizzard’s college eSports lead Adam Rosen. “We were very happy with the two years spent working with ESPN on the program and look forward to another great year with Facebook.”
Arizona State’s 2016 “Heroes of the Dorm” national championship computer gaming team… more
Blizzard Entertainment
“Facebook provides a great opportunity to offer this experience to new viewers around the globe and with a new level of engagement,” said Blizzard’s college eSports lead Adam Rosen. “We were very happy with the two years spent working with ESPN on the program and look forward to another great year with Facebook.”
A Facebook spokesperson said the social media site will enable viewers to engage with each other around the world in real time in addition to providing statistics, team and player profiles.
Heroes of the Dorm is structured like the NCAA basketball season. The regular season, or group play, happens on the last two weekends of February and the first weekend of March. Regional competition takes place March 4-9 to narrow the field to 64 five-player teams, the same number as the NCAA tournament.
At that point teams are put into a single-elimination bracket that leads to the “Heroic Four†and national championship, both played on April 8.
College students have begun registering for this year’s competition, which was won in 2015 by UC Berkeley and last year by Arizona State. This year’s tournament includes $500,000 in scholarships and prizes.
The three of them now own 50% of the team which currently boasts a roster in League of Legends.
Founding brothers Cleber ‘Fuzi’ Fonseca and Carlos ‘Fury’ Junior own the remaining 50% of the organisation which was founded back in 2001. Fury commented: “The administration remains the same, with me and my brother, what changes is that we now have two world champions with us, which adds a lot to our image.â€
This story went live on Brazilian site MyCNB.com, and it states that this deal has been on the discussion table since the summer of 2016. The deal was finally put to paper in the iconic city in which Ronaldo was born; Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian esports includes teams such as INTZ based in Sao Paulo and interest is high though significant investments have been somewhat lacking to date. Naturally this investment begs the question of who the highest profile investor is in esports, and whether Shaquille O’Neal or Ronaldo is the bigger sporting star?
Esports Insider says: We’re going with our (English) gut and stating that Ronaldo is a bigger name than Shaq. With such a prominent backer, this should spell great things for CNB and Brazilian esports more widely.Â
University of Toronto has founded Canada’s first university-specific esports scholarship
Will be funded by alumnus and global equities investor Victor Xin
Victor Xin Scholarship in esports will be awarded to one full-time undergraduate student in Applied Science & Engineering with at least a 3.5 GPA, who has a “passion for esports or gaming”
Jphillips23 / Wikimedia Commons
The University of Toronto has founded Canada’s first university-specific esports scholarship. It will be funded by alumnus and global equities investor Victor Xin.The Victor Xin Scholarship in esports will be awarded to one full-time undergraduate student in Applied Science & Engineering with at least a 3.5 GPA, who has a “passion for esports or gaming” and participates in the UofT esports club. U of T does not specify how much the scholarship is worth, but does note that the first scholarship will not be awarded until fall 2018.“There are trailblazers on campus who are rallying a different set of students to build campus organizations focused on an alternative way of learning to lead and succeed in life,†Xin said in a press release. “Society may not recognize them yet – but we shouldn’t let them fall through the cracks.â€According to a press release, Xin played StarCraft while he was in the Engineering program in 2008 and started the U of T esports Club. He now mostly plays Dota 2 when he has the time.U of T joins a growing list of universities and colleges that have begun to offer esports scholarships. In 2016, the University of California at Irvine launched a scholarship program, while Robert Morris University and the University of Pikeville both kicked off esports scholarship programs in 2015.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:05 AM on Friday, January 20th, 2017
Members of Robert Morris University eSports teams practiced League of Legends in Chicago in 2014.CreditNathan Weber for The New York Times
In a recognition of the popularity of e-sports on college campuses, most Big Ten universities will field teams in the multiplayer online game League of Legends and compete in a style resembling conference play, in a partnership with the Big Ten Network.
Besides streaming competitions on the internet, the Big Ten Network will broadcast select games, including the championship in late March, weekly on its cable network, which is available to more than 60 million households nationally.
Riot Games, League of Legends’ creator and publisher, and the Big Ten Network — which is owned by Fox and the Big Ten Conference — announced the partnership Thursday morning in a joint statement.
In the first broadcast, on Jan. 30, teams from the Big Ten’s two newest members, Rutgers and Maryland, will face off, according to a Big Ten Network spokesman.
A number of popular games, including Madden-brand football video games, fall under the e-sports rubric. In League of Legends, two teams of five — composed of a set of stock characters seemingly inspired by fantasy novels — try to destroy a glowing object, called a nexus, on their opponent’s side.
In the Big Ten Network’s League of Legends season, teams in the Big Ten’s East and West divisions will play each other in best-of-three, round-robin competitions, and the top four from each division will then enter a single-elimination bracket. (The two Big Ten universities not participating this year, Nebraska and Penn State, are in different divisions. The Big Ten has 14 members.)
While lacking the mainstream visibility of traditional college sports, e-sports are wildly popular, even as spectator sports, among young people of the type sought after by both colleges and advertisers. Professional gaming contests frequently sell out major arenas, including Madison Square Garden, and several top European soccer clubs have signed e-sports playersas brand ambassadors.
Riot already runs a League of Legends College Championship, and the champion crowned by the Big Ten Network season will compete in the final rounds of that annual event.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:46 AM on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017
Esports had a big year in 2016, and it’s aiming to have an even bigger year in 2017.
After examining how different esports progressed over the past year and looking at some of the recent rumblings and happenings in competitive gaming, Mashable compiled a list of things to expect in the world of esports in 2017. We aren’t predicting who’s going to win any upcoming tournaments, simply taking a look at some of biggest scenes and thinking about how they could change in the coming year.
In no particular order, here are seven things you can expect to see in esports in 2017.
1. More eyes on the fighting game community
Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma after winning the Evo 2016 ‘Super Smash Bros. Melee’ championship.
IMAGE: EVO/TWITCH
The FGC continues to grow more and more every year, with increasing prize pools and bigger audiences than ever before. Street Fighter V’s Capcom Cup featured a crowd-funded prize pool that pushed the first place earnings up to $230,000 for American Du “NuckleDu†Dang. Next year’s Street Fighter Pro Tour will probably be even bigger.
Super Smash Bros. Melee has been attracting more attention over the past few years and was the event to watch at the biggest fighting game tournament in the world, Evo. With the possibility of the Nintendo Switch having a re-release of Melee on the Virtual Console, the GameCube game could be receiving even more love in 2017. Plus, the release of Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite in late-2017 will undoubtedly send some sparks through its fanbase.
2. A push for Call of Duty
‘Call of Duty’ World League Championship tournament.
IMAGE: MLG
In the first few days of 2016, publishing giant Activision acquired esports giant MLG. With the full force of MLG on its side, Activision has been ramping up Call of Duty esports over the past year, already doubling the Call of Duty World League Championship prize pool to $2 million in September and gathering a combined 20 million viewers throughout the tournament.
Activision and MLG won’t be backing off of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in 2017. Expect even more presence for the annual shooter in the esports scene and even bigger prize pools.
3. Another esports prize pool record from the Dota 2 International
This one is pretty much a given. The Dota 2 International has popularized crowd-funded tournament prize pools, using the method to ramp up its eye-watering prize pools to record-breaking numbers every year. 2016’s $20 million prize pool broke 2015’s $18 million prize pool record, gathered from sales on in-game items and features. 2016’s first place prize of over $9 million made everyone on Wings Gaming overnight millionaires.
Don’t expect the Dota 2 International’s crowd-funded prize pool to get any smaller anytime soon. The International’s viewer numbers continue to increase over the years and fans have yet to slow down their monetary support of the pro scene. Some year the prize pool will stop growing, but 2017 is not that year.
4. Overwatch League trying something new
IMAGE: BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT
When Blizzard announced the Overwatch League at BlizzCon in November, the developer laid out a vision that has never been seen before in esports. Taking heavy inspiration from traditional sports leagues like the NFL and NBA, the Overwatch League plans to attach Overwatch teams to cities around the world, host combines and try-outs, guarantee player pay and benefits, and put on LAN matches in every participating city. These are ambitious plans and will require a lot of work from a lot of people, plus outside investors who are up to the task of backing teams in a league that barely has precedent.
The Overwatch League will begin its early stages in 2017, not likely kicking into full gear until 2018. At the very least, we’ll get to watch the Overwatch League rev up for its success — or failure.
5. Traditional sports furthering involvement with esports
The world of traditional sports started dipping its toes into esports in late 2015 with three-time NBA champion Rick Fox starting the Echo Fox franchise. Since then, several big names in basketball and soccer have invested in esports teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers acquiring Team Dignitas. Expect even more traditional sports involvement in 2016.
With the continued growth of the esports industry, it won’t be a surprise to see more traditional sports players, executives and teams getting into esports. The incoming money and experience pouring in will probably help esports mature as a whole, give teams more staying power and help stabilize the competitive gaming scene.
6. An over-saturated Counter-Strike schedule
Fernando ‘Fer’ Alverenga at the ELeague Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
IMAGE: DANIEL SHIREY/GETTY IMAGES
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive hit the ground running when it came out in 2012 and reached its saturation point in 2016. More tournaments kept popping up around the world, each of them featuring pretty enticing prize pools for pro teams. But bouncing to a different corner of the earth every single week (or even twice a week) has a toll on players, and teams had to start being more selective over the past year.
So far, CS:GO isn’t looking any less cluttered in 2017. DreamHack alone has already scheduled 10 CS:GO tournaments with prize pools $100,000 or higher in five different countries. Throw in ESL’s tournaments and Pro Leagues, PEA’s new league, Intel Extreme Masters, StarSeries, ELeague and Esports Championship Series — none of which have given any indication of stopping — and 2017 is looking congested before it has even begun. So many tournaments could lead to burnout, not just for players but also for casters and analysts who have to fly all around to world every week to do their jobs.
The only thing that could stop the oversaturation is league exclusivity, which is something that has come up with the PEA, which won’t allow its seven-member teams to compete in ESL’s Pro League if they compete in the first season of PEA. While that may cut back on player burnout, teams are apprehensive to sign with one organization over the other, especially one that is so new.
7. Big changes in League of Legends
League of Legends had a tumultuous 2016.
Many problems around League of Legends and its developer Riot Games were brought to light thanks to a public spat between Riot co-founder and co-CEO Marc Merrill and Team SoloMid CEO Andy Dinh, which was followed by a letter outlining issues in the League of Legends pro scene sent by over a dozen teams in November. Teams’ problems include a lack of sustainable compensation, restrictions on sponsorships and outside revenue, lack of access to their own players at tournaments, and lack of job security and revenue security from relegation.
With so many grievances being aired in public, Riot Games has already started adapting. For 2016’s League of Legends Worlds, Riot attempted to solve problems with team revenue by introducing a crowd-funded prize pool via sales of in-game items (just like Dota 2 does) and sharing revenues with teams for sales of team-branded items. That’s a small improvement, and if Riot wants to keep teams competing in its own pro leagues, it will have to step up in 2017.
On another side of League, Riot has sold exclusive streaming rights of the game to BAMTech, which was created by the MLB and partially owned by Disney. This may mean an independent service for watching League matches in the near future, which could mean a premium (AKA not free) streaming experience outside of Twitch. Whether or not this will work for League of Legends is yet to be seen, but it will be an interesting new direction and test for esports as a whole. We will see if it inspires similar steps from other developers and publishers.
