ESports: Sport or Business?

譯/易晨光

The sports industry joins the eSports fever to reach the digital generation and expand its business.體育產(chǎn)業(yè)加入電競熱潮，旨在走向數(shù)字時(shí)代，擴(kuò)大商業(yè)規(guī)模。

Can you imagine being paid millions for playing in a professional team?That you were able to fill stadiums with people coming to see you play? That you could attract the masses in the same crazy way as a rock star, a Hollywood actor or a famous sportsperson? ESports have made all that possible and more.The fever for video games has had a decisive impact on the sports industry,and not only has it borrowed the name,it has also given a voice to the digital generation and led it to stardom.ESports and the millennials have united and their strength is unstoppable.

你能否想象自己靠在職業(yè)戰(zhàn)隊(duì)中打比賽而掙得百萬薪水？想象自己讓體育場擠滿前來看你打比賽的觀眾？想象自己能像搖滾明星、好萊塢演員或著名體育界人士那樣瘋狂吸引大量人群？電競實(shí)現(xiàn)了這一切，并讓更多不可能成為可能。電子游戲的熱潮對(duì)體育產(chǎn)業(yè)產(chǎn)生了巨大沖擊，它不僅僅借用了競技之名，還賦予了數(shù)字一代發(fā)言權(quán)，并引領(lǐng)他們走上星途。電競和千禧一代已經(jīng)聯(lián)合在一起，他們的力量無法阻擋。

[2]To what extent eSports, or electronic sports, can be considered a sport remains a controversial question.If we stick to the definition in the dictionary,sport is understood to be any physical activity, whether a game or competition,that requires training and a subjection to rules.A second meaning is: all kinds of physical activity that is done for reasons of health or entertainment.

[2]電競——或者說電子競技——在何種程度上可以算作一個(gè)體育項(xiàng)目，這個(gè)問題依然備受爭議。如果我們堅(jiān)持按詞典的定義來，那么體育可以理解為任何需要訓(xùn)練并服從規(guī)則的身體活動(dòng)，無論是游戲還是競賽。另一種解釋則是：各種以健康或娛樂為目的的身體活動(dòng)。

[3]Spending hours and hours in front of a computer or with a mobile phone in hand playing video games is the antithesis of physical activity.But when the voices that defend it belong to elite athletes, and when the International Olympic Committee itself is seriously contemplating the possibility of introducing eSports in the 2020 Olympic Games, it is at least worth considering the debate.

[3]坐在電腦前或捧著手機(jī)幾個(gè)小時(shí)不間斷地玩電子游戲，這恰恰就是身體活動(dòng)的對(duì)立面。但是，倘若捍衛(wèi)它的聲音屬于精英運(yùn)動(dòng)員，而且連國際奧委會(huì)也在認(rèn)真考慮2020年奧運(yùn)會(huì)引進(jìn)電競項(xiàng)目的可能性，那這場爭議至少值得人們思考了。

[4]What is undeniable is that eSports has had a big impact on the sports industry and its fans are constantly increasing.Athletes, professional teams, sponsors inside and outside the sport, and the media are the main promoters of an industry that attracts, nourishes and satisfies the millennial generation.Professional video game competitions have generated nearly $900 million in revenue over the past three years thanks to sponsorship and advertising, and the industry is projected to exceed $1.1 billion in revenue and reach 215 million users in 2019,according to a study by the consultant Newzoo.

[4]無可置疑的是，電競對(duì)體育產(chǎn)業(yè)產(chǎn)生了巨大沖擊，電競愛好者正不斷增加。選手、職業(yè)隊(duì)伍、項(xiàng)目內(nèi)外的贊助商和媒體是一種產(chǎn)業(yè)吸引、培養(yǎng)和取悅千禧一代受眾的主要催化劑。根據(jù)咨詢公司Newzoo的一項(xiàng)調(diào)研，過去三年，職業(yè)電競比賽已憑借贊助與廣告創(chuàng)造了近9億美元的收入，預(yù)計(jì)2019年該產(chǎn)業(yè)營收可能超過11億美元，用戶數(shù)量將達(dá)2.15億。

[5]NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal,now an analyst for TNT Sports, is coowner of NRG eSports alongside former New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez and former Los Angeles Dodgers player Jimmy Rollins.Swedish Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jarebko has bought the ‘Renegades’team.Former Los Angeles Lakers player Rick Fox founded the Echo Fox.And the Philadelphia 76ers was the first NBA team to commit to eSports when they bought two teams for $15 million—Dignitas and Apex, which now compete under the name of Dignitas.

[5]NBA傳奇球星、現(xiàn)任TNT體育電視解說的沙奎爾·奧尼爾同曾經(jīng)效力于紐約洋基隊(duì)的棒球明星阿萊克斯·羅德里格茲及洛杉磯道奇隊(duì)退役球員吉米·羅林斯一起投資了NRG電競隊(duì)。曾效力波士頓凱爾特人隊(duì)的瑞典籍前鋒約納斯·杰雷布科（現(xiàn)效力于金州勇士隊(duì)）買下了“變節(jié)者”戰(zhàn)隊(duì)。前洛杉磯湖人隊(duì)球員里克·?？怂箘?chuàng)立了Echo Fox戰(zhàn)隊(duì)。費(fèi)城76人隊(duì)則是第一支涉足電競界的NBA球隊(duì)，他們以1500萬美元的價(jià)格收購了Dignitas和Apex兩支戰(zhàn)隊(duì)——現(xiàn)以Dignitas之名聯(lián)合運(yùn)作。

[6]If we look at European professional football, teams like Paris Saint Germain, Ajax FC, PSV Eindhoven,Sporting de Lisboa, Manchester City,FC Schalke, Wolfsburg, West Ham, Valencia FC, Besiktas, Santos or FC Volga have their own teams in eSports and are just as ferocious and dedicated in the transfer market as in traditional football.On September 22nd, Ajax FC added the best player in the Netherlands of the FIFA game to its eSport team.Their marketing director and former student of the Johan Cruyffinstitute’s Master of Sport Management, Edwin van der Sar,said at his presentation: “Koen has been FIFA champion on several occasions,each other perfectly”.inspires our youth and has a personality that fits with our club.At Ajax, we are always looking for new ways to connect with our younger fans.We will help Koen, not only supporting him in big tournaments, but also in organizing activities with our followers.We believe it is important to encourage both digital football and real football.These two worlds can coexist and complement

[6]如果我們把目光投向歐洲職業(yè)足壇，巴黎圣日耳曼、阿賈克斯、埃因霍恩、里斯本競技（現(xiàn)已更名為葡萄牙體育）、曼城、沙克爾04、沃爾夫斯堡、西漢姆聯(lián)、瓦倫西亞、貝西克塔斯、桑托斯和伏爾加等俱樂部都擁有自己的電競戰(zhàn)隊(duì)，它們?cè)谵D(zhuǎn)會(huì)市場上也一如在傳統(tǒng)足球界那樣競爭激烈、一擲千金。2016年9月22日，阿賈克斯俱樂部將荷蘭最好的《FIFA足球世界》游戲選手招入自家電競戰(zhàn)隊(duì)。俱樂部市場總監(jiān)、已在約翰·克魯伊夫?qū)W院獲得體育管理碩士學(xué)位的埃德溫·范德薩在發(fā)布會(huì)上表示：“科恩曾在幾屆《FIFA足球世界》賽事中奪冠，他激勵(lì)著我們的年輕人，他的性格也與我們俱樂部相合。在阿賈克斯，我們一直在尋找新的方式來與更年輕的支持者建立聯(lián)系。我們會(huì)幫助科恩，不僅是贊助他參加大型錦標(biāo)賽，還支持他和我們的球迷一起組織活動(dòng)。我們相信，數(shù)字足球與真實(shí)足球齊頭并進(jìn)是非常重要的。這兩個(gè)世界可以共存，而且能完美互補(bǔ)?！?/p>

[7]Nor does PSV Eindhoven, to cite another example, skimp on its digital team: its ‘cyber players’ have access to all the facilities and services of the club,appear in the annual photo of the team and wear the red and white shirt in all the tournaments in which they participate defending their colors.

[7]再舉一個(gè)例子，埃因霍恩俱樂部對(duì)待其數(shù)字戰(zhàn)隊(duì)也從不吝嗇：其陣營中的“網(wǎng)絡(luò)球員”可享受俱樂部的所有設(shè)施與服務(wù)，會(huì)出現(xiàn)在全隊(duì)的年度合照中，而且在參與所有賽事時(shí)都要穿上紅白相間的戰(zhàn)袍，捍衛(wèi)俱樂部的標(biāo)志色。

[8]The electronic sports industry allows large brands to foster the loyalty of the millennial generation and connect with them in their own language: 75%of players are between 18 and 34 years old.“The fan phenomenon in eSports is amazing,” says Shaquille O’Neal.“I have seen this movement in the NBA itself and in other traditional sports.The passion with which these people follow their favorite teams, players and games is incredible.It is an inexhaustible source for sponsors and distributors.”

[8]電競產(chǎn)業(yè)讓各大品牌得以培養(yǎng)千禧一代的忠誠度，并用后者自己的語言同他們交流：75%的電競選手都在18歲至34歲之間?！半姼偸澜绲姆劢z現(xiàn)象令人驚奇，”沙奎爾·奧尼爾說，“我曾在NBA和其他傳統(tǒng)體育項(xiàng)目中見過這種情形。這些人對(duì)他們最愛的戰(zhàn)隊(duì)、選手和游戲所持有的熱情真是不可思議。對(duì)于贊助商和經(jīng)銷商而言，這是一種取之不盡的資源?！?/p>

[9]The big players in the eSports leagues have turned their ‘hobby’ into a profession and the attraction they generate gives them celebrity treatment in this parallel world.Those guys who distance themselves from the world, shutting themselves up for up to 12 hours a day in a dark room to connect with people from all over the planet through a video game, now fill large stadiums and compete for cash prizes that exceed one million dollars.They are the envy of half the planet!

[9]各個(gè)電競聯(lián)賽的知名玩家將他們的“愛好”轉(zhuǎn)變成了職業(yè)，而他們所創(chuàng)造的吸引力則為他們?cè)谶@個(gè)平行世界中帶來了名流的待遇。那些遠(yuǎn)離真實(shí)世界、每天在黑暗房間里一關(guān)就是12個(gè)小時(shí)、通過某款電子游戲和世界各地的人們交流的選手們，如今坐滿龐大的體育場，為超過百萬美元的現(xiàn)金巨獎(jiǎng)而激烈角逐。他們讓地球上一半的人都嫉妒不已！

[10]But what are these curious characters really like? There are different traits that perfectly describe an eSports fan, whether a player or spectator: they are passionate, dedicated, with a high capacity for concentration, extremely competitive, with a desire to excel and loyal to a culture, that of gaming.Traditional sports recognize these values in their own players; perhaps that is why they do not criticize those who try to compare both worlds and, let’s not fool ourselves, it is a perfect way to connect with your younger audience and increase your business through merchandising, ticketing, rights, advertising and sponsorship.

[10]但這些奇怪的人究竟什么樣？一些不同的特質(zhì)可以完美勾勒出一個(gè)電競愛好者的形象，無論是選手還是觀眾：他們熱情飽滿，心無旁騖，注意力高度集中，極其爭強(qiáng)好勝，渴望超群脫俗，且忠于某種游戲文化。傳統(tǒng)體育界人士看中了自家選手身上的這些價(jià)值；或許那就是為什么他們并不批評(píng)試圖比較兩個(gè)世界的人，而且——我們不要自欺欺人了——這是與年輕受眾建立聯(lián)系的最佳途徑，也是通過推銷、票房、權(quán)益、廣告和贊助來促進(jìn)業(yè)務(wù)增長的完美方式。

[11]In South Korea, one of the countries with the most gaming fever addicts, there are stadiums dedicated exclusively to eSports and countless cyber cafes where the only background sound is the bip-bip of electronic games.On October 29th, the Los Angeles Staples Center, the legendary NBA Lakers’stadium, was packed like never before with fans to see the final of the League of legends world championship, the most popular video game in the world with 100 million monthly users.The end of the season had a worldwide audience of 43 million, with a peak of 14.7 million viewers during the final.Previous rounds were held in San Francisco,Chicago and New York before the final in the city of stars.The winnings: $5 million in prizes, $2.4 million for the winner.

[11]韓國是電游愛好者最多的國家之一，這里有許多專門用于電競比賽的場館，網(wǎng)咖也數(shù)不勝數(shù)，電游的“嗶嗶”聲是店中唯一的背景聲。2016年10月20日，NBA豪門洛杉磯湖人隊(duì)的主場斯臺(tái)普斯中心前所未有地?cái)D滿了前來觀看《英雄聯(lián)盟》世界錦標(biāo)賽決賽的粉絲。《英雄聯(lián)盟》是世界上人氣最高的電子游戲，月用戶多達(dá)1億。這場賽季收官戰(zhàn)共吸引了世界各地的4300萬名觀眾，同時(shí)觀看人數(shù)最高時(shí)多達(dá)1470萬。在這座星光之城上演決賽之前，還有數(shù)輪賽事分別在舊金山、芝加哥和紐約舉行。至于戰(zhàn)利品，總獎(jiǎng)金池高達(dá)500萬美元，冠軍戰(zhàn)隊(duì)獨(dú)享240萬。

[12]Do you think the owner of the Lakers would not pay for those milliondollar audiences? As someone who has lived countless nights of glory with this team, Shaquille O’Neal says, “the fans themselves are the ones who opened my eyes.ESports are a great business opportunity and the industry cannot be left out”.

[12]你是否覺得，湖人隊(duì)的老板不會(huì)為那些花費(fèi)百萬美元的觀眾買單？作為曾親身在這支球隊(duì)經(jīng)歷過無數(shù)榮耀之夜的傳奇人物，沙奎爾·奧尼爾表示：“這些粉絲真令我大開眼界。電子競技是一個(gè)巨大的商機(jī)，這個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)讓人無法忽視?！?/p>

[13]While millions of dollars are paid around the world for these new idols,we can continue to debate whether they are sports or not.If only for fun…

[13]這些新興偶像在世界各地掙著數(shù)以百萬計(jì)的美元，同時(shí)我們可以繼續(xù)爭論，電競究竟是不是體育項(xiàng)目。只要?jiǎng)e當(dāng)真就好……