Phill Alexander - Esports For Dummies

Esports For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Media and software compilation copyright 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020934234

ISBN 978-1-119-65059-1; ISBN 978-1-119-65056-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-65061-4 (ebk)

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 4
3. Chapter 5
4. Chapter 6
5. Chapter 8
6. Chapter 9
7. Chapter 12
8. Chapter 13
9. Chapter 14

1. Chapter 3
2. Chapter 4
3. Chapter 5
4. Chapter 6
5. Chapter 7
6. Chapter 8
7. Chapter 9
8. Chapter 10
9. Chapter 14

The last decade has belonged to esports. Whereas many industries face downturns, esports has been in a steady, almost exponential growth pattern since 2010. This past year, the League of Legends World Championship had more viewers than every sporting event but the Super Bowl. Franchises for the professional Overwatch League sold for $50 million. Esports is a exploding.

Yet, as a professional in the field, I am still asked almost daily, What is esports? People sometimes guess, Is it like Madden? The answer is yes, kind of, but also no. Esports involves competitive gaming, but the term represents so much more. The fact that you picked up this book means youre curious. Within these pages, you can learn all about the esports world.

Esports is a multifaceted ecosystem of players, developers, organizations, and fans. Entering into an esports conversation can be intimidating without knowing the lay of the land. Esports For Dummies means to give you exactly that: a basic overview of how the esports world works.

This book doesnt have the space to make you an expert on esports, but it gives you the road map to navigate the terrain, and more than enough information to speak intelligently about it. It also offers guidance for developing a career as an esports professional, for players and others in the industry. Esports For Dummies can help you lock in on your own goals and know how to start developing expertise. The rest is up to you.

A word of caution: If your goal is to be a professional within the esports space, you dont need to know every type of game or title, or how every organization runs. Most professionals focus on a specific game or specific genre of games and develop their skills based on that smaller subsection. Dont feel like you need to know every single thing there is to know about esports games. Knowing too much about too many games but not having mastery over one game can make you less effective.

Because esports is growing at such a staggering rate, bear in mind that some parts of this book could become outdated within months of publication. If you find that information you read about here has changed, dont feel misled. The esports world and details of various games and organizations change quickly. I was actually teaching a class on key esports titles when Fortnite was released, and I had a week to develop an entire new section of the class. Change is the nature of the beast. With this book, you discover the key information you need to know, and Google is your best friend for keeping abreast of the latest developments.

Because I get questions about esports almost every day, I try not to make too many assumptions. Here are the assumptions I do make about you:

• You have high-speed Internet access and a computer (though I suggest computers you might buy).
• You know how to connect all your devices to power and displays so that they can operate.
• You know how to browse the Internet and visit web pages.
• You know how to download and install games and software.
• You have an email account.
• You have access to all your passwords (email, computer, network).

Occasionally you encounter icons in the margins of this books text, and heres what those icons mean: