The world needs to prepare for an ever-increasing digital revolution as Newzoo shows that the global gaming industry revenue is on par with traditional sports, and Alibaba prepares for the long haul.
I’m in LA. My son is in the UK. I know when he’s bored. He wants to talk to me. It happens quite a lot, and there’s a dichotomy because I want to talk to him, but I also want him to get a life.
But what does that mean – get a life?
Teenagers, minus a car and money, are limited when it comes to what they can do to pass the time of day. Societal conditioning and the threat of ostracisation means games like tag, hide-and-seek and Monopoly are off the list.
They can’t go to a pub because they are too young. They can’t enjoy a game of British Bulldogs because they are too old. It’s little wonder, most of the time, teenagers act like the Seven Dwarves – well one of them.
Read!
Boring.
Go for a run!
Too cold.
They can’t get into the conversation with adults because we don’t hold presence, bullying them into our way of thinking because we know best. So is it little wonder that they lock themselves in their rooms and dive into the virtual world?
According to the latest research from the data geeks over at Newzoo, the gaming industry is neck and neck with the sporting industry in terms of accumulated billions. Sooner or later the betting patterns of the new age will switch from NFL, NBA and the English Premier League to Overwatch, PlayerUnknown’s Battleground and Dota 2.
Check these 2017 numbers out (thanks to Games Industry Biz for the scoooooop):
Newzoo forecasted that video games software revenue would reach $108.9 billion, and it’s looking more likely that this number will hit $116 billion. Santa Claus delivered $10 billion worth of hardware, with PC Gaming Systems and Accessories cornering $23 billion of that market.
Forecasts for the mobile market has inched from $46.1 billion to $50.4 billion, and Console revenue comes in at $33.3 billion, the only metric not expected to increase beyond that estimation.
My boy shed a tear when he saw the Avengers Infinity Wars trailer, and Thor Ragnarok was the nuts, but the gaming industry makes the movie industry look like a man in an 18th-century diving suit preparing to take on a mermaid in an underwater race generating 3x the $38.6 billion the movie industry makes.
All told, the global gaming revenue comes in at $149 billion, on par with the sports revenue estimates of $150 billion. And that fabled number of $1.5 billion in esports revenue by 2020 has jumped to $2.4 billion as long as the industry grows in these critical areas:
Success of local leagues
Franchising
Regulation
New game formats
Competition
Team profitability
Industry convergence
Look around, man.
I’m in Starbucks, and the only people not staring into an electronic device is Bob (he’s homeless), and the Baristas buzzing about like bees pollinating each cup with a hit of caffeine.
Read a book?
It ain’t happening.
We are cyborgs; we just don’t know it yet.
Alibaba Head We Will Lose Money For Five Years, But That’s Cool
Now everyone is getting stinking rich thanks to the growth outlined above.
The Chinese e-commerce Andre The Giant, Alibaba, entered the esports industry in 2016, when its sporting subsidiary, Alisports, partnered with the International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) to create the World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) – an international tournament that dragged 63,000 people from the beaches, bus stops, and bars of 125 countries.
And they didn’t make a bean.
Speaking with AFP.com at the WESG European Final in Barcelona, Alisports CEO, Zhang Dazhong, explained how the cigarette hit of instant gratification is not something they are after. They are in this for the long haul.
“We are prepared to lose money,” the Alisports boss man told AFP. “We can accept the losses now as we hope to promote this sport.”
So how long will it take for Alisports to profit from their involvement in the new age of sports entertainment?
“We estimate that we will be losing money for the next five years,” admitted Zhang before also letting us into the little secret that they lost 70% of their investment in their inaugural WESG event.
One of the ways that Alibaba will make money through its esports vertical is through gambling. Last year, Alibaba agreed upon a $4.4 billion deal to acquire Caesars Entertainment Corp.
