eSports roundup w/c 14/01/19

We’re sure you’re as excited about the eSports scene as we are, so here’s a peek into the most recent happenings across the world.

Tokyo announces plans to host two-day eSports event

Tokyo is set to host an exciting eSports event later this year that will promote the capital's video game and anime industries. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike announced that approximately $450,000 will be set aside in the 2019 budget to host the two-day celebration.

Due to the increasing popularity of the gaming platform, the Japan eSports Union was founded in 2018 to provide infrastructure to support players, develop talent and sanction matches. The organisation is also helping to bridge the gap between the Japanese government's laws on competition and gambling and the developers and rights holders of eSports titles.

The Japan eSports Union is also set to co-host a tournament in October that will feature Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, and be part of the cultural program at Japan's 2019 National Sports Festival.

Dates, venues and other details for the Tokyo event are yet to be announced, so watch this space.

Overwatch player takes part in a social experiment gone wrong

A mysterious Overwatch player named Ellie garnered a lot of attention a couple of weeks ago when she was added to the roster of a semi-professional League team called Second Wind.

Unlike the other players in the lineup, Ellie's full name was not listed on Second Wind's website, but her account was known to be among the top ranked online. Ellie's spot on the team was enough to raise the suspicion of her male rivals, who accused the Overwatch League of giving preferential treatment to her due to her gender, and questioned whether Ellie was in fact a woman. They were right about the latter, as found out by several eSports journalists after Ellie gave up “her” spot on the team.

Investigations revealed that Ellie was in fact a persona created by a male player. He told friends that he convinced women to help him impersonate a female player as part of a social experiment. The goal of the experiment is not entirely clear, and many gamers are worried that it may have done nothing but provide more ammunition to skeptics who doubt the potential of female players.

For women who are interested in eSports, this scandal is another unpleasant reminder that a portion of the community still refuses to believe that women can compete as professionals.

Nearly half of the UK gamer scene says no to eSports in the Olympics

A new survey by PC memory brand Ballistix revealed that almost half of UK and EU gamers have no interest in eSports being introduced in the Olympics.

When asked whether eSports should be a recognised event in the leading international sports event, a total of 46% people said no, 35% said yes and 19% were undecided. Ballistix surveyed more than 1,000 gamers across locations in the UK, France and Germany to gather these results.

Talk of eSports potentially being included in the Olympics has been ongoing for a while now, receiving a fair amount of resistance from the people in charge. Some members of the eSports community are still positive about the idea, while others are not so keen.

The most recent update on the subject came from the International eSports Federation, which said that it is in talks with the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics organisers about including eSports as a demonstration sport. Who knows what the outcome will be? Only time will tell.