How did the esports world live in the shadow of this pandemic nearly a year ago?
The esports industry, like the rest of the world, is living in wait for the end of the epidemic and a return to normality. All head-to-head events have been canceled or postponed to this year. Although the adaptation to reality without physical events occurred naturally, with the 100% competitive scenario contested online, the downturn in the investment of brands, which hold a significant weight in the sustainability of the industry, was a blow to the contests and teams events.
What are the implications of a community “shutdown” of the industry? How about the difference? And in the case of players, did you know that there are teams with athletes who weren’t always in Portugal?
If it is true that the esports industry was born, grew and lives its essence in the virtual realm, then it is the events and milestones in which the whole show takes shape. For teams and players, playing tournaments online is the same as having football without an audience, without direct contact with fans. It is impossible to recreate the social experience of a live event. On the one hand, especially in Portugal, the cancellation of events has caused financial difficulties for the clubs, which in these events have another source of income through the various activations that they carry out in a great way. the games. Players had to adapt to a reality without events. However, this adaptation occurred naturally, since the virtual environment is, as a rule, the esports professional’s workspace.
What are they affected by the most? In care? In tournaments? Did the competitions not stop? How did they adapt? Has there been a drop in contests or is it online?
No doubt about care. In cases where there was no slowdown in investment, there was a dead end, given the great uncertainty in the global socio-economic environment resulting from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the tournaments, even though they were held online, not only have they continued but have kept the same cash prizes. And those that didn’t stay experienced lows of residual
a the games a plus? And affected the industry that supports everything that revolves around it (equipment, for example?)
Being the games A predominantly home-developed activity, the cascading confinement the world was exposed to in 2020 has not only increased the number Players Assets also increased exponentially The link Content from the games And electronic sports. Companies like Tencent [empresa detentora, por exemplo, da Epic Games] Game sales profit increased 31% and video game sales are reaching unprecedented values. The same thing happened with the sale of peripherals and the games. In 2020, Logitech, one of the largest companies in the sector, had its best sales year ever.
Last year, the first e-sports conference was held in Portugal. Will there be a remake this year?
Yes, we did a very positive evaluation of the 1st International Conference of the Portuguese Federation of Esports (FPDE). Although we had to redesign the event at the last minute, after all the planning and agreements made during the year 2019 to hold the event live and we have in Lisbon many international experts from the industry. This undoubtedly tested the adaptability of the team responsible for the entire event. Due to the success of the first edition, we have begun to set goals and prepare for the second edition, which will be announced very soon. Like last year, it will be held online with free access.
Restrictions on the holding of juveniles slowed down the development of the sector in Portugal. Despite this, esports in Portugal continues to gain importance in society, with more entities participating.
In the opinion of the Union, how did the epidemic harm this region? In other words, at the end of the year, has there been any development in the sector in Portugal or are we at the same stage in March 2020?
Although the short term impact was limited, the restrictions imposed on events stagnated the development of the sector in Portugal. Despite this, esports in Portugal continues to gain importance in society, with more entities participating. From the start, organizations associated with traditional sports, which promoted investment in esports as a new way to interact with their fans, as a result of the period in which the usual competitions were stopped. But also public entities that see Games e E-sports as an opportunity to enhance communication with digital natives, primarily from an educational perspective. Finally, in federal terms, i.e. structuring the ecosystem and the competitive landscape, we have taken fundamental steps in engaging communities, clubs and athletes, as a result of more time focused on online work and increased stakeholder availability.
In 2020, the first postgraduate degree in esports appeared in Portugal, in partnership with the European University. What or what Suspension It was? Will it last?
For FPDE, the launch of the first postgraduate course in esports in Portugal by the European University was of great significance since the development of the sector is one of the main objectives of its mission as a federal project. The market response to the training offer and the faculty was outstanding and the comments after the completion of the training exceeded all expectations. For the second edition of the postgraduate program, whose registration is still open on special terms, the program has been revised and faculty members modified in order to better train and prepare human resources that will be highly qualified to perform jobs in the region.
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