esports - the next big thing is already here

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ESPORTS: THE MOXIE FUTURE EXPERIENCES REPORT A growing group of people are competing professionally as video gamers. And like real-worOd sports pros, they’re playing in leagues, receiving sponsorships and gaining followers. The volume of money they can earn is astonishing. So is the amount of time their fans spend watching them play. Welcome to eSports, the Texas Hold’em craze for this next chapter in our digital age. FROM NICHE TO MAINSTREAM >>>

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ESPORTS:THE MOXIE FUTURE EXPERIENCES REPORT

A growing group of people are

competing professionally as video

gamers. And like real-worOd sports

pros, they’re playing in leagues,

receiving sponsorships and gaining

followers. The volume of money

they can earn is astonishing. So is

the amount of time their fans spend

watching them play. Welcome to

eSports, the Texas Hold’em craze for

this next chapter in our digital age.

FROM NICHE TO MAINSTREAM

>>>

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various StarCraft II events, but also hosts 5HG�%XOO�%DWWOH�*URXQGV, a multicity gaming series where professional (yes, professional)

StarCraft ll players from across the globe battle to win a $50,000 grand prize. Another example: Relativity Media’s partnership with

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players at the highest level of skill and acumen play video games. As with traditional sports, eSports have superstar players whose

feats and achievements seem to defy logic. There are up-and-coming contenders, too — talented upstarts clamoring for their spots

in the digital limelight. With all these parallels to real�world sports, it’s no wonder eSports’ popularity is growing by the minute.

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times a month, with session lengths averaging 2.2 hours.

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Software makers and venues aren’t the only ones cashing in. Like

their counterparts in more traditional sports, top players can take

home hefty winnings from these competitions — in some cases,

enough to make a more-than-decent living.

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platform and community for gamers, for $1 billion. After three months of silence, e-commerce giant Amazon swooped in and closed

the deal to acquire Twitch for approximately $1.1 billion — its largest acquisition to date. In July, Twitch had 55 million unique

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The Twitch acquisition was a savvy move by Amazon. It will help Amazon build out its strategy to become a leading video content

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WRS�box doesn’t seem odd at all. In fact, it seems downright genius. Xbox and PlayStation� you’ve both been put on notice.

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Like real-world sports, eSports teams have avid fans and intense rivalries. Hundreds of thousands of people watch Riot’s League

of Legends Championship Series every week. How many traditional sports teams can boast these numbers before playoff season?

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the case for motocross riders and snowboarders in the not-so-distant past? Now these athletes compete on the world stage in

national and international games and participate in highly watched events in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

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ships with eSports software companies. Microsoft recently acquired one of the most popular video games in history — Minecraft

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and rich opportunity to connect with untapped audiences across multiple platforms.

Hollywood started dabbling in eSports earlier this year when Lionsgate sponsored a StarCraft ll tournament to support the

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Lionsgate is clearly making a proactive attempt to strengthen the relationship between Hollywood and the ever-growing eSports

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The implications are simple�

To learn more about how you can align your brand with the booming eSports industry, contact Moxie Future Experiences at

[email protected].

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Moxie Future Experiences (MoxieFX) delivers insights

on our digital future. We future-enable our clients by

identifying the implications of new and emerging

technologies, trends and disruptive ideas. We drive

brands forward by applying real-world digital and

physical solutions that lay the groundwork for

strategies, products and systems.

Follow @MoxieFutureX on Twitter.

Contact:

Moxie Future Experiences Team

[email protected]

www.moxieusa.com

© 2014 Moxie all rights reserved

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