Game By Sebastian Perez

Changing The Game

A look into the ever-changing world of video games and eSports

By Sebastian Perez

Hundreds gather at ACL to witness the 5th ever eMLS Cup. Photo via Sebastian Perez

Outside the iconic ACL Live, a line began to form, stretching around the block. Each person eager to get inside the theater, but none of them know what to expect. Many of them had never attended an event like this. On March 13, 2022, Austin hosted the fifth ever installment of the eMLS Cup, a tournament hosted by the MLS to determine the best FIFA player in North America. The MLS, or Major League Soccer, is the American soccer league, with soccer teams from cities all over the United States. Ten pro FIFA players, each sponsored by a different MLS team, fight it out in a intense, knockout bracket, until someone was crowned the eMLS cup champion. It didn’t matter if you were an expert on FIFA, or just an aspiring soccer fan, the event was appealing for anybody. Whether it was outrageous upsets, or tense penalty shoot-outs, the event had everything, and it helps go to show how far esports have come in the past 10 to 20 years.

Esports started from humble beginnings, starting as

a Spacewar competition at Stanford University in 1972. Back then, eSports really just existed, not generating the same buzz as it does today. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s when eSports took a turn for the better.

“I don’t know how much about eSports history, but it really did start with Dota, and League of Legends…Very traditional, PC, free to play games.” says David Ferragut. Ferragut is the Director of Customer Innovations at EA, one of the biggest video game companies in the world. “People play in tournaments, people engage, people watch people play, there’s pros. And then they have these big giant events at the end of the year, where they give out millions of dollars.” Esports are becoming a global phenomenon, beginning to cement their place next to traditional sports. All over the world, people are attending these massive, end of year events. These events help to build the market of esports, and help them grow.

“So you look at these League of Legends, tournaments. They have those in China. And they fill stadiums. I mean, they’re even starting to do [it] in LA, hundreds of thousands of people showing up for these tournaments. And they’re doing huge mass market things. And then you look at the numbers of people watching in China, watching in Korea, and they’re just massive.” says Ferragut.

Not only are they appealing to watch in-person, thousands of people watch on streaming platforms, like Twitch and Youtube. National TV networks, like ESPN and CBS have begun broadcasting eSports. While games like DOTA and League of Legends have their large fanbases in very specific markets, one game is looking to take over the global eSports market.

FIFA is a video game depiction of the worlds most popular sport, soccer. The first ever FIFA game was released in December of 1993. What makes FIFA different from other video games is that a version of the game is released every year. As the world of soccer changes, FIFA changes with it. It provides a wide variety of modes for players to choose from. They can play Kick-off,

which allows players to play as any team they want, against their friends and/or an AI. FIFA offers a career mode, allowing players to become managers, and take control of any club they want, and become the manager of that club. Player career allows players to create their own professional soccer player, or choose from any real life soccer player, and take control of their career.

“The career mode used to be really good. I think I played the career mode for FIFA 15 and 16. And so just being able to play the solo player aspect of it is really fun game, getting to model your character after yourself.” That’s Austin Pham, who is currently an undergraduate at UT. Austin is a long time soccer and FIFA player. The game also offers Proclubs, which allows for online multiplayer. You and your friends, or other players online, can play together against other clubs online. The most popular, and most played mode that FIFA offers is FIFA Ultimate Team, or FUT. In FUT, you’re given your very own team, and you get to make it whatever you want. You can control the stadium, how your team looks, and most importantly the players in your team. Your goal is to make it the best club it can be. When it comes to eSports, FIFA acts similar to other established eSports, but with a minor twist. Like many other eSports, FIFA follows a sort of yearly calendar, consisting of seasons, with smaller tournaments, and usually grand finals at the end of the season. What makes FIFA different from other eSports is that the FIFA eSports calendar is tied to different soccer leagues around the world.

“So we knew that, you know, linking kind of our competitive schedule and our calendar as closely as we can to [the] Premier League and other things and [the] World Cup. We’re just amplifying the reach of those tournaments,” says David Ferragut.

Major European soccer leagues are beginning to host end-of-year FIFA tournaments, where teams from that respective league will compete against each other. The eMLS Cup is just one example of these FIFA tournaments. Not only that, but clubs will hire gamers to compete for

“So we have young professional gamers that are sponsored by different teams. So some are sponsored by Liverpool and by Paris Saint Germain, so traditional soccer clubs, will support professional gamers, and you’ll actually be an employee of that company. And you will be paid to go play in all the tournaments, right. And so you’re representing an actual soccer club, which is really cool,” says Ferragut.

So what makes FIFA so enticing as an eSport? After all, what good is aneSport if no one watches it being played? Ea saw the mass market potential that FIFA had. Being the world’s game, soccer has a lot of global appeal, and anybody interested in soccer could be interested in FIFA.

“So you don’t have to be a FIFA game expert, or a super hardcore FIFA game player to maybe appreciate the eSports, right? And so we’re like, okay, let’s, let’s bring it with more mass appeal. And so, you know, if you watch soccer games, you could watch a FIFA Esports tournament, and you be like, Okay, I get it. Like I understand how this works. I can watch this right. And then of course, you’ll have your your super hardcore fans that play FIFA and will really appreciate the difference in how good everyone is and how they set up a team and the strategy,” says David Ferragut. “But you can also bring your family and your friends to a soccer game and have fun, right? And so that’s why it’s the world’s game. That’s why EA, you know, loves making FIFA because we feel like, there’s a little bit of something for everybody.”

This begs the question what makes eSports so popular. Why do people watch them, and play them? What can be attributed to their recent success, and rise to popularity over the past couple of years. ESports are a lot closer to more traditional sports than people think. People love to watch their favorite sports being played at the highest level.

“If you’re a fan of the game of basketball, you want to watch basketball being played at the highest possible level, you know, there’s a difference between me going to the park and playing horse with my friends, and then, you know, watching, you know, LeBron, or Joel Embiid be as absolutely incredible at the game as they are,” says Stephanie Snowden, who is the Director of Com-

Gamer sits down to play FIFA 21. Photo via Guglielmo Basile

munications at Infinity Ward. Infinity Ward is the company responsible for the hit video game franchise, Call of Duty.

If you’re interested in anything, you want to see it done at the highest level. What makes eSports so popular is that people are getting to watch professionals play their favorite game at the highest level. For most players, playing at that level is merely a pipe dream, but watching eSports of their favorite games allows them to experience the highest levels for their favorite games.

“I’m a very middle of the road, Call of Duty player, and, you know, when I watch the pro players, it’s a totally different game. They’re playing an experience that is not even imaginable for me, because I lacked the skill to kind of experience that high level. The teamwork and strategy and coordination that goes into that, I think is makes for something that’s really watchable and enjoyable and high stakes,” says Snowden. Video games drive the eSports behind them. As video games increase in popularity, so will eSports. So why are video games so popular? Beginning almost 70 years ago, why have video games stuck around, and risen to their highest of popularity. Video games offer an experience that you can’t really get anywhere else, from any other means of entertainment. Video games are immersive. With video games focused on storytelling, you feel immersed in the world around you, and with the story. “I find that games especially, you know, single player games, something like horizon forbidden west or Assassin’s Creed or my favorite game of all time, which is the Witcher three, those, you you feel like a part of that world, you know, you’re really enveloped in the storytelling and the character building in the flow, and you can actually go out and, you know, experience things in that kind of open world way that I think get people really excited,” says Snowden

“You can kind of immerse yourself, you know, as a soccer player myself, you can play as you know, your favorite idols, you know, you can play as Ronaldo and Messi and being able to like, you know, emulate that in a video game. It’s what really makes the expe-

rience really fun as a video game,” adds Pham

“If you think of passive entertainment, like Netflix, it’s fine, right? You can watch TV, but it’s super one way, you know, it’s like you’re just consuming a show. And then when it’s over, it’s over. Games isn’t like that. It’s two way it’s interactive. It’s give and take, right. And things are always changing. So there’s, there’s an engagement there that is super unique to games,” says Ferragut.

Video games also provide a social experience. Video games allow people to play online with their friends, and compete against each other. Video games allow people to bond over a shared interest, and sometimes these bonds can last for life.

“I mean, I think the social aspect is the most important part for me, or the part that I first fell in love with. Getting to, you know, hang out with your friends and just be competitive and bond over just playing against your friends,” says Pham

“People want to play games, they want to challenge themselves, they want to be social and games, right? They want to see their friends, they want to hang out with their friends. There’s just an interactive entertainment thing, that there’s a few, there’s very few things that do that,” says Ferragut. “People want to play games, people want to connect, and you can have friends that you’ve never met in real life. But you guys are on a squad together. Right? You guys have your own FIFA squad and you play every night. I still play with my friends. You know, I’m older. We all have kids. We all live in different cities, we you know, we don’t get to see each other but we play Apex legends, you know, once or twice a week. And it’s our way to get

“People want to play games, they want to challenge themselves, they want to be social They want to see their friends, they want to hang out with their friends. There’s just an interactive entertainment thing, and there’s very few things that do that.”

together connected and talk about talking about our family talking about our jobs, talk about our problems, but also go and have fun.”