Can e-sports catch fire in the U.S.?

E-sports are extremely popular in South Korea. Why haven’t they caught on in the same way in the United States?

A lot of it is cultural. Here in the United States, we have more entertainment choices than any other country in the world … and that has a lot to do with it. There was a culture in Korea that was very ready to embrace the growth of PC games and technology. That’s a country that has had 100 percent — or close to it — broadband penetration for a long time.

We’re never going to dethrone the NFL or baseball. But…we can grow e-sports to an action-sports level or a poker level, I think. 

One criticism that competitive gaming gets is that it’s not that fun to watch as a spectator sport. 

That’s a valid point. What we’re trying to do is show them that it can be. And that’s a lot of what’s going to be going on here this weekend.

It’s not compelling television yet because of the way it’s being presented. [In our TV coverage], we’re introducing players, we’re introducing the big overarching story of this global tournament that happens in 74 different countries —  the travel and the excitement and the camaraderie. But the broadcasts are going to be happening on a very human level. It’s the story of guys like Wes, who came out of nowhere. He’s the equivalent of the guy you see in the Olympics who gets up at four in the morning to practice the luge because he has to get to the Home Depot for his job by 10:00.

Do you think there’s a reluctance to embrace e-sports as a “real sport” here in the United States because we like to watch very physical sports?

If you were to watch our programming, you’ll realize that these are all real kids … and the stereotypes of the pale overweight kid in the basement, that’s not who these kids are.  A lot of them are in school, playing sports. A lot of them, actually, are real athletes.

I wouldn’t for a second say that an e-sports player is an athlete, but it does require tremendous hand-eye coordination it does require training and skill. And the bottom line is, when it comes to competition aspect of it … it’s just like poker. If there’s something on the line, if there’s a gold medal or cash or bragging rights, and the viewer is emotionally invested in the player’s story, then that’s compelling entertainment.

What can game developers do to make games more fun to watch as a spectator?

More and more of the game [developers] are realizing that they need to have that third-person perspective. “Halo 3,” that everyone’s been hearing about, has a lot of that. They had televised broadcast e-sports in mind when they produced that game, there’s no doubt about it. A lot of other developers and publishers are looking at that as well.

What games are the Americans best at?

“Gears of War,” “Project Gotham Racing 3,” “Tony Hawk Project 8.” I think Command and Conquer” we have a pretty good shot, “Age of Empires, “we have a halfway decent shot. “StarCraft,” “WarCraft,” those are going to be tougher ones to crack against the Asians…not just the Koreans, but the Asians in general. “FIFA” soccer, we have a very good player, he’s world class, but the Europeans tend to dominate in that one.

I think we have a great team this year. We have a bunch of really talented players who are really really excited to be here representing their country as the home team. We’ve got 22 guys who are going to play their hearts out on the playing field, so to speak.

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