It’s but natural. As people’s movements were placed at the utmost minimum courtesy of a lockdown for months on end, E-sports and online gaming skyrocketed. And who wouldn’t want to get entertained? With the virus taking a toll on the mental health of millions of Americans, grabbing tons of fun time via online games is a logical next step for many. Indeed, there may not be a more prominent time for online gaming than these days.
If video gaming is one balloon, then it has reached a gigantic size during the pandemic. Its global market is estimated to be worth as much as $159 billion in 2020. That dwarfs movie box office revenues in 2019, estimated to be at $43 billion. The same holds true for the global music industry, worth about $57 billion in 2019. Surprisingly, it’s not the North American online gamers that built most of that global revenue. Asia-Pacific accounts for nearly 50% of the market value of online gaming, much bigger than North America’s which claims but one quarter.
And all this begs the question: Are you an online gaming enthusiast or an E-sports competitor? You may have interchanged the two. But there’s a difference between an amateur and a pro. For more of the nitty-gritty, here’s a good start.
The Lowdown on Online Gaming
An online game is basically a video game that is played via the internet or via any other set of computers in a network. Today, with the rise of a plethora of modern gaming platforms (e.g., PC, smartphones), online gaming has been massively adopted by millions of fans worldwide. Astonishingly, this industry reached but $16.9 in revenue in 2019, with China generating $4.2 billion of that revenue and America chipping in but $3.5 billion.
What originally was limited gaming between packet-based networked computers in the 1970s has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry today. Massively multiplayer online games or MMOG’s (e.g., World of Warcraft) are common today. Plus, you can explore virtual universes today with MOBA or multiplayer battle arena (e.g., Defense of the Ancients – 2003).
And just like the game of basketball, anyone who wants to have some fun can play online gaming. Those who do are called gamers or online gamers. Yet, there’s a difference between an online gamer and an E-sport enthusiast.
What is an E-Sorts?
If online gaming is basketball, E-sports is the NBA. Short for Electronic Sports, e-sports is competitive video gaming a.k.a. professional gaming. So one who plays to have fun is an online gamer but one who plays to compete and be the best is an e-sports professional.
Another key difference between an online gamer and a serious e-sports player is their wares. More often than not, you’ll find just about every piece of equipment used to play online games. However, it’s not hard for you to find an e-sports player using top-grade equipment such as a custom laptop. For instance, With a customized gaming laptop, the storage (RAM) and graphics card are enhanced to ensure greater speed of execution even with heavy graphic settings.
Casual Gamers vs. E-Sports Players
There’s a chasm of difference between a casual player and a professional one. Again, this becomes better understood in sports. When you want to compete in basketball, you don’t just play for fun. You play to gain an advantage. In short, you do what it takes to win. That sure explains the need for better equipment.
That demand for better skill has pushed many wannabe pro players to even leave their jobs just to focus. Of course, giving up a day job to chase a dream can sound absurd. But it has happened before and may happen yet in the future.
A pro player will devote his attention, his time, and his effort, to get to improve his skills. For someone who wants to play casually, it’s just a matter of getting some fun from online gaming anytime he wants to. Time allotted therefore is a key consideration.
It’s not unusual for a pro gamer to spend eight to ten hours a day just to hone his craft. Then there is the case for analysis. You may watch in awe of the Counter-Strike Blast Pro Series in 2020. But indeed, behind those finalist teams lies tons and tons of practice and analysis.
Just like a grandmaster chess player, a pro gaming professional will dissect his games from start to finish. He will turn the details upside down to see areas of improvement. The good news is a casual gamer can have his shot at becoming a pro player with passion.
Meta title: Online Gaming vs. E-Sports: From an Avid Fan to a Professional Player
meta desc: Anybody can play basketball. At least, anybody who wants to shoot a ball can play if he so decides. But not everyone can compete in the NBA. And that’s the difference between online gaming and E-sports, one is just playing to have fun the other is playing to win. Read on to find out more.