Gaming is becoming more and more integrated into mainstream culture. Players and viewership are rising, and nothing can say that better than the phenomenal 2015 streaming platform Twitch had. Larger companies have taken note too as Amazon jumps into the game development sector with their newest game engine, Lumberyard. Yahoo is also joining in the fun as they start developing their own eSports vertical. Continue reading TriplePoints of Interest – Week of February 8
The eSports gods have spoken: watching the tournaments on streams is a hit and more! Check out the awesome statistics from the eSports tournaments of the past weekend as well as some interesting insight of how much time Americans REALLY spend on their phones and playing games.
Counter-Strike: Global Phenomenon
The stream numbers are in and VentureBeat reports over 27 million people tuned in to watch the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament at ESL One and noted that while Evo 2015 only received 248,000 peak concurrent viewers, it still saw a 75% increase from last year’s numbers. Writer, Jeff Grubb, notes that this signals a diversification of eSports content seeing brands other than Dota 2 and League of Legends grow at such a high rate.
Pass the blood samples
Two major eSports tournaments wrapped up this weekend: League of Legends North American LCS Summer Finals in New York City and ESL One in Cologne, Germany. PC World takes a look at the first tournament where ESL began testing players for drug use. Writer, John Gaudiosi, discusses the mixed reactions from fans and notes that other organizations like Major League Gaming and Riot Games have yet to implement such procedures.
Conventions got snug and cozy this year
GamesIndustry.biz takes a look at the move of Gamescom to earlier in the month of August, setting it less than 2 months after E3, and causing Nintendo to cancel their press conference and Sony moving their presence to Paris Games Week. While this meant press schedules becoming more compressed, writer, Dan Pearson, notes that this gave an opportunity for Microsoft to garner most of the press attention during Gamescom thanks to maintaining their presence at the show despite tight scheduling.
Smartphone addictions continue!
Yahoo analytics firm, Flurry, released data relating to US smartphone use and how it relates to the time spent gaming. GamesIndustry.biz reports that although time spent on smartphones has risen 35%, the amount of time spent gaming has halved. Writer, Dan Pearson says, “Flurry attributes this shift to three major factors: a lack of new hit games, with the top grossing charts remaining static; the rise of spectator gaming, as gamers spend more time learning by watching streaming services rather than playing; and the unwillingness of players to spend time grinding their way through games, instead paying their way to content via free-to-play mechanisms.”
Photo from ESL