Guangzhou Daily All Media Reporter Sun Jiahui Huang Wei Correspondent Mai Jiayi
A few days ago, the 39th General Assembly of the Asian Olympic Council announced that e-sports and break dancing were officially approved to be included in the Hangzhou Asian Games competition; December 19, the 2020 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao E-sports Open Finals and E-sports (Guangdong) Forum Guangzhou Taikoo Cang was held; not long ago, Guangzhou Tianhe District released the e-sports industry development plan, proposing the goal of building Tianhe District into a world-class e-sports center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Recently, the e-sports industry in Asia and China has frequently reported good news, and the e-sports industry is brewing a new round of accelerated development.
E-sports from the edge to the center
In the middle of this month, the Asian Olympic Committee approved the proposal submitted by the Hangzhou Asian Organizing Committee on optimizing the settings of the competition. On the premise of keeping the 40 major events unchanged, the two projects of e-sports and breakdance were added, and e-sports officially became Hangzhou Asian Games competition project.
This good news has aroused enthusiastic response in China's e-sports industry. The industry believes that this will pave the way for e-sports to become an official event of the Olympic Games and will also greatly promote the development of China's e-sports industry.
In the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, e-sports was selected as a performance event. At that time, the Chinese team won two golds and one silver in three events.
As an intellectual sport sought after by young people, e-sports has attracted the close attention of the International Olympic Committee; becoming an official event of the Asian Games will undoubtedly give the entire industry a "cardio boost".
Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic in 2020, many traditional sports events have been suspended, and e-sports and online sports are becoming emerging industrial forces.
With the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, e-sports has become a "pioneer", driving the recovery of the sports industry. All this indicates that e-sports is moving to the center of the stage.
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area adds fire to e-sports
The entry of e-sports into Asia is inspiring. The 2020 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao E-sports Open Finals and E-sports (Guangdong) Forum are at the right time, adding another “fire” to the development of the e-sports industry in Guangdong and the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
It is reported that the influence of this competition covers the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Since the start of the competition in October, it has attracted 387 teams, about 2,000 e-sports players, and more than 4 million online viewers.
In the forum session, people from all walks of life gathered together to conduct in-depth discussions on e-sports related topics and make suggestions for the development of the industry.
This forum is not only a sports event, but also allows e-sports to demonstrate its cultural attributes, build a bridge for cooperation and exchanges among the young generations of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and bring more possibilities to the development of e-sports.
Yang Yue, an e-sports researcher at the Research Institute of the State General Administration of Sport, said that global sports will face huge challenges in 2020, but e-sports will still achieve a growth rate of more than 10%. In 2020, the value of China's e-sports industry will reach 102.8 billion yuan. The number exceeds 400 million.
"Currently, the development of e-sports in China has reached the threshold of change. In the future, e-sports should be free from the virtual to the real, and more empowerment and participation in the real economy construction." Yang Yue said.
Guangzhou will build "National E-sports Industry Center"
On December 14, "Guangzhou Tianhe District E-sports Industry Development Plan (2020-2030)" was released, proposing the goal of building Tianhe District into a world-class e-sports center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which is also the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The district’s first e-sports industry plan.
The "Plan" puts forward a three-step development goal of "three years of progress, five years of round goals, and ten years of creating the future". In the near future, by 2022, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay with both pan-entertainment e-sports and international professional e-sports will be initially built In the mid-term to 2025, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area world-class e-sports center will be basically built into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area where industry and space are linked; The sector operates a mature world-class gaming center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Yang Yue said that many cities across the country are introducing corresponding e-sports industry policies and development plans.
The development plan for the e-sports industry released by Tianhe District this time shows that the government has attached great importance to the potential of the e-sports industry and also demonstrates the vitality of the e-sports industry in Guangzhou.
In the future, Guangzhou will build a "national e-sports industry center", and e-sports will become another city card of Guangzhou.