ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – E-sports gain millions of viewers each year, and attract people from all walks of life. It’s growing in popularity. Just three weeks ago, Northern Illinois university unveiled its Esports arena. The $50,000 space features 8 different console stations, 30 gaming computers and a virtual reality center.
“Just like you have your traditional athletics, where people are going out and playing games. You have people staying in connecting people over the internet and playing games remotely,” NIU’s Esports director, Conner Vagle, told 23 News
NIU says part of the reason for the investment is the massive growth of Esports. The 2021 League Of Legends world championships garnered nearly 74 million viewers according to Riot Gaming. In comparison, the most watched world series game of all time between the Dodgers and the Yankees got a little more than 44 million, and the most watched NBA finals game, 1998?s game 6 between the Jazz and the Bulls, nearly 36 million viewers. That’s according to Nielsen.
“It’s something that can be played by all, with traditional sports you see you know, a lot of times people are blocked by their genetics or physical ability but Esports gives people an even playing ground no matter age or ability,” said Alex Kramer, one of NIU’s Esports coaches
Kramer says Esports is not only growing in viewers, but companies also hire people in all types of roles..
“Esports people are hiring accountants, finance people, marketers, sales people, and I’d really like to see that grow in the future,” Kramer said.
Esports companies want to expand their market into phone gaming. Which means down the road we could see a Wordle world championship.
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