But none of the current top ten most-watched
gaming titles in the world have been around for more
than ten years, and this chart is continually shifting.
“It’s a fascinating subject and something we are still
trying to get our heads around,” says Populous’ Rhys
Courtney. “Look at something like Fortnite, for
instance. When it is played live in front of a crowd,
ESPORTS
NEW EXPERIENCE
Chris Dite, associate director and leader at Arup Sports Venue
and Design, explains why esports arenas have to cater for a new
level of spectator experience:
“Compared with traditional sports, an
esports arena requires a demanding set of
criteria that enables it to simultaneously be
a movie theater, arena and a broadcasting
studio. From the position of a spectator, the
arena must combine the seating proximity
of a movie theater while also providing an
atmosphere more typically shared in stadia.
The most challenging aspect of designing a dedicated esports
arena is sustaining the arena space with additional content that
can encourage footfall of a young target demographic.
The duration of an esport event can last from a single evening
to multiple-days, which therefore means spectators spending
a long amount of time at a venue. This requires facilities and
venues to have infrastructure to keep visitors constantly engaged
with esports or gaming through accompanying events,
attractions and entertainment.
Offering engaging and immersive experiences, both in and
outside of the arena space, differentiates from watching an online
stream, giving the venue a purpose that acts as a generator of
footfall,” Dite says.
we are starting to see the actual players situated all over
the arena. They are not just on the stage, but physically
hiding from each other, to be the last person standing.
“In stadium terms, adapting that to something more
traditional, like FIFA, is very, very different. So you
have to have flexibility of design and understand that
these spaces need to be configurable for different
games that people are starting to play.
“That’s a real challenge for us, because Fortnite is
the in thing right now, but it is also starting to drop
in popularity. So, you have to keep up with changes
in tastes and technology, while being extremely flexible
in design,” Courtney says.
Looking ahead
Future proofing the networking technology chosen
for purpose-built venues is also a critical consideration
in this fast-moving industry.
Elizabeth Stephan, director of strategic accounts
for signal transmission, connectivity and networking
experts Belden, explains the importance of keeping
up with technology in the cutting-edge world of esports
“I always stress to customers looking to create
bespoke esport venues the importance of bandwidth
and ensuring the basic infrastructure can cope. We
have to think what the landscape is going to look like
in three, five or seven years. There will be a need to
refresh technology and refreshing infrastructure is
very expensive and difficult. So, we always suggest
maximizing the conduit space to cope with the fiber
cable and connectivity required to scale to the next
technology update.
The competitive gaming market is also unique
because the live broadcast is so complicated. The
importance of having the infrastructure and AV
technology to immerse the crowd like this is a key
player in customer satisfaction,” she adds. n
As videogame titles and genres
continually change in popularity,
creating venues to suit each
style of gaming is a challenge
Pic: Arup
22 www.stadia-magazine.com September 2019
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