From its humble, South Korean origins in the early 2000s to its current place as an international, cultural phenomenon, esports is certainly on the rise. Huge venues including Madison Square Garden, the Staples Center and others are routinely selling out to diehard fans of these competitive video gaming tournaments
But as this once niche form of entertainment rises to become a mainstream spectator sport, challenges including match-fixing, player harassment, and the trappings of commercialization arise as well. Today we speak to experts and players about the opportunities and obstacles for esports in the 21st century.
GUESTS:
- Christina Kelly - Writer, Founder of Voice of Esports, and former esports content editor for ESPN and Blizzard Entertainment. You can find her work at ChristinaJKelly.com (@PeanutSC)
- T.L. Taylor - Sociologist and Professor of Comparative Media Studies / Writing at MIT; author of Raising the Stakes: E-sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming, and her upcoming book Watch Me Play Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming (@ybika)
- Michael Brooks - Founder and Executive Director at NACE, the National Association of Collegiate Esports
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
