Esports in China:
China’s global leadership in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the main reasons behind the rise of esports in China. Today China has grown to become the world’s largest esports market. The country has formulated a structure for conducting high-end gaming competitions within the country. With the increase in the affordable internet connectivity and the development of applications, live streaming of gameplay has become easier than before. Thousands of people gather in arenas to witness the professional competitions, while some watch on streaming platforms such as Twitch and Afreeca. The quality of gameplay, narration, storyline, functionalities joins hand together to raise the stakes of esports. This is pertinent to the online discussion by Chinese digital platforms and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for including esports as an official sport in the next edition of the Olympics and at the Hangzhou games in 2022.
The digital economy of China:
China overtook North America and South Korea to become the world’s largest esports market. The strategic move of China to establish an advanced digital ecosystem in the country has two purposes. The first and foremost purpose was to make the country the leading consumers in key digital technologies and industries among the other countries. The second purpose was to restructure their country from a manufacturing-centered country to a knowledge-based economy.
China has experienced exponential growth in digital technologies and user-consumption of digitized information compared to other Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia, India, and North Korea. The country has showcased significant advancements in digital technologies such as the internet, cloud computing, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and FinTech. This led to the rise of several businesses that are based on technologies such as esports. Several entrepreneurs have started to invest in a Custom Esports betting software to get into the competition.
China entered the esports industry in 1990 and has showcased tremendous growth in terms of development and as well as user engagement. By 2016, it has become the world’s largest esports market and continues to grow. The most popular genres are the multiplayer battle arena or real-time strategy games, in which DOTA and League of Legends remain to be the most popular title. This development of the esports industry has attracted several businesses, such as esports betting and advertising. By 2017, the Chinese esports market had become a billion-dollar market as it surpassed 1.26 billion USD. Currently, there are more than two hundred million fans in the country, with among them, there are several top-ranked professional players and teams. China has one of the world’s most advanced esports infrastructure and applications.
The gaming culture in China:
Although esports has faced several backlashes and public concerns over the years for its addictive nature, the Chinese government took steps to regulate the online gaming industry.
It ensures to decrease the negative impact of online gaming and, at the same time, paves the way for the growth of competitive esports at a professional level. The professional esports players who play at national or international standards are considered athletes. They are recognized exclusively by the Chinese government for winning in international esports competitions. China's national government has been a significant driving force for the esports industry and has always encouraged esports to boost the country's economy. In 2003, esports was recognized as an official sport, and until 2016, it was considered as a part of the fitness and leisure industries. The Ministry of Education in China offers an undergraduate major in esports. The government of China considers esports as a legitimate sport and as a source of national pride in the global economy and international goodwill.
China has formulated state policies for its digital economy so that it will be helpful to support the joint ventures along with foreign companies to increase the revenue. Several Chinese professional esports players have won numerous awards and medals at various international competitions such as the World Cyber Games (WCG). The first major win for China was in 2003, and after that, the state governing body of sports recognized esports as an official sport. Live esports competitions are presented to the audience, just like any other major sporting event.
The key strategies:
The fundamental strategy that China follows is to work alongside the global leaders in the esports industry. The Chinese gaming industry has collaborated with several major brands in the esports industry and to keep up the market inflation just as the previous decade. With their immense wealth and resources, they have acquired some of the significant Korean gaming companies, such as Longzhu Gaming. This helped to climb up the global leader board to strengthen its place in the esports industry. By putting several carefully knitted strategies to practical use China over North America to become the world's largest esports market in 2016. It also stands top as the most significant video gaming market and mobile gaming market as it gets more revenue than any other country in the world. Studies suggest that China generates more than one-quarter of the game revenues worldwide, Tencent and NetEase dominate the gaming market attracting millions of esports players worldwide.
In a nutshell:
With such a huge market worldwide, several entrepreneurs are approaching to developing companies to launch their Custom Esports betting application in the market. The millions of esports players all over the world are expected to increase over the years, and the scope of esports tournaments is getting bigger every day.
