INTHEBLACK April 2022 - Magazine - Page 48
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economics of VR
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our internet speeds are behind some of those markets.
A millisecond of latency can be the difference between
winning or dying in a game. This needs to be addressed
before we can start to see significant wholesale
investment in esports.”
Kwan tracks private investments into esports in
Australia and estimates that A$20 million has flown
in during the previous 12 months. Australia has about
1000 professional esports players, some of whom are
making millions, while others have a second job to
supplement their income.
“The career pathways are becoming clearer,” Kwan
says. “A starting point was supporting schools in being
fitted out to participate in esports. Whereas before a
lot of high school students were playing on their own
at home, now they have institutional support. Australia
now has over 14 universities participating in esports,
and 27 of them have club facilities on campus.”
“IT’S LIKE BUYING THE NEW YORK KNICKS”
Ferdinand Gutierrez is on a mission to build champion
esports teams and gaming personalities. He is the
founder and CEO of Ampverse, an esports holding
company based in Singapore, which owns and operates
esports teams in Thailand, Vietnam and India.
“A lot of esports companies out there weren’t taking
advantage of the commercial opportunities,” he says.
“Some of the owners are just kids who started a team
and thought, ‘We can just win tournaments and get
sponsorships and prize money.’ But, in order to succeed,
you need diversified revenue streams to survive as an
esports business.”
Ampverse uses talent recognition software that allows
it to identify up-and-coming players and influencers,
and sign them early in their gaming career. The software
48 ITB April 2022
MARKET SIZE ($ MILLION)
82
I N C R E M E N TA L
GROWTH
B E T W E E N 2019
M I L L I O N A N D 2024
4 1 6.2 3
334 .5
2019
2024
35%
O F I N C R E M E N TA L G R O W T H
C O N T R I B U T E D BY A PA C
B E T W E E N 201 9 A N D 2024
74%
O F I N C R E M E N TA L
GROWTH CONTRIBUTED
BY H A R D WA R E
Above: The opening
ceremony of the WCG
2019 XI’AN Grand Final
was held in Xi’an, China,
in July 2019.