Is Splatoon An Esport?

The popular Nintendo Switch game Splatoon 2 has been making waves in the competitive gaming scene, but is it ready to be an esport? We take a look at the pros and cons.

Introduction

Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game centers around characters known as Inklings—humanoid creatures that can transform into squids—who use colored ink to battle each other in teams. Inklings can swim through their team’s color of ink, even up walls and through grates, allowing for creative movement options. Alternatively, they can use their ink to try and cover as much ground as possible with their team’s color.

What is Splatoon?

Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U, which released worldwide in May 2015. The game centers around characters known as Inklings— squid-like beings that can transform between humanoid form and an alternate Inkling form, which allows them to swim through their team’s colored ink with ease and use weapons filled with ink to defeat opponents. Players can choose from a variety of weapon types, including guns that shoot ink at enemies, which can be used to cover the environment or enemies in ink. Splatoon also features several modes of multiplayer gameplay, including four-player online turf wars, local multiplayer battles, and a single player campaign.

What is an eSport?

An eSport is a competition that is facilitated by electronic systems, particularly video games. The most common video game genres associated with e-sports are real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter (FPS) and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). Tournaments such as The International, the League of Legends World Championship, the Battle.net World Championship Series and the Dota 2 Asian Championships are broadcast live to millions of people around the world – making e-sports one of the fastest growing spectator sports.

What makes a good eSport?

In order to be a successful eSport, a game must first be a good game. To be a good game, it must be entertaining to play and watch. There are many games that are entertaining to play but not to watch, and vice versa. A game must also have a good balance between the two in order to succeed as an eSport.

There are many factors that contribute to making a game entertaining to watch. One of the most important is that there must be a clear objective for the players to accomplish, and the players must be evenly matched in order to make it interesting. The action must also be easy to follow so that viewers can understand what is happening. Finally, there should be some element of chance or uncertainty so that the outcome of each match is not predictable.

Splatoon meets all of these criteria. The objective is clear (to ink more turf than the other team), the teams are evenly matched (due to the game’s mechanics), the action is easy to follow (due in large part to its colorful visuals), and there is an element of chance or uncertainty (from the randomness of spawning). These factors all contribute to making Splatoon an enjoyable eSport to both play and watch.

Does Splatoon have what it takes to be an eSport?

ESports, or electronic sports, are a form of competition using video games. The most popular ESports games are usually first-person shooters (FPS) or real-time strategy (RTS) games. In recent years, newer genres such as battle royales and mobas have begun to rise in popularity as well. So, the question is: does Splatoon have what it takes to be an eSports game?

There are a few key characteristics that make a good eSport. First and foremost, the game must be easy to watch for spectators. This means that it should be visually appealing and easy to understand what is happening on screen. FPS games excel in this regard, as they tend to have clear line of sights and easily distinguishable characters. RTS games tend to be more difficult to follow, as they often involve a lot of small units moving around on a large map. However, some RTS games, such as StarCraft II, have managed to overcome this hurdle by streamlining their units and making them more easily identifiable.

Another important aspect of eSports is that the game must be fair and balanced. This is essential for ensuring that the competition is fair and that no one team or player has an unfair advantage. Games that are too easy or too hard are less likely to be successful as eSports due to the lack of challenge they present. In addition, if a game has hidden mechanics or strategies that give one team an advantage over another, it will likely not be viable as an eSport either. Splatoon appears to satisfy this criterion, as the playing field appears to be relatively even between teams.

Finally, a good eSport must also have a large and active playerbase in order to sustain itself over time. If there aren’t enough people playing the game competitively, it will eventually fizzle out. Fortunately, Splatoon seems to have a pretty solid playerbase at the moment, with regular tournaments being held for competitive play. In addition, Nintendo has shown support for the competitive scene by hosting its own Splatoon World Championship event.

So far, it seems like Splatoon has what it takes to be a successful eSport. However, only time will tell if it will manage to maintain its popularity in the years to come.

Conclusion

Based on the above analysis, it seems that Splatoon could potentially be an esport. It has a growing competitive scene, with tournaments being hosted regularly. The game is also easy to spectator, with a clear and concise user interface. However, there are some concerns that need to be addressed before Splatoon can be considered an esport. Firstly, the player base needs to be increased. Secondly, more tournaments need to offer prize pools that would incentivize players to take the game more seriously.