The Verge: Blizzard’s ever-growing e-sports ambitions will soon have a new home. Today, the game developer announced plans for an e-sports arena in LA. Officially called Blizzard Arena Los Angeles, the new space will be situated at legendary TV production facility Burbank Studios, and will open next month.
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4 comments:
Live entertainment has drastically changed over the last twenty years and I think this is an excellent example of that. I would have never guessed when I was growing up that people would pay to travel to a destination to watch others compete in person while playing video games. However, Blizzard seems to have a clear (and exciting) mission with this new arena. It’s interesting to see that the leader of the e-sports division of Blizzard is a former ESPN CEO. It does make sense if you think about because both companies want to provide support and coverage of live competitions and broadcast it to audiences around the world. Since I don’t know that much about the world of video games, I’d be curious to see if the event is more like a television show or a major league sporting event. I would predict that it may be a combination of sorts because of the virtual aspect of video games, but the live aspect of the competition.
As someone who is rapidly approaching graduation and doesn’t necessarily have a broad range of experience or strong technical skills, it’s reaffirming to hear that experience isn’t necessarily the primary factor in hiring. The author says she tries to hire people with a similar background, dedication, humility, and strong communication skills. That jives with anecdotes I’ve heard from other professionals and my personal experience. I’ve found temperament, work ethic, and the ability to communicate well have always been the primary sources of my success.
Also as someone nearing graduation, I’ve been thinking a lot about the relative influence of skill / talent / good decision-making and luck in securing employment. The author herself admits that part of her success has been a result of “being in the right place at the right time.” The idea that luck had an influence on my trajectory used to frighten and frustrate me. But I’ve come to believe that luck is something we identify in hindsight if we’re happy where we are. And unpredictability can help us see unlooked for, but fruitful paths.
As someone who is interested in seeking out a job at Blizzard post graduation, I can say I have been following the developments of their e sports ventures pretty closely. They are going on a massive hiring spree, seeking out events managers with skills that would lead them to be able to work in the e-sports industry, which is very encouraging to me but also just interesting overall. I can definitely see e sports expanding rather quickly over the next few decades, so I see a lot of potential growth in Blizzard in general since they are taking this growing industry head on and clearly attempting to become the premier e-sports organization with their wide variety of gaming knowledge that they are already privy to. E-sports are bound to grow as more and more people grow up on screens and video games, and it would be amazing to see Blizzard become the next ESPN for these kinds of events.
I was never really one for gaming, but growing up with a generation of people that live for this kind of entertainment has allowed me to understand how big this market really is. There is no doubt about the fact that e sports and competitive entertainment have really taken over the entertainment industry. I personally believe that much of this success is due to the branding for these games and the followers that use them. Last summer I was working for an experiential marketing company that managed the Overwatch opening premier and to see first-hand all of the people that came explains its success. I am curious to see what people reactions will be after Blizzard releases these new experiences and game leagues. At the very least the launching of these new experiences will inherently create several new jobs for the entertainment industry and I hope to see many of these positions filled by CMU graduates.
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