ESports: Sport or Business?

译/易晨光

The sports industry joins the eSports fever to reach the digital generation and expand its business.体育产业加入电竞热潮，旨在走向数字时代，扩大商业规模。

Can you imagine being paid millions for playing in a professional team?That you were able to fill stadiums with people coming to see you play? That you could attract the masses in the same crazy way as a rock star, a Hollywood actor or a famous sportsperson? ESports have made all that possible and more.The fever for video games has had a decisive impact on the sports industry,and not only has it borrowed the name,it has also given a voice to the digital generation and led it to stardom.ESports and the millennials have united and their strength is unstoppable.

你能否想象自己靠在职业战队中打比赛而挣得百万薪水？想象自己让体育场挤满前来看你打比赛的观众？想象自己能像摇滚明星、好莱坞演员或著名体育界人士那样疯狂吸引大量人群？电竞实现了这一切，并让更多不可能成为可能。电子游戏的热潮对体育产业产生了巨大冲击，它不仅仅借用了竞技之名，还赋予了数字一代发言权，并引领他们走上星途。电竞和千禧一代已经联合在一起，他们的力量无法阻挡。

[2]To what extent eSports, or electronic sports, can be considered a sport remains a controversial question.If we stick to the definition in the dictionary,sport is understood to be any physical activity, whether a game or competition,that requires training and a subjection to rules.A second meaning is: all kinds of physical activity that is done for reasons of health or entertainment.

[2]电竞——或者说电子竞技——在何种程度上可以算作一个体育项目，这个问题依然备受争议。如果我们坚持按词典的定义来，那么体育可以理解为任何需要训练并服从规则的身体活动，无论是游戏还是竞赛。另一种解释则是：各种以健康或娱乐为目的的身体活动。

[3]Spending hours and hours in front of a computer or with a mobile phone in hand playing video games is the antithesis of physical activity.But when the voices that defend it belong to elite athletes, and when the International Olympic Committee itself is seriously contemplating the possibility of introducing eSports in the 2020 Olympic Games, it is at least worth considering the debate.

[3]坐在电脑前或捧着手机几个小时不间断地玩电子游戏，这恰恰就是身体活动的对立面。但是，倘若捍卫它的声音属于精英运动员，而且连国际奥委会也在认真考虑2020年奥运会引进电竞项目的可能性，那这场争议至少值得人们思考了。

[4]What is undeniable is that eSports has had a big impact on the sports industry and its fans are constantly increasing.Athletes, professional teams, sponsors inside and outside the sport, and the media are the main promoters of an industry that attracts, nourishes and satisfies the millennial generation.Professional video game competitions have generated nearly $900 million in revenue over the past three years thanks to sponsorship and advertising, and the industry is projected to exceed $1.1 billion in revenue and reach 215 million users in 2019,according to a study by the consultant Newzoo.

[4]无可置疑的是，电竞对体育产业产生了巨大冲击，电竞爱好者正不断增加。选手、职业队伍、项目内外的赞助商和媒体是一种产业吸引、培养和取悦千禧一代受众的主要催化剂。根据咨询公司Newzoo的一项调研，过去三年，职业电竞比赛已凭借赞助与广告创造了近9亿美元的收入，预计2019年该产业营收可能超过11亿美元，用户数量将达2.15亿。

[5]NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal,now an analyst for TNT Sports, is coowner of NRG eSports alongside former New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez and former Los Angeles Dodgers player Jimmy Rollins.Swedish Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jarebko has bought the ‘Renegades’team.Former Los Angeles Lakers player Rick Fox founded the Echo Fox.And the Philadelphia 76ers was the first NBA team to commit to eSports when they bought two teams for $15 million—Dignitas and Apex, which now compete under the name of Dignitas.

[5]NBA传奇球星、现任TNT体育电视解说的沙奎尔·奥尼尔同曾经效力于纽约洋基队的棒球明星阿莱克斯·罗德里格兹及洛杉矶道奇队退役球员吉米·罗林斯一起投资了NRG电竞队。曾效力波士顿凯尔特人队的瑞典籍前锋约纳斯·杰雷布科（现效力于金州勇士队）买下了“变节者”战队。前洛杉矶湖人队球员里克·福克斯创立了Echo Fox战队。费城76人队则是第一支涉足电竞界的NBA球队，他们以1500万美元的价格收购了Dignitas和Apex两支战队——现以Dignitas之名联合运作。

[6]If we look at European professional football, teams like Paris Saint Germain, Ajax FC, PSV Eindhoven,Sporting de Lisboa, Manchester City,FC Schalke, Wolfsburg, West Ham, Valencia FC, Besiktas, Santos or FC Volga have their own teams in eSports and are just as ferocious and dedicated in the transfer market as in traditional football.On September 22nd, Ajax FC added the best player in the Netherlands of the FIFA game to its eSport team.Their marketing director and former student of the Johan Cruyffinstitute’s Master of Sport Management, Edwin van der Sar,said at his presentation: “Koen has been FIFA champion on several occasions,each other perfectly”.inspires our youth and has a personality that fits with our club.At Ajax, we are always looking for new ways to connect with our younger fans.We will help Koen, not only supporting him in big tournaments, but also in organizing activities with our followers.We believe it is important to encourage both digital football and real football.These two worlds can coexist and complement

[6]如果我们把目光投向欧洲职业足坛，巴黎圣日耳曼、阿贾克斯、埃因霍恩、里斯本竞技（现已更名为葡萄牙体育）、曼城、沙克尔04、沃尔夫斯堡、西汉姆联、瓦伦西亚、贝西克塔斯、桑托斯和伏尔加等俱乐部都拥有自己的电竞战队，它们在转会市场上也一如在传统足球界那样竞争激烈、一掷千金。2016年9月22日，阿贾克斯俱乐部将荷兰最好的《FIFA足球世界》游戏选手招入自家电竞战队。俱乐部市场总监、已在约翰·克鲁伊夫学院获得体育管理硕士学位的埃德温·范德萨在发布会上表示：“科恩曾在几届《FIFA足球世界》赛事中夺冠，他激励着我们的年轻人，他的性格也与我们俱乐部相合。在阿贾克斯，我们一直在寻找新的方式来与更年轻的支持者建立联系。我们会帮助科恩，不仅是赞助他参加大型锦标赛，还支持他和我们的球迷一起组织活动。我们相信，数字足球与真实足球齐头并进是非常重要的。这两个世界可以共存，而且能完美互补。”

[7]Nor does PSV Eindhoven, to cite another example, skimp on its digital team: its ‘cyber players’ have access to all the facilities and services of the club,appear in the annual photo of the team and wear the red and white shirt in all the tournaments in which they participate defending their colors.

[7]再举一个例子，埃因霍恩俱乐部对待其数字战队也从不吝啬：其阵营中的“网络球员”可享受俱乐部的所有设施与服务，会出现在全队的年度合照中，而且在参与所有赛事时都要穿上红白相间的战袍，捍卫俱乐部的标志色。

[8]The electronic sports industry allows large brands to foster the loyalty of the millennial generation and connect with them in their own language: 75%of players are between 18 and 34 years old.“The fan phenomenon in eSports is amazing,” says Shaquille O’Neal.“I have seen this movement in the NBA itself and in other traditional sports.The passion with which these people follow their favorite teams, players and games is incredible.It is an inexhaustible source for sponsors and distributors.”

[8]电竞产业让各大品牌得以培养千禧一代的忠诚度，并用后者自己的语言同他们交流：75%的电竞选手都在18岁至34岁之间。“电竞世界的粉丝现象令人惊奇，”沙奎尔·奥尼尔说，“我曾在NBA和其他传统体育项目中见过这种情形。这些人对他们最爱的战队、选手和游戏所持有的热情真是不可思议。对于赞助商和经销商而言，这是一种取之不尽的资源。”

[9]The big players in the eSports leagues have turned their ‘hobby’ into a profession and the attraction they generate gives them celebrity treatment in this parallel world.Those guys who distance themselves from the world, shutting themselves up for up to 12 hours a day in a dark room to connect with people from all over the planet through a video game, now fill large stadiums and compete for cash prizes that exceed one million dollars.They are the envy of half the planet!

[9]各个电竞联赛的知名玩家将他们的“爱好”转变成了职业，而他们所创造的吸引力则为他们在这个平行世界中带来了名流的待遇。那些远离真实世界、每天在黑暗房间里一关就是12个小时、通过某款电子游戏和世界各地的人们交流的选手们，如今坐满庞大的体育场，为超过百万美元的现金巨奖而激烈角逐。他们让地球上一半的人都嫉妒不已！

[10]But what are these curious characters really like? There are different traits that perfectly describe an eSports fan, whether a player or spectator: they are passionate, dedicated, with a high capacity for concentration, extremely competitive, with a desire to excel and loyal to a culture, that of gaming.Traditional sports recognize these values in their own players; perhaps that is why they do not criticize those who try to compare both worlds and, let’s not fool ourselves, it is a perfect way to connect with your younger audience and increase your business through merchandising, ticketing, rights, advertising and sponsorship.

[10]但这些奇怪的人究竟什么样？一些不同的特质可以完美勾勒出一个电竞爱好者的形象，无论是选手还是观众：他们热情饱满，心无旁骛，注意力高度集中，极其争强好胜，渴望超群脱俗，且忠于某种游戏文化。传统体育界人士看中了自家选手身上的这些价值；或许那就是为什么他们并不批评试图比较两个世界的人，而且——我们不要自欺欺人了——这是与年轻受众建立联系的最佳途径，也是通过推销、票房、权益、广告和赞助来促进业务增长的完美方式。

[11]In South Korea, one of the countries with the most gaming fever addicts, there are stadiums dedicated exclusively to eSports and countless cyber cafes where the only background sound is the bip-bip of electronic games.On October 29th, the Los Angeles Staples Center, the legendary NBA Lakers’stadium, was packed like never before with fans to see the final of the League of legends world championship, the most popular video game in the world with 100 million monthly users.The end of the season had a worldwide audience of 43 million, with a peak of 14.7 million viewers during the final.Previous rounds were held in San Francisco,Chicago and New York before the final in the city of stars.The winnings: $5 million in prizes, $2.4 million for the winner.

[11]韩国是电游爱好者最多的国家之一，这里有许多专门用于电竞比赛的场馆，网咖也数不胜数，电游的“哔哔”声是店中唯一的背景声。2016年10月20日，NBA豪门洛杉矶湖人队的主场斯台普斯中心前所未有地挤满了前来观看《英雄联盟》世界锦标赛决赛的粉丝。《英雄联盟》是世界上人气最高的电子游戏，月用户多达1亿。这场赛季收官战共吸引了世界各地的4300万名观众，同时观看人数最高时多达1470万。在这座星光之城上演决赛之前，还有数轮赛事分别在旧金山、芝加哥和纽约举行。至于战利品，总奖金池高达500万美元，冠军战队独享240万。

[12]Do you think the owner of the Lakers would not pay for those milliondollar audiences? As someone who has lived countless nights of glory with this team, Shaquille O’Neal says, “the fans themselves are the ones who opened my eyes.ESports are a great business opportunity and the industry cannot be left out”.

[12]你是否觉得，湖人队的老板不会为那些花费百万美元的观众买单？作为曾亲身在这支球队经历过无数荣耀之夜的传奇人物，沙奎尔·奥尼尔表示：“这些粉丝真令我大开眼界。电子竞技是一个巨大的商机，这个产业让人无法忽视。”

[13]While millions of dollars are paid around the world for these new idols,we can continue to debate whether they are sports or not.If only for fun…

[13]这些新兴偶像在世界各地挣着数以百万计的美元，同时我们可以继续争论，电竞究竟是不是体育项目。只要别当真就好……