When Were Esports Created?
When Were Esports Created? The first esports tournament took place in 1972 at Stanford University. However, it wasn’t until the late 1990s when esports started to become more popular with the rise of internet cafes and broadband connectivity.
Pre-2000
The first recorded esports event took place in October 1972 at Stanford University for the game Spacewar. Students were invited to compete for a grand prize of a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. This event is widely considered to be the first esports tournament.
Games like Quake and Counter-Strike start to gain popularity
The late 1990s and early 2000s saw the rise of game titles like Quake and Counter-Strike, which started to gain popularity as esports. These games were popular among professional and amateur gamers alike, and tournaments for these games were held all over the world. The early 2000s also saw the rise of professional gaming leagues, such as the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) and the World Cyber Games (WCG), which helped to promote and organize competitive gaming events.
Local area networks (LANs) allow players to connect and compete against each other
The earliest esports competitions took place in the 1970s and 1980s, when video game developers and tournament organizers began hosting competitions for arcade games. One of the earliest examples was the Space Invaders Championship, which was held in 1980 and attracted more than 10,000 participants from across the United States.
The 1990s saw the rise of console gaming and the first professional esports leagues for popular titles such as Street Fighter II and Virtua Fighter. These tournaments were typically sponsored by game developers or video game magazines, and the prize money on offer helped to attract top players from around the world.
The late 1990s and early 2000s also saw the advent of local area network (LAN) gaming centres, which allowed players to connect to each other and compete in multiplayer games. The rise of online multiplayer services such as Xbox Live and PlayStation Network in the mid-2000s opened up a new era of competitive gaming, as players no longer needed to be in the same physical location to compete against each other.
2000-2010
Esports are a form of competition that is facilitated by electronic systems, particularly video games; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system is mediated by human-computer interfaces. Esports often take the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players. The most common video game genres associated with esports are real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter, and multiplayer online battle arena.
The rise of online gaming and streaming services like Twitch
The early 2000s saw the rise of online gaming and streaming services like Twitch, which would lay the foundations for modern esports. Games like 2003’s Counter-Strike: Source and 2004’s Halo 2 were among the first to be played professionally, with the latter’s Championship Gaming Series attracting millions of dollars in investment and sponsorship.
The 2010s would see esports explode in popularity, with games like League of Legends, Dota 2 and Overwatch becoming global sensations. Tournaments like The International and the League of Legends World Championship drew in huge audiences, both live and online, while Major events like Intel Extreme Masters attracted top players from all over the world.
What started as a niche pursuit has now become a global phenomenon, with professional gamers earning millions of dollars in prize money and sponsorship deals. The esports industry is only continuing to grow, with projections estimating that it will be worth over $1 billion by 2020.
The first professional esports leagues are created
While early competitions did exist, the first real organized esports league didn’t emerge until the 1990s when various console game developers and PC game developers began hosting tournaments. These tournaments were small and only attracted hardcore gamers but they served as a proving ground for future esports athletes.
The first real professional esports leagues began in the early 2000s with the formation of the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) and the release of the first Counter-Strike game. The CPL was founded in 1997 and held its first tournament in Dallas, Texas with a prize pool of $50,000. This was a significant amount of money at the time and attracted many of the best Counter-Strike players from around the world.
The CPL ran annual competitions until 2009 when it ceased operation. However, its legacy lives on in other professional leagues such as Major League Gaming (MLG) which was founded in 2002. MLG is one of the biggest professional esports leagues in existence today and hosts competitions all over the world with prize pools in excess of $1 million.
2010-present
eSports are a form of sport competition using video games. They typically feature organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players. The most common video games in eSports are real-time strategy, first-person shooter, multiplayer online battle arena, and fighting games. It is a growing sector of the gaming industry.
Esportswriters debate whether or not esports are “real” sports
In recent years, the question of whether or not esports are “real” sports has become a hot topic among esportswriters and fans alike. While there is no clear consensus on the matter, there are a few key points that are generally agreed upon.
First, it is undisputed that esports require a high level of skill and coordination. Players must be able to think strategically, react quickly, and execute complex movements with precision. This is arguably more difficult than many traditional sports, which often rely more on physical strength and endurance.
Second, esports also tend to be more spectator-friendly than traditional sports. They are usually played on a computer or console, which makes them easy to follow even for those who are not familiar with the game. In addition, many esportswriters argue that the commentary and analysis in esports is often more engaging and informative than in traditional sports.
Finally, it is worth noting that the vast majority of professional athletes in traditional sports are paid much less than their counterparts in esports. For example, the average salary for a professional basketball player in the NBA is about $5 million per year, while the average salary for a professional esports player is only about $60,000 per year. This disparity suggests that there is still a lot of room for growth in the esports industry.
The International, the largest annual esports tournament, is created
In May of 2011, The International was created by Valve Corporation in order to promote their game, Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2). It is held annually in Seattle, Washington. The first tournament had 16 qualifying teams from around the world and a prize pool of $1.6 million. The winning team took home $1 million. As of 2019, The International has had a total prize pool of over $30 million.
Future of Esports
Esports have been around for quite some time, but they have only recently begun to gain mainstream popularity. Esports are competitive video gaming tournaments that are watched by millions of people all over the world. The prize pools for these tournaments can be quite large, and the players are often treated like celebrities. The popularity of esports is only going to grow in the coming years, and it is already starting to become a recognized sport.
Esports continue to grow in popularity and prize money
The global pandemic has forced many traditional sports leagues to either cancel or postpone their seasons, but esports have continued to thrive. In fact, the popularity of esports has only increased in recent months, with more people than ever tuning in to watch professional gamers compete.
And it’s not just casual fans who are interested in esports; the industry is attracting some big investment dollars as well. In September, investment firm Immortals Gaming Club announced that it had raised $30 million for its new esports franchise, the Los Angeles Valiant. And in October, a group of investors (including NBA star Magic Johnson) bought a controlling stake in Hai Energy, an esports company that owns two professional teams.
With traditional sports on hiatus, it’s no surprise that esports are experiencing a boom. But the truth is that the industry has been slowly but steadily growing for years. Here’s a look at the history of esports and how they’ve become the multimillion-dollar industry they are today.
Early beginnings
While competitive gaming is almost as old as video games themselves, the first organized esports tournament took place in 1972 at Stanford University. Twenty-four students competed in the Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics, playing the game Spacewar on DEC PDP-10 mainframe computers. The winner took home a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone magazine.
It would be another decade before organized esports really took off. In 1980, Atari held the Space Invaders Championship, which drew more than 10,000 participants across North America. First prize was a jacket emblazoned with the Atari logo and a $10,000 cash prize (equivalent to about $31,000 today).
Conan O’Brien even made fun of it on his late-night talk show: “Why don’t you just stay home and play Space Invaders by yourself like everybody else?” he quipped.
The birth of competitive gaming leagues
It wasn’t until the 1990s that competitive gaming started to resemble what we think of today as “esports.” One of the earliest and most successful esport organizations was Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), which was founded in 1997 by gamers for gamers. The CPL held its first tournament that year, with a grand prize of $1,000 for first place (equivalent to about $1,600 today).
More traditional sports leagues start to embrace esports
In recent years, given the massive popularity of esports among young people, more traditional sports leagues have started to embrace esports as a way to connect with a new generation of fans. Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, for example, has partnered with EA Sports to create the eMLS, a competitive gaming league using the FIFA video game franchise. Similarly, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has launched the NBA 2K League, which pits teams of professional gamers against each other in the NBA 2K video game series.
