By: Donald J. Slater Jr.
The concept of esports has been around since 1976 when the first Space Invader’s competition was held. It saw about 10,000 participants and culminated in the winner walking away with the grand prize of a year’s subscription to the Rolling Stone magazine. This would pale in comparison to the modern-day esports tournament cash prize. The 2019 Fortnite World Cup offered a $30million prize pool while Dota 2’s, “The International”, the world-wide tournament set a new standard with a $40million prize pool. Modern-day video games have evolved from just a past time and hobby that parents despised into one of the newest billion-dollar industries.
With the recent killing of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery this past May, a nation-wide conversation regarding race and inequality has been sparked. Corporations, sports teams, colleges, and universities have all engaged in a discourse about how to eliminate systemic racism and better understand life as a black person in 2020 America. Black Lives Matter has become one of the statements that 2020 will be remembered for alongside the COVID pandemic. Esports has also been a part of this discussion as one of the bigger elephants in the room that is often ignored is the lack of diversity in esports. The number of amateur diverse gamers compared to professional diverse gamers is heavily skewed in a direction that makes the entire industry look like it’s living in the past. As history has taught us, the longer something has been around, the harder it is to change.
One primary issue facing esports diversity is also the platform divide which arguably has turned into a racial divide. White and Asian gamers tend to own and play on PCs by a heavy margin while Black and Latino gamers tend to trend more towards traditional console gaming. The typical prize pools for the top tier esports on each of the platforms also shows an incredible divide as well. League of Legends and Dota 2 are both games played on a PC and have seen prize pools of $4,946,970 and $24,787,916 respectively. However, esports titles such as the Capcom Cup and Street Fighter IV only saw prize pools of $380,000 and $100,000 respectively. Furthermore, console publishers are more hesitant to pour money into large prize pools or invest in the communities that follow their game. Not only does this ultimately keep the size of these console communities small and rather stagnant in terms of diversity, but it severely hinders any prospects of console titles obtaining the same legitimacy or popularity as PC titles which see millions of viewers tuning in to major events.
Another one of the main issues is certain games garner more diverse communities than others. For example, PC games such as League of Legends, Dota, Starcraft, and Counterstrike had their communities and spectatorship grew over time. As a result, money was subsequently funneled into fostering and bolster these games’ communities. On the other hand, console games such as Call of Duty, Halo and Street Fighter all had communities but lacked the crowdfunding to induce much confidence into creating the same opportunities PC games had. This only fuels the idea that this problem starts at the very beginning of video gaming. This is especially apparent with sports games such as NBA “2K” and Madden where a majority of the player base is from a diverse background. In these games, major steps have been taken in growing the competitive scene as professional traditional sports teams have taken an interest and invested in creating leagues for video game competition that mimics what happens on the courts and fields in real life. Players that are drafted into the 2K league are provided a salary, housing, medical and dental insurance as compensation for their talent to compete. Initiatives such as these have been integral in diversifying the esports industry. However, the sports scene is the exception to the rule and is not nearly as popular as its counterparts.
Many teams over the summer either released statements expressing support for Black Lives Matter or made donations to various campaigns that share the same goals as Black Lives Matter. However, words are only that, and the next step is to look towards the root of the issue and attempt to enact change especially since the support from and within the gaming community appears to be slowing down. As many of the most popular esports titles (but not all) are typically played on a PC, access to these games lies as a fundamental issue. A versatile PC setup that will last can be as expensive as $750-$1,000 but aside from that, it is more complicated than a simple “plug and play” console. Along with access, knowledge must also become more widespread to diverse communities. Perhaps a benefit from moving in this direction could be that exposing more people to technology like PCs can lead to more interest in pursuing STEM careers. The issue is complicated and the solutions appear to be even more so but if esports is to appeal to the same variety of gamers and fans that traditional sports do, it will need to find a way to broaden its accessibility to a more diverse crowd.
Student Bio: My name is Donald Slater Jr., I go by “Slater” and along with being a law student I am a former esports competitor. Though I never made it to the biggest stages with the bright lights, my passion for the sport has only grown stronger and has sparked an interest in the laws revolving around it. My personal experiences in my years as a player fuel my desire to explore this field more as it grows. There were many issues I remember seeing that likely would have been different had proper player protections and regulations been in place and now I use my legal education to explore how to make esports, the sport.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
