Jun 04 (newsonjapan.com) - Home to companies such as Sony, which makes billions of dollars selling PlayStation consoles, as well as Nintendo, Sega, Capcom and Konami, Japan is famous for being a world leader in gaming. However, when it comes to competitive gaming - esports - the country has lagged behind.
The United States and other countries in Asia such as China and South Korea have all made huge strides in esports, creating championship winning teams, globally loved players and driving millions of dollars of revenue. To get Japan in the game, the Japan Esports Union or JeSU was created in early 2018. According to an Esports Insider article about the JeSU, the group brings together the Japan Esports Association, the Esports Promotion Organization and the Japan Esports Federation, with the aim of concentrating their efforts to promote esports in the country.
How Does the JeSU Help Players?
The JeSU could be a great thing for esports players in the country for several reasons, with the biggest of these being that the organization wants to find a way to issue licenses to esports players. Esports competitions in Japan have been unable to thrive because the country puts a limit on winnings for players without a license. This could be hugely restrictive: while competitions cannot lead to potentially huge prizes, viewers may not want to tune in, players may not want to compete and, as a result, few sponsors will want to support the tournament.
There will be an approval process, says the JeSU, in which a team or player who wants to get a license will have to submit their game title, the name of the tournament they'd like to play in and whether that tournament has an audit and judging system. However, this access to higher prize pots may open up the possibility for more players to earn enough to become Esports professionals.
Can Japan's Esports Industry Grow under JeSU?
If the JeSU successfully creates more professional esports players and more high profile tournaments, this could lead the way for a more lucrative esports industry. Live streaming platform Twitch is rumored to have paid $90 million for the exclusive streaming rights to Overwatch League, but it was only through the popularity of that tournament (and the huge money and fame that came with being associated with it) that the deal could be made. Sponsors of arenas, teams and single players can be worth millions, provided enough people are tuning in.
An esports industry that has been promoted well and has many fans - which is what the JeSU is trying to create - can make money and grow in other ways, too. There is a small esports betting industry in Asia, with platforms such as AsiaBet offering esports betting on several games, including League of Legends, StarCraft 2 and Dota 2. If they are able to expand into Japan, these Esports betting companies will also want to sponsor teams and players in the area. This is because of the exposure they would get before competitive esports fans who are likely to put money on matches. However, a large esports industry would need to come first.
Are Other Countries Doing the Same?
The Japan Esports Union isn't the first of its kind. This, in part, shows how Japan is far behind in growing its esports industry. The United States Esports Federation is the official governing body for the sport in the USA which promotes, grows and supports the industry in the region. The British Esports Association does the same thing, aiming to raise awareness of the industry in the UK. It also tries to help to nurture and support future esports talent.
These esports governing bodies put countries like England and the US streaks ahead of Japan. For years, they have been working on ways to help to create esports talent, turning amateur players into professionals. It will take time for Japan to catch up, but the support of companies such as Sega, Sony, Microsoft, Tencent Japan and Konami should help to move things on. These companies all want Japan's esports scene to succeed, as it can provide a much larger platform for their games and devices.
Japan may have been slow to recognise esports as a hugely lucrative industry, but that doesn't mean it can't find success with competitive gaming in future. With incredibly fast Internet speeds, players who enjoy mobile gaming and so many talented game developers, Japan is in as good a position as - if not a better one than - countries such as the UK and the US, when they first got into esports. The Japan Esports Union would like to see progress being made as soon as it can and, while building infrastructure and awareness may not happen immediately, the union will be doing what it can.
