One of the biggest industries in the world at this moment in time is eSports. The competitive video game niche has grown hugely popular over the past 15 years and is now a global phenomenon. What was once something to do for fun with friends during downtime is now a fully fledged professional ‘sport’. According to latest reports, the industry will make a massive revenue of $696 million in 2017 and will have 385 million gamers by the end of the calendar year. By 2020, the industry will be worth $1.48 billion and will have almost 600 million users worldwide.
The growth of eSports has seen the making of a number of documentaries to underline just how big it is and how far it has come along. One of the best documentaries and arguably the first is MTV’s True Life: I’m A Gamer. At a time when eSports was relatively new, this documentary introduced the public to the life of a professional gamer and what makes the industry popular. What this documentary did was open the eyes of the public to what it means to be involved in professional gaming and just how fun it can be.
MTV’s True Life: I’m A Gamer showed that eSports is just like any other mainstream sport. When this documentary was made, players were competing for a $200 top prize in a local bar. Things have changed a great deal since then, with hundreds and thousands of dollars now at stake in major worldwide tournaments.
Over the past few decades, the gaming industry has undergone radical transformation and has become huge. It is so mainstream now that, just like in ‘regular’ sports such as soccer, tennis, American football and rugby, you can place bets on games and competitions in eSports. For example, the upcoming Master Mazuma website lets eSports fans place bets on games such as Dota 2 and Counter-Strike while offering tutorials for newcomers looking to get involved in the scene.
King of Chinatown is another great eSports documentary. Released in 2012, this shows a human side of the gaming phenomena and underlines what it meant to be a gamer in the 20th century. King of Chinatown follows the life of professional gamer Justin Wong, who is perfecting his technique on Street Fighter IV. Set in the 1990s, the documentary is a great portrayal of the gaming scene in a decade when everyone had the Street Fighter bug.
Although set in the past century, the documentary will resonate with gamers today. After all, it takes time, patience, effort, and hard work for someone to become great at gaming, even in 2017. King of Chinatown is an inspirational documentary that is relevant not only to the gaming industry but to anyone who wants to change their lives. There are a number of other documentaries that showcase the rise and popularity of competitive video gaming, which will open your eyes to a whole new world and maybe even change your way of thinking about eSports.
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