Traditional sports have an esports problem

in sports •  7 years ago 

From Venture Beat

Professional sports leagues like the NFL and the NBA are about to face a major challenge called “the march of time.”

Young Americans, or “millennials,” (the generation that was born from the mid-1980s through the early 2000s) are split in terms of their loyalty to traditional sports and competitive video gaming, according to an LEK Consulting survey. While 18 percent are undecided, 40 percent of millennials prefer esports compared to 42 percent who still favor old-fashioned athletics. A variety of factors can explain this parity (such as the rise of smartphones, the free-to-play business model, or Twitch), but whatever the reasons, LEK points out that established sports leagues officially have a millennial problem.

“Though they represent a large and increasingly integral segment of the U.S. sports fan base, millennials bring to the table a unique challenge,” LEK managing directors Alex Evans and Gil Moran write in the survey. “Unlike their Baby Boomer and Gen X predecessors, millennials follow a much broader range of both traditional and alternative sports as adults, and despite having less time on their hands, have a far greater selection of viewing alternatives.”

Read more here: https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/02/traditional-sports-have-an-esports-problem/?google_editors_picks=true
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Great article. The era of technology is evolving rapidly.
I'm sure we'll be seeing an increase of value in the Gaming cryptocurrencies like GameCredits and RoundCoin pretty soon. You guys should check them out if you're not familiar with them.

Good post ! This is one of the many things that are changing, that I have been watching change over my 56 years. And yes, one day soon, our schools will become academic institutes instead of "Sports Training camps", I have always hated that about the US school system. I am actually self taught, I learned more away from school than I did at school. Like myself all my children,4, all learned more at home ... Most of you are young, and probably did too. As with esports and traditional sports, the public school is, imho, soon will be a thing of the past, we JUST DON'T NEED public schools anymore, or a .Gov sponsored sports training center. Go kids !

Technology revolutionize our lives, as well as some old conception. E -sports are very likely to replace traditional sports in the future

What's really great about esports is the fluidity and relative accessibility. It isn't difficult to pick up and start practicing at a video game - whereas athletics require expensive specialized gear and/or playing field, going out and finding a dedicated team, and even then there's no clear way to enter the professional scene.

With esports all of that is simpler. You can start streaming your own games across the globe. And switching between games is far easier than switching between athletics (what are the chances you'll be able to play both basketball and football professionally? The skills simply don't transfer.) Finally, esports introduce genres and themes layered on top of the gameplay.

IMO they will co-exist. There will always be people watching and playing sports and people watching and playing e-sports.

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