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NEW YORK (AP) – The Overwatch League has planted its flag on top of the mountain of esports. But just like his twitchy-inch superstars, the first circuit can not afford to sit still.
Not as long as Fortnite commands the rest of the games universe.
The Fortnite phenomenon put Overwatch in a strange position. The inaugural season of the Overwatch League has been an outstanding success, but the Blizzard Entertainment 6-on-6 first-person shooter is not the most popular video game in the world. It would be Fortnite, a royal battle that transcended the games and broke in the mainstream, unlike any title of years. Overwatch executives claim that they are not nearly panicked because of a big gamble: their deep pockets and their impressive infrastructure can prevent Fortnite from getting a fee for the crown.
THE LEAGUE
A well-sold game does not necessarily make for elite sports – the latter requires a professional circuit, loyal fans and a product as enjoyable to watch as it is to play.
The Overwatch League set the standard for esports in its first season. Ten million fans watched his opening weekend, and 100-150 thousand tuned for every second of the regular season. The two-night league championship sold the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and the opening night was broadcast live on ESPN, the first live broadcast of esports in prime time. The league has a fierce and important crowd of fans, big investors like Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and the momentum of a monumental first season.
FORMULABLE FORTNITIS
Still, video players are clearly more voracious for Fortnite. The Epic Games attack title has 125 million global players, compared with 40 million for Overwatch. Perhaps more discordant, Google's search for "Fortnite" has exceeded "Overwatch" 14-to-1 in the week before the Grand Final Overwatch League.
Fortnite's crossover appeal is unmatched, a fact recently exposed when Frenchman Antoine Griezmann celebrated a goal in the World Cup final with a dance movement popularized by the game.
How could Overwatch not be terrified at the thought of a competitor having this kind of organic reach?
Simple: He does not see Fortnite as a competition – for the moment.
"Right now, Fortnite is 99% a game and not an esport," said Ari Segal, president of Immortals Gaming, who directs Los Angeles Valiant of Overwatch. "But I obviously think that there is a way for it to become an esport."
The distinction is the key. Fortnite events, structured and competitive, are still in their infancy, and Epic has a way to go with the professional experience offered to fans of the Overwatch League. Epic began this effort by promising in May to offer $ 100 million in Fortnite Esports Pools – a huge amount for the industry.
Still, early returns were hesitant, as when the series of Fortnite summer skirmishes was canceled in the middle of the game because of technical problems. The tournament was also hampered by a conservative game, players waiting until the last moment to engage. In a statement, Epic said that it "under-delivered" in what was supposed to be its first esports brand event while putting in place plans to improve the viewing experience.
Epic did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
"It takes a lot more than a press release to build an esport," said League Commissioner Overwatch, Nate Nanzer. "I think I can speak as well as most of them that there is a ton of investment, planning, and infrastructure that you need to build to do business professionally. in a high quality bar. "
THE FINAL GRANDS
The Overwatch Finals were a showcase for that. Just look at the LED screen 165 feet wide and 36 feet tall behind the Barclays Center scene – players and fans were impressed by the massive display this weekend.
But it goes further than flashy technology. League broadcasts on Twitch have been almost technologically perfect throughout the season. His teams have an impressive support staff, including leaders, physical coaches and public relations managers. Even the entertainment in the event is top notch: DJ Khaled will perform at the Saturday Championship final.
What does not mean Overnight is a finished product. There is work to do to pack his events, especially for casual fans. Blizzard plans to experiment with its diffusion structure to better serve the diehards and beginners. These adjustments began with more explanatory segments on the ESPN show for uninitiated viewers, and the league will use comments from the latter to shape the cover for next season.
"What I saw on Twitter was fun," said Pete Vlastelica, president and CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues. "I enjoyed seeing the healthy debate between the old-school old-school sports public who wondered what they were watching and then a lot of young sports fans who were very excited about what they were doing. saw. "
Even while experimenting, everything about the league has the appearance of a leading sports organization, and it's a matter of investment and expertise for Blizzard and his team owners – a group that includes Kraft, New York Mets Operations Manager, Jeff Wilpon, and Los Angeles Rams owner, Stan Kroenke.
The Esports organizations, like the Segal Immortals, closely monitor Fortnite.
"Do you have access to capital and human resource capacity and organizational bandwidth to be agile and flexible to evaluate anything the next thing?" Segal asked. "As for Fortnite, it's a continuous assessment."
BUILT TO LAST
At some point, it seems likely that Fortnite – or perhaps another royal battle, like PlayerUnknown's Battleground – will get there. When he does, Overwatch thinks he's ready to survive.
For beginners, Overwatch the game was built to last. Blizzard Entertainment specializes in titles with endurance. His Warcraft franchise was launched in 1994 and remains a success. Same with series like Diablo (1996) and StarCraft (1998).
This is the key to the continued relevance of Overwatch, according to Jurre Pannekeet, Newzoo 's Market Research Business Relations Manager. It is a difficult thing to innovate and improve a game perpetually, but Blizzard could do it better than anyone else.
"They have a longstanding franchise with big fans who have been playing these games for several years," said Pannekeet.
It is also possible – some probably think – that the landscape of esports can accommodate more than one superliga.
"Certainly, Fortnite is stealing everybody's share, to a certain extent," Segal said. "But it's not just a nil sum, the pie is gaining momentum."
The hope is that players hooked to the game by the Fortnite experience could shop for other titles once they are exposed to esports.
"I think we welcome more investment in space," Nanzer said. "And I think that esports as an industry are definitely still in the phase of" growing tides that raise all the boats "."
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