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Anyone who still has doubts about the validity of eSports, or electronic sports, needs only to look at videos out of the sold-out KeyArena in Seattle from Valve’s Dota 2: The International tournament. Over 10,000 people watched team Newbee defeat Vici Gaming three games to one in a best-of-five format to take home just over $5 million of the over $10 million in cash handed out on July 21. Vici Gaming went home with nearly $1.5 million and the third and fourth place teams, Evil Geniuses and DK, also went home winners with over $1 million and over $819,000, respectively.
如果有人还在质疑电子竞技的魔力，只需要看看今年在美国西雅图KeyArena体育馆举办的《Dota 2》国际邀请赛的现场视频就知道了。7月21日，来自中国的Newbee战队在五局三胜制的总决赛中，以三比一击败了Vici战队，将超过1000万美元总奖金池中的500多万美元捧回了家。这场比赛的现场观众多达1万人。亚军Vici战队也分得将近150万美元奖金，第三名的“邪恶天才”战队和第四名DK战队分获100多万美元和81.9万美元。
While the majority of the millions of global fans watched the action via livestreams on their PCs and connected devices, ESPN3 covered the action just like it would an NFL or college football game. In fact, eSports has thrived thanks to livestreaming companies like Twitch, which back in May Google was rumored to be acquiring for $1 billion. But TV networks like ESPN certainly help put professional video gaming into the mainstream spotlight. And advertisers and sponsors are more accustomed to televised exposure for traditional sports.
全球大多数电竞爱好者都是通过电脑或其他设备观看的网络转播，但是ESPN3电视台却全程报道了总决赛，跟报道全美橄榄球联盟（NFL）或大学橄榄球联赛时没什么两样。实际上，电竞的崛起在很大程度上要感谢像Twitch这样的视频直播公司——据说今年五月谷歌（Google）曾计划斥资10亿美元收购这家公司。但像ESPN这样的有线电视网络，却使职业电竞比赛走上了主流舞台。广告商和赞助商们也更习惯于在传统体育项目的电视直播上打广告。
One trend that’s clear with eSports is the crossover into holding major events in traditional sports venues. Last fall, Riot Games sold out the Staples Center for its League of Legends Championship Series Finals. While 12,000 people watched live in the home of the Lakers and Kings, over 32 million tuned in to the livestream. This year, European Sports League (ESL) hosted a Dota 2 tournament at former World Cup soccer stadium Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany. And Riot will host its 2014 World Championship in October at former South Korean Olympic venue Sangam Stadium, which seats 66,000 people.
电竞比赛发展的显著趋势之一，就是将比赛搬到传统的体育场馆。去年秋天，Riot Games公司将全美《英雄联盟》冠军赛总决赛搬到了洛杉矶湖人队和国王队的主场——斯台普斯中心，并且门票被抢购一空。当晚共有1.2万余人在现场观战，通过视频直播在网上观看比赛的人更是超过了3200万。今年，欧洲体育联盟（ESL）在曾经举办过世界杯的德国法兰克福商业银行体育场里举办了一场《Dota 2》邀请赛。今年10月，Riot Games公司将在曾承办过韩日世界杯的韩国上岩体育场里举办一场2014年世界锦标赛，这个球场最多能容纳66,000名观众。
“Selling out stadiums shows how passionate players are about eSports,” said Dustin Beck, VP of eSports at Riot Games. “Fans from all over the globe will be tuning in to watch the best of the best LOLeSports team battle it out for the World Championship the same way soccer fans from across the globe came out to support their favorite teams during the World Cup. That level of passion and engagement translates to an opportunity for brands who are looking to communicate with this audience by bringing added value to their eSports experience.”
Riot Games公司的电竞副总裁达斯汀o贝克指出：“我们在体育场里举办的比赛门票全部售光，充分说明了玩家们对电子竞技的热情。另外全球游戏爱好者也可以通过视频直播，观看最顶尖的《英雄联盟》战队在本次世界锦标赛中一决雌雄。这跟全世界球迷在世界杯上支持自己喜欢的球队没有什么区别。玩家的热情和参与度，为那些想要接触这部分观众的商业品牌带来了机会。”
Russell Schwartz, president of theatrical marketing at Relativity said eSports is the new appointment TV, only it’s online.
Relativity公司剧场营销总裁拉赛尔o施瓦茨表示，电子竞技已经发展成一类新的电视节目，只不过是在网络上播出。
“Outside of sports on TV, which is the only thing people watch live any more, eSports is the best way to reach Millennials,” said Schwartz. “It’s a live experience that people can interact with online. It’s not that it’s a huge business yet, but it’s getting there. Television is so elusive these days, but with eSports we know it’s where male gamers 14 to 35 are watching.”
施瓦茨认为：“现在电视上的体育竞赛差不多是人们唯一还在观看的直播节目了。除此之外，电子竞技是各大品牌接触年轻人最好的途径。首先它具有直播的体验，而且人们可以在网络上进行互动。虽然电竞还不是一项规模特别巨大的业务，但它正朝着这个方向发展。现在电视节目的观众群变得很难追踪，但是我们知道电竞的观众主要是14到35岁的男性。”
Major League Gaming and Relativity formed a strategic content and marketing partnership across sports management, television, film and digital media in 2013. The goal of the collaboration was to accelerate MLG’s growth as a mainstream media property, drive appointment viewing to MLG.tv and further strengthen Relativity’s presence in the gaming space.
2013年，美国竞技游戏大联盟（MLG）与Relativity影业公司达成了一项涵盖竞技管理、电视、电影与数码媒体等方面的内容与营销战略合作。合作的目标是加速美国竞技游戏大联盟作为一项主流媒体资产的增长，增加其官网MLG.tv的观看人数，强化Relativity公司在游戏领域的分量。
Relativity used MLG.tv to promote this year’s theatrical releases of Kevin Costner’s 3 Days to Kill and Paul Walker’s Brick Mansions. HBO reached out to Riot Games and used the League of Legends online audience to promote the launch of the fourth season of Game of Thrones.
Relativity公司利用MLT.tv推广了今年的两部新片，一部是凯文o科斯特纳主演的《三日刺杀》，别一部是保罗o沃克的遗作《暴力街区》。HBO也找到Riot Games公司，利用《英雄联盟》这个平台向游戏玩家们推广第四季《权力的游戏》。
Earlier this year, Coke Zero kicked off its partnership with Riot Games with the development of the Challenger Series, a series for amateur League of Legend gamers to compete for a spot in the professional league. In essence, it’s a minor league system for players to show their eSports prowess and potentially graduate to the Big Leagues and compete for big money, sponsorship deals and free travel around the globe to compete in tournaments.
今年年初，零度可口可乐（Coke Zero）与Riot Games公司合作发起了挑战者系列赛，为业余《英雄联盟》玩家进军职业联赛提供了一次机会。它实际上是一个比较小的联赛，让业余玩家也有机会一展自己的身手。优胜者有机会晋升到大联盟，挑战巨额奖金、赞助合同，以及在全世界飞来飞去，参加职业比赛。
“We have worked very closely and collaboratively with Riot Games to create a league that delivers true value to the fans and players of the sport, and that begins to build an infrastructure for eSports that mirrors that of the more traditional sports,” said Matt Wolf, Coca-Cola’s global head of gaming. “To help promote the partnership, we recently launched @cokeesports on Twitter as a place for the brand to engage with fans through our activation with League of Legends. Moving through the end of the year, we will have a presence in South Korea for the World Finals in October.”
可口可乐全球游戏总监马特o沃尔夫表示：“我们与Riot Games公司进行了非常密切的合作，以建立一个能为粉丝和玩家带来真正价值的联赛。首先要做的是要为电竞搭建一个类似传统体育竞技的基础平台。为了促进两家的合作，我们最近还在Twitter上建立了@cokeesports官方账号，作为我们品牌与《英雄联盟》爱好者交流的阵地。到今年年底之前，我们在韩国的比赛和十月的全球总决赛中都将占据一席之地。”
League of Legends is currently the most popular eSports game in the world with over 85 million players across the globe. As a result, those playing the game professionally are working with some big brands. Erich Marx, director of Interactive & Social Media Marketing at Nissan North America, partnered with League of Legends Team Curse because he and many people on his team are gamers, technologists and fans of eSports and they believe in its potential.
《英雄联盟》是当下全球最火的电竞游戏，玩家超过8500万人。因此，《英雄联盟》的专业玩家纷纷与各大品牌签约。日产（Nissan）北美公司互动与社交媒体营销总监埃里希o马尔克斯就选择与《英雄联盟》的Curse战队合作，因为马尔克斯和他的团队里的许多成员都是电竞玩家或爱好者，而且他们也非常看好电竞的发展前景。
“Our job is to find audiences that are apt to engage with us and who will appreciate our content and hopefully share it with friends and beyond,” said Marx. “ESports are very innovative, and that fits perfectly not only with Nissan products, but our marketing strategy.” Nissan is using the huge social networking reach of Team Curse pro gamers to raise awareness of some of its online campaigns.
马尔克斯表示：“我们的工作就是找到那些倾向于和我们互动并且欣赏我们的内容、希望与朋友进行分享的观众。电竞是创新性很强的项目，因此它不仅非常适合日产的产品，也非常适合我们的营销战略。”目前日产就正在利用Curse战队知名玩家的社交网络影响来推广它的一些在线广告。
Red Bull has embraced eSports over the past three years, focusing first on Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft 2 and adding Dota 2 to the mix. The energy drink hosts its own eSports events around the country with top players and invites fans to watch live and online. The company also sponsors pro gamers and treats them the same way they treat real athletes, complete with health and nutrition tips to enable peak performance when training and playing in virtual competitions.
红牛（Red Bull）过去三年一直在积极拥抱电子竞技，一开始它把重点放在暴雪公司（Blizzard Entertainment）的《星际争霸2》上，后来又加入了《Dota 2》。该公司还自行举办了几场电竞比赛，邀请美国国内的顶尖选手参加，并且邀请游戏爱好者观看在线视频直播。另外该公司赞助和奖励电竞选手的方式也和他们对待其他体育项目的运动员别无二致，并且还向选手提供了保健和营养方案，以确保他们在训练和竞技中能保持顶尖的表现。
“A huge organization like Red Bull getting involved in eSports makes other big organizations pay attention and attract other big organizations,” said Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho, a Dota 2 pro gamer on Team Liquid. “McDonald’s recently sponsored an event.”
《Dota 2》战队的专业选手“恶魔”吉米o何表示：“像红牛这样的大企业参与电子竞技，使得其他大企业也开始关注这个领域。比如麦当劳（McDonald’s）最近也赞助了一场电竞比赛。”
Also blurring the line between sports and eSports is the fact that traditional Red Bull extreme athletes were competing at X-Games Austin in June for the exact same medals that Call of Duty Ghosts teams were playing for. ESPN covered the first-ever video game competition, which was hosted through MLG, along with the skateboarding and other extreme sports.
除此之外，还有一个例子能够说明传统体育竞技和电子竞技的界限正在渐渐模糊。今年六月在X-Games极限运动的奥斯汀站上，举办了一场由八支电竞队伍参加的《使命的召唤：幽灵》邀请赛。电竞选手们获得的奖牌，与红牛的极限运动选手在本站争夺的奖牌是一模一样的。
“This is another example of the maturity of eSports,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, general manager of Logitech’s gaming business. “We believe that eSports helps keep the X-Games relevant. ESports already has greater viewership online via streaming than many sports today, including the X-Games and many NBA and NHL games. It is not if, but when will eSports become the most popular sport in the world.”
罗技公司（Logitech）游戏业务总经理艾蒂沙姆o拉巴妮指出：“这是电子竞技走向成熟的另一个例子。我们相信电子竞技有助于保持X-Games极限运动的关注度。当前电子竞技通过视频直播，在网络上已经拥有了比许多体育项目更庞大的观众群，甚至超过了X-Games和不少NBA、NHL的比赛。电子竞技成为全球最受欢迎的运动只是时间早晚的问题。”
Even the NFL has taken notice of eSports. St. Louis Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold is an avid gamer who attended his first MLG competition in Anaheim in 2013. He liked eSports so much he bought Call of Duty Ghosts team Rise Nation Gaming, which was one of the teams that competed at X-Games Austin a few months after the Activision and Xbox $1 Million Call of Duty Championship in Los Angeles.
就连全美橄榄球联盟也开始关注电子竞技了。圣路易斯公羊队的进攻内锋罗杰o萨福德就是一名热心玩家，他还参加了2013年在阿纳海姆市举办的MLG电竞比赛。由于非常醉心于电子竞技，他甚至买下了《使命的召唤：幽灵》的Rise Nation Gaming战队。这支战队也正是几个月前刚刚参加了奥斯汀X-Games邀请赛的八支战队之一，此前该战队还参加了美国动视（Activision）和Xbox在洛杉矶举办的《使命的召唤》冠军赛，这场比赛的奖金为100万美元。
“I didn’t even know about eSports until last year, but I just enjoyed playing Call of Duty so much, and I was always online,” said Saffold, who recently signed a five-year, $31.7 million contract extension with the Rams. “I love the bragging rights. And now here I am. I finally see everything for the first time from a first-person view instead of on a computer screen. It’s all good for these kids. It shows that video games can bring you some money now. It’s not always a waste of time.”
萨福特最近与公羊队签订了一份五年3170万美元的续约合同。他表示：“直到去年，我还一点不了解电子竞技，我就是非常喜欢《使命的召唤》，而且总是在网上玩这个游戏。我喜欢耀武扬威的感觉，于是我买下了这支战队。终于我能以第一视角看所有东西，而不是通过一块电脑屏幕。电竞对这些孩子也是好事，它说明玩网游现在也能赚钱了，并非总是在浪费时间。”
ESports is definitely not a waste of time for big sponsors. Intel has been sponsoring eSports for over 10 years now. George Woo, who heads up the Intel Extreme Masters global eSports tournament, said the company entered the space to establish a marketing platform to promote its gaming processor online and offline to make it the preferred and recommended processor brand by enthusiasts and to drive purchase intent for all of its gaming products.
对于大赞助商们来说，电子竞技绝对不是浪费时间。英特尔公司（Intel）赞助电子竞技已经有十年的历史了。全球电竞赛事英特尔极限大师赛的负责人乔治o吴表示，英特尔之所以赞助电竞比赛，就是要建立一个营销平台，在线上和线下推广它的游戏处理器，使其成为游戏爱好者青睐和推荐的品牌，并且推动对旗下所有游戏产品的购买意图。
“Attendance to Intel Extreme Masters events has grown 10X with us filling up sport stadiums, where we have visitors lining up to get a seat to watch the competition,” said Woo. “Online it has grown 100X, where we now get more viewers watching livestreams for a single event than we’d have tune in for an entire season in the past.”
乔治o吴表示：“到现场观看英特尔极限大师赛的观众已经增长了10倍，观众们为了买一张门票不得不排起长队。而在网络上，这项赛事的观众已经增长了100倍，现在观看一场比赛的视频直播观众，要比以往一个赛季的观众都多。”
