Tellwut Online Survey Finds Only 22% Know What eSports Is
Only 22% of Tellwut online survey panel members know what eSports entails and only 6% of Tellwut online survey panel members believe that eSports is a sport, while 47% believe it is not and the remaining 47% taking on an undecided stance. Nessiegirl philosophizes “when does a pastime become a hobby then a hobby become a sport and a sport becomes a game? “ The answer may come down to facts and figures, according to John Gaudiosi from Fortune Magazine, “the eSports industry will grow from $278 million in revenue in 2015 into a $765 million industry by 2018.”
A direct reflection from the financial aspect is that the number of eSports players and viewers are growing by the day and they both bring new meaning to the term armchair athlete. ESports also known as electronic sports or competitive video gaming is a global phenomenon brought to the light of day by the likes of various technological means such as streaming video and social media. Why the growing fascination? CommanderHermitBoy comments, “ I think eSports are a "thing" because, unlike regular sports, more people feel like they could be competing and winning if only they were a little bit better.”
The most popular eSports games among Tellwut members harkens back to the likes of smoky 1980s video game arcades, the top 3 most popular games were Street Fighter taking 19%, Super Smash Bros with 16% and a newbee League of Legends with 14% - the remaining figures were rounded out by other new games such as Dota, Hearthstone and Starcraft amongst others.
ESPN has recently launched a new vertical to cover eSports and the realm of competitive gaming. Chad Millman editor-in-chief of ESPN Magazine and website said ““We want to treat eSports with the same seriousness and credibility that we treat the NFL, the NBA, and major league baseball,” We asked Tellwut panel members should eSports be on television? Only 10% of Tellwut online survey voters believe that it should. Dexo writes, “Not much of a sports fan but I think it will go on TV just fine.”