Esports vs “Real” Sports
By: Cheryl Foil
Tags: Esports, Gaming, League of Legends, Overwatch, Technology

Esports vs “Real” Sports

I’ve been an esports player and fan since Starcraft LAN parties in the early 2000’s, and I couldn’t be more excited about where esports are going. Between Blizzard’s OverWatch League announcement and the acquisition of Team Liquid by Monumental Sports, it’s clear that things are changing. Players can now expect sponsorships and salaries. Sports and esports practices are starting to converge.

But some huge, fundamental differences exist between esports and sports that cannot be ignored by anyone more than recreationally interested in the space. So, here’s my list of 10 things that differentiate esports from “real” sports for those of you that still prefer soccer to Starcraft.

1. The core audience is niche.

Traditional sports are mainstream. Esports were created for and by a subculture. It’s not the same culture that created football, baseball, and hockey. The esport audience (for now) somewhat mirrors the demographics and characteristics of gamers and game developers.

But, you might be surprised. Compared to the general population and to all gamers, esports fans are:

More likely to be a millennial Wealthier, and more likely employed More likely to be male

But wait, wasn’t I supposed to say esports fans are more introverted, weirder, or geekier?

I’ll let this very normal picture from an Oakland Raiders Game speak for itself.

2. There are no referees.

In traditional sports, you have to remember the rules and play by them: if you touch the soccer ball with your hands, the other team gets a penalty kick.

In esports, the rules are embedded in gameplay. You physically cannot touch the soccer ball with your hands. The game won’t let you. Since it’s impossible to break the rules, you don’t need a referee watching for in-game violations.

In esports, the rules are embedded in gameplay.

3. The rules change.

Every few months, game studios update the rules. Sometimes this is to make things fairer, sometimes just to keep the game interesting.

If hockey rules worked like esports, it would look something like this:

— Season 1: Ice now has less friction.

— Season 2: All goalies move 20% slower.

— Season 3: Goalies can now use two sticks.

This keeps the game new. It also makes esports more difficult to understand than traditional sports.

4. The games are more complex.

Because rules are programmed directly into the game and change regularly, it can take years to fully understand a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) like League of Legends or a Real Time Strategy Game (RTS) like Starcraft II.

This will likely change over time. As more money gets involved and esports cater to a broader audience, games are already getting better at visual cues and statistics to help casual fans understand what’s happening.

5. The games change.

New games come out, old games die. This is great for the core esport audience since it keeps things fresh. But it also makes it hard to accomplish structured objectives like building arenas and investing in branding, merchandise, and leagues.

Popular esports in 2012:

DoTA 1, Counter-Strike, Starcraft II, League of Legends

Popular esports in 2016:

Counter-Strike GO, Overwatch, Hearthstone, League of Legends, DOTA 2

6. There are many, many, many leagues.

Anybody can make a league, which means there are a lot of them. Here’s a current example on DotaBuff of just how many leagues are out there.)

In sports, there is usually one big league, maybe a few minor leagues, and a few large tournaments (football has the NFL and Superbowl). But in esports, there can be several “official” leagues, an unlimited amount of tournaments and events, and same teams can play in all of them.

The Riot Games World Championship at Sangam. [Riot Games]

Anyone with enough money and motivation could start a league, put up a large cash prize, and (with effective management and promotion) have little shortage of interested participants. If traditional sports worked like this, anybody with the resources to do so could essentially host their own Superbowl.

7. It’s global.

Esports live on the internet, so you can watch or compete from anywhere. That gives nearly every tournament an amazing, Olympic-like tension. (Go USA!)

You could even argue that esports are fundamentally intergalactic.

Live long and get rekt, noob. [Life at UofT]

8. Viewership is less dedicated.

While traditional sports are broadcast through television, esports usually reach their viewers through live streaming.

It’s more difficult to hold a dedicated audience (and reach them with ads) through streaming than TV. When there’s so much content available on the internet, it’s easier to switch your attention elsewhere.

As an example, this was my weekend:

Television: BlizzCon Hearthstone Championship

iPad: ESL One Frankfurt 2016 Qualifiers

Computer: DoTA Personalities streaming on Twitch

Do you think I paid attention to any advertisements at all? Nope. I just turned my attention to one of the other three screens I was watching. And that brings me to…

9. Advertising and sponsorship is harder.

Since internet fame is not gated by brands or media, authenticity, intimacy, and content matter more than institutional support. Star players won’t necessarily give up trolling people on Twitch to earn endorsements — if they do, they can lose their fanbases.

Moreover, esports fame is ephemeral. Players can be good one year and completely irrelevant the next due to gameplay changes. Coaches leave to attend college. Team names and ownership shift dramatically and often.

All of this makes traditional sponsorship and team management difficult.

10. Esports teams are structured differently than sports teams.

The players are transient, the games change, the rules evolve, and there are a lot of leagues. Viewership and income sources are fragmented and decentralized. As a result, big esports teams look and act more like brand franchises than monolithic businesses.

Most institutional team brands like Team Liquid and Cloud 9 have multiple teams for different esport games, including Dota 2, League of legends, Starcraft II, and CS:GO.

This sounds confusing, but everything on the ground — what sports are hot, which teams are good, which teams exist — can change in the space of a month. This construct allows the brand to stay above the volatility in the trenches: Team Fnatic endures, even as its individual esports teams come and go.