ESport not true sport? Do not tell Ford that

Although people who do not know much about the sport are wondering if e-sport is really a sport or not, motor racing fans have already seen the answer to this many times: many players have successfully transitioned to real races with the eSport series like The Nissan GT Academy and the FIA ​​have even recognized their legitimacy with the creation of an official Gran Tursimo Sport video game championship.

And now, Ford enters the scene with the announcement of the creation of its first official electronic sports team – Fordzilla.

Beginning at Gamescom, the most important European digital games culture show, Ford has announced that it will recruit Fordzilla's national teams for France, Germany, Italy, the United States and the United States. 39, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as a European team consisting of star players from each national team.

"At Ford, we have a race pedigree that others can only envy.The time has come to exploit this know-how and apply it to the world of electronic sport – capturing the imagination of a new generation of virtual racing drivers, "said Roelant de Waard. , Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Ford of Europe.

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But it's not just fun and games – it's also a big deal. Vey big business – in 2019, the global esport market is expected to generate revenue of 1.1 billion USD, up 26.7% over the previous year, while the l & # 39; audience reach 453.8 million, or 201.2 million enthusiasts of electronic sports and 252.6 million casual viewers. Unlike the popular stereotype, the average player is in their thirties.

"The distinction between the real and virtual worlds is unclear, and the game is now part of traditional culture," said Amko Leenarts, design director at Ford of Europe.

"The best players challenge professional racing drivers in real life and many of our daily activities are" gamified ", ranging from the use of fitness apps to collecting loyalty points for a free coffee Exploiting the passion and know-how of the gaming community will help to evolve our thinking about what future travel will be – something we all value and are really excited about. "

This is not the first time that Ford has hosted a booth at Gamescom, which has more than 1,000 exhibitors and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. In 2017, the company was the first automaker to appear on the show, while last year it used the show as the European debut of the Raptor Ranger.

Ford has announced that its team will participate in several racing games, including Forza Motorsport 7, an exclusive Microsoft Xbox.

The Forza franchise is the best-selling racing franchise of this generation of consoles and is home to one of the largest racing communities in the world. Millions of people around the world play forza games every month and according to Ford, more than a million players choose Ford vehicles.

"We are excited to see Forza Motorsport continue to be the favorite game of major brands such as Ford in launching eSports initiatives," said Justin Osmer, Senior Manager of Partnership Development at Turn 10 Studios, creators of Forza Motorsport.

"With millions of fans playing Forza games, we're seeing significant growth in the number of people wanting to compete or just watch eSports – it's great to see a long-time partner like the Ford Motor Company offer even more opportunities to participate. "