Esports Underhyped #1: Everyone’s a Gamer

In this series of articles, I explain why even some of the biggest optimists are still underestimating esports. My last article will tie it all together and explain why esports isn’t a single industry, but a behemoth collection of verticals that all fit in seamlessly together, and why esports organizations will become some of the largest enterprises in entertainment history.

Part 1: Everyone Is a Gamer

When most people think of esports, they think of gamers. They think of a subset of the population that’s perhaps a bit nerdy, a bit quirky, and certainly very geeky. But when you tell them that there are actually 2.2 billion gamers worldwide, they always reply with, “Oh, wow, that’s a lot more than I thought.”

Now, if you think about your neighbor’s kids, perhaps your kids, and just about any person who’s under 30, you may find yourself unable to think of anyone who does not enjoy playing some kind of game, be it on a console, a phone, or a computer. There are your Candy Crush lovers, the infinite running game lovers, the puzzle solvers, and the word game players — it’s not just all about shooting games. You start realizing that when it comes to millennials and those younger than them, essentially everyone’s a gamer.

If you then look at this globally, you also realize that if there’s one reason why younger people elsewhere may not be gamers yet, it’s due to lack of access to technology. Or so it used to be. Lately, with the smartphones getting cheaper and cheaper, even the most remote parts of the world now have access to games.

And that is why the number of gamers worldwide ballooned.

Addressable Market of 100%

So, what’s next? More gamers! Everyone from this point on will be some sort of a gamer; I can’t imagine any future generation where people do not play video games. Can you? By definition, then, as millennials turn into grandparents, we’ll find ourselves in the world where nearly every person alive is a gamer of some sort.

And that is an incredibly large addressable market. This is why I claim that esports, despite it’s high current hype, is actually under-hyped: people think of it as addressing a subset of a population whereas in reality the ‘subset’ will soon be 100%.

I. Simply. Cannot. Emphasize. This. Enough. If you still think that ‘gamer’ is some nerd in their parents’ basement, look around. Chances are you’re surrounded by a sea of ‘gamers.’

The real question is, who will satisfy those people’s gaming entertainment needs?

I hope this had some value (let me know if it didn’t), and be sure to check out parts two, three, four, and five!