Who knew that live competitive gaming would be so popular? It is not just a trend. Competitive live gaming has become a full-fledged culture in the past few years, with live events being broadcasted on live streams and live TV networks alike. This guide will help you understand what live competitive gaming is about, how it became such a big deal, and why you should care about it as well!
Live competitive video games have been around for nearly four decades now. The first recorded event was held at Stanford University in October 1972 where students competed against one another to see who could make their way through the maze from Pac-Man the fastest; however, we didn’t start seeing “esports” until more recently.
In live competitive gaming, a live event is played by two or more players on stage in front of an audience and live broadcasted either on the internet or television networks to viewers around the world who can tune in at any time they want to watch their favorite gamers play live. These events are usually organized by professional video game live broadcasting companies such as ESL, MLG, and Twitch that bring together hundreds if not thousands of people from all over for some good ol’ esports fun.
While today’s audiences love watching live-streamers play games online, there is something special about watching them compete against one another face-to-face which has become a new trend among streaming sites like YouTube Gaming as well as big cable TV networks looking to cash in on live esports.
There’s probably no better place to look than Twitch that gives gamers around the world the opportunity to stream themselves playing games or hosting talk shows while interacting with their audiences through chat rooms similar to most social media sites like Instagram and Facebook.
Although these streams can be viewed by anyone at any time throughout the day (daytime hours being most popular due to the live primetime slot for most esports tournaments) live competitive gaming is now also being broadcasted on major cable networks like TBS and ESPN with multi-million dollar prize pools making it a mainstream form of entertainment.
With an estimated global viewership of over 100 million viewers in 2016, live competitive gaming has turned professional video games into a spectator sport that’s expected to generate around $700 million annually going forward.
In conclusion, live competitive gaming is a commonly streamed live event that’s emerging as a popular source of entertainment.