Why You Need To Keep An Eye On eSports 

By now you are probably tired of reading about and seeing the massive reaction and interest on POGO.  

It certainly opened up everyones eyes to those in marketing, advertising, media, etc.  

It has forced us to rethink consumer engagement and wonder "How can businesses monetize" this technology and ultimately figure out what is the overall appeal.

Ultimately what we all should be looking at is the mindset of the end user.  

What is driving 7-25+ year olds to spend time chasing imaginary characters around neighborhoods?

General speaking the "Why" factory is obviously the generation of gamers. 

Those that are embracing the culture of gamers are going to win.

Miami of Ohio video gaming is now a varsity sport.  

The Pac-12 Conference is also embracing e-sports and supporting tournaments and games between schools. 

ESPN has invested in the media rights to broadcast eGames.

Colleges are scrambling to create majors as the "industry" is estimated at a half of billion in revenue across events, prize money and revenue generated from twitch ad supporting viewing. 

The naysayers inside and outside of the industry don't understand the appeal simply because they didn't grow up playing video games our was part of their entertainment with friends.  

​Same people also consider social media as silly.

Pro Soccer teams in Europe and NFL teams are now signing e-sport players to represent them in EA Sports tournaments.  

POGO is clearly an indication that the culture is more than ready to embrace this form of entertainment and willing to spend time engaged in it as a participant.  

In my POV  POGO it sent the message home that this form of digital engagement is here to stay for a long time.

Now the technology is cool enough to get gamers out of their homes and into the streets in massive numbers is a game changer. 

The verification that users not only embrace new forms of gaming be it hand held, participating or attending tournaments that take place in 20,000 seat arenas is here to stay.  

​It will only get bigger as technology is built around it with the software companies like Nintendo and ES Sports. 

We will continue to see pro teams, leagues and colleges offering scholarships to not only players but the back end professors, administrators, programers, marketers, event operators and media companies scramble to recruit talent to this emerging industry.

So if you see this 49 year old running around the park this weekend with his kids chasing imaginary characters,  don't be afraid to join in and I would appreciate help understanding what the heck is a Pikachu?   

Please share and comment below your opinion and what you level you are on!  

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