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Though it may not seem that way for people unfamiliar with online gaming, esports did not burst onto the scene overnight. The historical roots of modern esports stretch back for decades, and a series of gradual changes have all come together to create the industry we know today. Learning about these origins can help garner a deeper appreciation for esports, while also developing an understanding of where your program fits into its ongoing story.
Gaming’s Past
Organized esports’ beginnings can be linked with the invention of video games. From the early days in the 1970s, a large component of the appeal of games like Pong and Pinball was the opportunity presented to players to compete for the highest score. Gaming quickly became a social activity, where groups of friends could organize, gather and best each other in friendly rivalry.
About 10 years ago, game developers in South Korea and Japan began expanding on the community aspect of gaming with more robust, cooperative multiplayer capabilities. These advances exploded in the international market and created an entire industry around team-based esports, second only to soccer in its popularity as a competitive activity.
Our Present
With the growth in esports, K-12 and higher education schools have increasingly seen the value in offering students opportunities to explore that interest. In higher education, this is largely driven by admission and retention. Recent research has shown that while only about 30 percent of college freshmen have played a traditional sport, 90 percent have played video games. Dedicated esports facilities offer students the chance to engage with each other in a face-to-face atmosphere or participate on competitive teams instead of gaming individually from their room. When students find a community on campus, they are happier, healthier and more likely to find a reason to stay and flourish, which in turn helps the school financially.
In public K-12, where admission is more guaranteed, the appeal of launching an esports program is often the bridge it creates to essential life skills, health and wellness. Online gaming is a lot like social media. Players can connect with anyone in the world and communicate online with anonymity, which could produce negative interactions for young people still developing their social intelligence. Offering gaming in a supervised and secure environment allows students to explore interests and potential career paths while also developing healthy interpersonal skills.
Your Future
As esports programs continue to expand into school settings, they exhibit the same theme that drove developers to expand multiplayer capabilities in the gaming market: together is always better. The most important way to ensure success is to approach the set-up of an esports program by focusing on student success and working with partners who can apply those values from start to finish.
For a more expanded explanation of these concepts and details on how you can apply them to your own esports program, check out our video series.