Most do not need to explain who the gamer is. Anyone who knows a little English, knows that this word means a person whose main hobby is computer games. There are more and more people referring to this category every year. This is due to the fact that the personal computer and game consoles are becoming more accessible, and the games themselves are more vivid and realistic.
Computer games: hobbies or work?
Only at first glance this question may seem silly. In fact, today there are many tournaments for e-sportsmen where you can win very good money. True, it is worth noting that this type of earnings is not suitable for everyone, since only a few can become a top-level gamer.
Indeed, along with popularity, eSports has acquired many wealthy sponsors and simply wealthy fans who are willing to invest their money in the development of the virtual industry. People who like to hang out all day at the computer are delighted that you can also get paid for it.
But if for an amateur this is just a pipe dream, then on a professional level you really can’t do without a sponsor. The thing is that training for gamers is an integral part of preparing for the competition. Moreover, they can take up to 18-20 hours a day. With such a schedule, it is unlikely that it will be possible to combine work or study.
Our whole life is a game!
This adage is relevant for people who are fond of computer games, like for no other. It best helps to understand who a gamer is. This is a very stubborn person who is difficult to turn off the chosen path. He is ready to stake his life in order to do what he loves.
To achieve their goals, players even develop special techniques and come up with individual exercises suitable for each specific situation. So, for example, training a reaction is very important for a successful Counter-Strike game . For gamers specializing in football simulations, a more significant skill will be the ability to quickly navigate keyboard shortcuts.
Video game community
Today, approximately 0.5% of the total population of the Earth are active players in computer games. Large events of this kind can attract up to 10 thousand spectators and participants. Even female gamers, who used to be a rarity, now compete on a par with males.
Computer games are popular among a variety of age categories - from young children to the elderly. In order to understand who a gamer is, you need to turn to statistics. Surveys conducted in developed countries show that approximately 80% of adolescents under the age of 18 prefer to spend their free time buried in the monitor. Among people aged 18-25, this indicator decreases slightly, but after 30 years, a sharp decline is noticeable from 60% to 0.1% when the mark of 50 years is reached.
The social status of players also directly depends on the above indicators. Thus, it turns out that eSports are most popular among high school students, college students and 1-3 year students of higher educational institutions. There are fewer working people among gamers, but it’s not worth talking about pensioners, since it is almost impossible to catch them playing, for example, in Dota or Counter-Strike. Although World of Tanks certainly could please many veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
ESports History
Esports owes its appearance to the game Quake. It was thanks to her that in 1997 the first league of virtual athletes CPL (Cyberathlete Professional League) appeared. But real experts remember that the first game with a cooperative mode was Doom 2.
Now tournaments are held in the following disciplines:
- Counter-Strike
- Quake
- Dota
- Starcraft
- Warcraft
- Unreal Tournament.
- FIFA
- World of Tanks.
- Point blank.
Profits for professional gamers
Who is a gamer, and how is he different from a parasite who is ready to spend days at a computer just to do nothing? The difference becomes clear only when you find out what enormous sums are played out at the largest e-sports competitions.
International computer gaming forums are held around the world. There is even a kind of analogue of the Olympic Games, which is the prestigious tournament WCG (Word Cyber Games). It began to be held in 2000. The following conferences are equally popular:
- Cyberathlete Professional League.
- Electronic Sports League.
- Electronic Sports World Cup.
As for the prize pool, it is different for each tournament and varies from year to year. The situation depends on the capabilities and willingness to participate in the event on the part of sponsors. As an example, take the data of the 2013 Dota 2 World Cup, which played out almost 3 million dollars. But the record belongs to the tournament called Taipei Assasins. His prize pool in 2012 was as much as $ 5 million.
Thus, it becomes clear that by doing what you love and having fun, you can earn a comfortable old age, but for this you need to be a true professional in your field.
Semi-professional and amateur online leagues
Everything at once happens only in fairy tales. To conquer the peaks of the game world is not so simple, it requires talent, a share of luck and a sea of patience. Even provided that all of the above is available in the right amount, you should not count on instantly getting into the elite of world e-sports.
Indeed, competition among players is very high, and every year it increases, as more and more people want to become a gamer. At the same time, fighters seasoned in virtual battles are in no hurry to give their place to young talents.
What he is and who he is, a gamer must prove his own game. But how to do this if the entry into the professional league for beginners is practically closed. For this, there are amateur and semi-professional associations of players. They all serve the same purpose, namely the training and education of new e-sportsmen. The most famous and prestigious of them include:
Such online leagues are more open and act as a launching pad for further achievements in the gaming field. Moreover, almost everyone can participate in tournaments held under their supervision.