Perhaps only more than ten years ago, it was hard to imagine that games could become a competitive event to enter the Asian Games, and even now even the Olympic Games are throwing an "olive branch" to it.

　　"When I was young, no one thought that playing e-sports could make a living. In fact, until I graduated to give a commentary, my grandma was very worried. She often nagged when I was working, played less games, and went out to find decent things to do." Born in 1994. Huang Yaobei started his career in e-sports commentary at the age of 20. As a practitioner who entered the Chinese e-sports industry earlier, he witnessed the "riding the wind and waves" of Chinese e-sports.

　　For example, in 2018, the Chinese team won the "League of Legends" championship in the Jakarta Asian Games e-sports performance event; at the end of last year, e-sports was approved as an official event of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

"The older generation may not have thought that'playing games' can now win glory for the country." Huang Yaobei said.

　　Not only that, the huge volume of China's e-sports industry may also exceed many people's expectations.

The "2020 China Game Industry Report" published by the China Game Research Institute shows that from 2019 to 2020, the actual sales revenue of China's e-sports market has increased from 94.727 billion yuan (RMB, the same below) to 136.557 billion yuan, a growth rate of 44.16. %.

Gaming interface.

Image source: Hao Lingyu

E-sports players also have a "golden age"

　　From "game" to "competition", this quiet change of concept seems to transcend traditional cognition, but there is a certain inevitability behind it on the soil of China.

　　It was the year of Huang Yaobei's birth that China realized a full-featured connection to the Internet, and the Internet era began.

Huang Yaobei said frankly that at first he just thought playing the game was interesting, but in a confrontation the opponent changed his mind.

"His exploration of map details even surpasses that of map makers, and he can always complete the attack unexpectedly."

　　This game stimulated Huang Yaobei and strengthened his determination to engage in e-sports.

With the increase in contact, he gradually realized that e-sports is a great test for participants’ response, endurance, and psychological quality. To be a qualified e-sports player is not only based on diligence, but also on talent. It's as simple as playing games."

　　In China, many young people who are as sensitive as Huang Yaobei realized the difference between "game" and "competition" earlier.

According to Zhang Zhaogong, director of the Game Design Department of the School of Animation and Digital Arts at Communication University of China, e-sports and sports competition have the same synesthesia. Although the players do not have physical strenuous exercise, they use the game medium to conduct cognitive strategy confrontation, which is also right. Challenges to a certain part of the human body.

　　Like traditional competitive sports, e-sports players also have a "golden age."

Huang Yaobei said frankly that professional players between the ages of 18 and 24 have sufficient energy to ensure a high concentration of attention. As they age, players will decline in energy.

　　E-sports team building is no less than traditional sports.

Tengjing Sports Co-CEO Jin Yibo introduced that taking the teams participating in the League of Legends professional competition as an example, the participating teams are generally equipped with coaches, team leaders, translators, nutritionists, and even physical fitness teachers and health doctors. The professional training of e-sports talents has further boosted the industry. Process.

　　In addition to the competitive age, e-sports also has similarities with traditional sports in terms of sportsmanship.

Jin Yibo said that if you want to become a professional e-sports player, talent and hard work are indispensable. Games are only the carrier of competition, and e-sports also requires players to continuously make self-breakthroughs.

The professional direction set by Communication University of China.

Screenshot of the official website of Communication University of China

Esports major is not "teaching games"

　　In addition to conforming to the sports spirit of constantly breaking through oneself, the combination of nature with science and technology makes e-sports the most modern sports event.

Jin Yibo said that e-sports is a product derived from Internet technology. Both current e-sports competitions and future e-sports product forms will have fresh technological elements.

　　The accelerated pace of China's scientific and technological innovation continues to give this new form of competition unlimited potential.

The industry believes that with the development of China's 5G technology and cloud gaming, the speed of e-sports computing is getting faster and faster, and it is expected that in the future, multiple people can share the same frequency to compete with the real world.

　　In March of this year, the "Olympic 2020+5 Agenda" released by the International Olympic Committee contained the expression "encourage the development of virtual sports and strengthen contact with the video game community".

Wang Guoji, the Chinese member of the International E-Sports Federation and the executive chairman of the National E-Sports Joint Conference, once pointed out that the traditional Olympic movement is facing problems such as attention, participation and decline in commercial value. After the introduction of e-sports, it is expected to attract young people, change and Enriching the Olympic format is a powerful impetus for the future development of the Olympics.

　　In fact, in this trendy sports field, China has already been at the forefront.

According to an industry survey, global e-sports audiences will increase to 495 million in 2020, and Chinese audiences will reach 163 million, making it the country with the largest number of e-sports audiences in the world.

The report believes that China has become the world's leading e-sports power.

Jin Yibo believes that China's e-sports has changed from a chaser to a leader, and the industry still needs to continue to invest in promoting the development of the e-sports industry.

　　As a form of sports closely linked to the times, there are still many areas to be explored in the development of e-sports. China has been working hard for the standardization and standardization of e-sports.

In 2016, "e-sports sports and management" became a college major certified by the Ministry of Education; in 2017, more than 20 colleges and universities established e-sports-related majors; in 2019, e-sports operators and e-sports players were formally established by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China For new occupations, national vocational skill standards for these two categories of personnel were promulgated earlier this year.

　　"Actually, the major in the university is not teaching students to play games." Zhang Zhaogong said, taking his Communication University of China as an example, he set up a major called "Art and Technology (Digital and Entertainment)". Allow students to freely choose e-sports design, planning, management or operation upon graduation.

　　Experts believe that, as far as the industry is concerned, talents specially trained for the e-sports industry have just stepped out of the school, and their scale effects are still to be revealed. However, it is undeniable that China's e-sports industry still has great potential in the cultivation of industrial talents.

　　"With the development of future technology, e-sports is completely possible to combine the physical and mental challenges. This is the most anticipated flashpoint of e-sports in the future." Zhang Zhaogong said.

　　Author: Chong Xing Hao Lingyu