© Evo / Robert PaulIn single-player communities, such as Push Square, the airports are overlooked. But make no mistake, this sector of the market is huge: the BBC regularly hosts the Rocket League and League of Legends the tournaments are now live on its website, while the UKIE sets the sector’s global revenue at $ 1.1 billion by 2020 – and that number is growing. Many world-renowned sports franchises – such as Paris Saint Germain, for example – now have professional sports teams.
PlayStation has acknowledged this for some time, and while its efforts have remained a footnote on sites like this, it may be worth looking at what it has done behind the scenes. Gran Turismo Sport, for example, has quietly become a large-scale sport since its launch; its competitive streams compete with real-life motorsport emissions. He has also sponsored various major events, such as the Call of Duty League and the Capcom Cup over the years.
Evo is the most prestigious fighting game tournament in the world, but its origins as an amateur community event made it a bit late. Last year’s competition was canceled due to allegations of sexual misconduct and there were questions about whether the event would ever return – especially with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic causing complications for conventions of this nature.
Perhaps it is worth noting that, as competition is already in a precarious position, it is unlikely that Sony broke the bank that acquired the event; we’re not talking about a $ 7.5 billion investment here. But this reinforces its ambition to become the home of competitive games as well as single-player games: the owner of the platform mentioned in a blog post that in 2020, players have spent their time 1.1 billion hours playing fighting games on his consoles.
But those of you who pay attention will know that PlayStation has been coveting this market for some time. The PlayStation Competition Center – an often overlooked part of the platform owner’s website – is full of events you can participate in, including games like Mortal Kombat 11 and FIFA 21 through NBA 2K21 and SoulCalibur VI. Many of them have small prizes attached, with events taking place almost daily.
In fact, if you’ve ever watched the official PlayStation YouTube channel, you’ll find that if you filter the trailers, there’s absolutely a lot of competitive competition. Many of these attract thousands of viewers; It is not difficult to imagine how Evo, as one of the biggest e-sports events on the calendar, will significantly increase its efforts in this field. A larger audience means more engagement, and Sony is tying its brand of action, which means more players on its platforms.
Sony clearly sees the Evo as an opportunity to strengthen its status fighting game platform, but also to strengthen its console position for competitive players. Sports may not be to your personal tastes, but the Japanese giant is smart enough to expand the appeal of its box; it’s already the best place to play story games for a single player, but the manufacturer wants to make sure that its device is also the de facto device for tournaments. All this means more players, more subscribers and, finally, more money.
What do you think about Sony’s decision to buy Evo? What do you think this means for PlayStation going forward? Reach the elimination steps in the comments section below.