职业电子竞技赛事成大牌赞助商新战场

    Riot Games公司总裁马克•美林称：“我们自己是PC游戏的忠实玩家，现在也在在线竞技游戏方面也很活跃。我们深信电子游戏也是真正的运动——而且也知道很多玩家都这么认为。看了韩国充满生机的电子竞技生态系统后我们就希望，电子竞技在世界其他地方也能这么成功。我们一直就梦想，将来有一天西方会有成千上万的电子竞技玩家涌进体育场观战，同时上百万人在线观看。我们正在努力实现这个梦想，同时向世人展示电子竞技的潜力。目前所获得的初步进展让我们十分兴奋。”

    今年Riot Games为全球赛季发放了800万美元的奖金。共有140万粉丝观看了韩国玩家SK电信（SK Telecom）T1与中国玩家皇家俱乐部（Royal Club）之间的决赛。新赛季将于明年1月开始。而Riot Games只是电子竞技领域的一个玩家而已。

    今年4月，美国动视公司（Activision）和微软公司（Microsoft）在洛杉矶为《使命召唤：黑色任务II》的玩家发放了100万美元的现金奖金。2月，维珍游戏公司（Virgin Gaming）在拉斯维加斯为艺电公司（EA）“运动挑战系列赛”（Sports Challenge Series）中PS3的《艺电运动之FIFA足球13》（EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13），《全美冰球联赛13》（NHL 13）和《疯狂全美橄榄球联盟13》（Madden NFL 13 ）的最佳选手发放了100美元的支票奖金。其他游戏公司为各种锦标赛发放的奖金则从36万美元到180万美元不等。而8月份，维尔福软件公司（Valve Software）则在西雅图举办的“第三届魔兽争霸国际邀请赛”上将电子竞技史上最高的一笔奖金——280万美元——发给了《魔兽争霸2》的优胜者。

    英雄联盟战队队长布莱登、“邪恶圣人”（Saintvicious）迪马克相信，电子竞技按照目前的轨道发展，最终会在10年内成为主流运动。电子竞技已经拥有的庞大追随者大多数是13到35岁的男性，他们同时也是广告主们最青睐的人群。但是玩家们能忽略电视，直接观看PC、移动设备或游戏机上的重大赛事这一点也让绝大多数消费者不了解这个日益繁荣的现象，至少在美国是如此。而韩国就有专门的电子竞技电视频道，像《星际争霸II》的职业玩家蒋星灵被大家视为真正的运动员，接了大量代言和电视广告。

    每个月观看迪马克战队比赛的平均流量为1500万。他说：“美国的电子竞技会更多按照韩国的模式发展，也就是大家能在电视上更多地看到我们比赛。大家会看到，麦当劳（McDonalds）和塔可钟（Taco Bell）这样的品牌将赞助选手和参赛队伍。一旦大家能像看到美国橄榄球联盟（NFL）或美职篮（NBA）选手那样在电视和广告上看到电子竞技，它就会成为更为主流的运动了。可能未来五年这还不太可能，但未来十年一定会成为现实。”

    每个赛季，粉丝们在电子游戏直播平台Twitch上观看电子竞技的平均时间已达到了100分钟。而由于流媒体应用及竞争的推动，在Youtube和Azubu.tv上，这个记录还在不断增长。流媒体使得职业选手能与粉丝们直接互动。职业选手在比赛时所需的手眼协调和大脑活动与现实的体育运动十分相似。

    职业玩家克里斯•“虎克”•罗伦杰说：“我们有训练营，有各种训练，还必须保持一定的体型。真实的运动竞技和电子竞技其实在各方面都很相似。《星际争霸II》的玩家每天训练的时间比传统运动员还长。只有大量刻苦练习，才能达到更高水平。我们没有生理极限，只要能照顾好自己，每天可以训练12个小时。这是一种脑力游戏，可以根据自己的意图想练多久就练多久。不过，这也会让人的脑力精疲力竭。”       

    "As core PC gamers who actively play competitive online games, we believe games are a real sport -- and know that many gamers share these beliefs," said Marc Merrill, President of Riot Games. "We look at the thriving eSports ecosystem in Korea and are hopeful that eSports can be as successful elsewhere in the world. We grew up dreaming of a future where thousands of eSports fans would pack into stadiums in the West and millions would watch online. We're trying to realize that dream and demonstrate the possibilities of eSports, and we're really excited about the early progress that's been made."

    Riot Games handed out $8 million throughout its global season this year. Over 1.4 million fans tuned in to watch the Finals between South Korean gamers SK Telecom T1 and Chinese gamers Royal Club. A new season begins in January. And Riot Games is just part of the eSports field.

    Activision (ATVI) and Microsoft (MSFT) gave away $1 million in cash to the top Call of Duty: Black Ops II players in Los Angeles in April. Virgin Gaming awarded $1 million in checks to the best PlayStation 3 EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13, NHL 13, and Madden NFL 13 players in Las Vegas back in February for the EA Sports Challenge Series. Other game companies have awarded purses from $360,000 to $1.8 million in tournaments. Valve Software gave away the highest prize purse in eSports history -- $2.8 million -- to the top players of its DOTA 2 (Defense of the Ancients 2) game at The International 3 in Seattle in August.

    Team Curse League of Legends captain Brandon "Saintvicious" DiMarco believes the trajectory eSports is on will result in mainstream popularity within 10 years. ESports already has a huge following with advertising's favorite demographic, males 13 to 35, but the ability for fans to bypass television and tune into big events on PCs, mobile devices, or consoles has kept the majority of consumers in the dark about this growing phenomenon, at least in the U.S. In South Korea, there are eSports-dedicated TV channels, and pro gamers like StarCraft II pro Jang "MC" Min Chul are treated like real athletes, complete with huge endorsement deals and TV commercials.

    "ESports in the U.S. will go more the Korean path, where you'll see it more on TV," said DiMarco, who's Team Curse averages 15 million livestreams per month. "You'll see brands like McDonalds (MCD) and Taco Bell sponsoring players and teams. Once you see eSports on TV and in commercials like you see NFL or NBA players, it's going to become more mainstream. It might not happen in five years, but I can see it definitely happening in the next ten years."

    Fans are already averaging 100 minutes per session watching eSports content on Twitch. And Youtube (GOOG) and Azubu.tv are seeing record growth thanks to the livestreaming of practices and competitions. Livestreaming has opened up the ability for pros to connect directly with fans. The hand-eye coordination and mental processing that is required for pro gaming is similar to real sports.

    "We have training camps, we have practices, and you have to keep a level of physical shape," said pro gamer Chris "Huk" Loranger. "Sports and eSports are very similar in almost every way. StarCraft II players often have longer days than traditional athletes. You can only work out so much before you push yourself too far. We don't have that physical cap, we can play 12 hours a day as long as you're taking care of yourself. It's a mental game. You can train as long as you want to train. But at the same time, it's mentally exhausting."