As one of major esports sponsors, Red Bull has shown its intention of domination. Early this year, Red Bull built the largest esports studio, the Red Bull Gaming Sphere, in London, U.K. Following a series of sponsorship, Red Bull started the Red Bull Conquest Tournaments on April 28, and it will run up to November 18 of this year in the U.S.
One of the tournaments was last weekend, and we had the chance to hear back from people who are at the center of the event about what they think about the value of the Red Bull Conquest Tournament of Street Fight V is for the esport community. Jimmy Nguyen, the tournament director, Jeremy “Vicious” Lopez, streaming host and commentator, and Mark Tucker, a professional player of Street Fight V shared their opionins.
mxdwn: What do you find most valuable for the Red Bull’s sponsorship of esport events?
Nguyen: When people come to the event like this, they will be seeing Red Bull and be curious about what the drink tastes like. Those passionate gamers are potential customers, and Red Bull can make or adjust marketing plans along with the Red Bull conquest tournament series throughout the year in the country.
Lopez: The exposure I would say. Billion of people from all over the world watch large esports events online and the sponsor, Red Bull, will be seen by those audiences online.
Tucker: Esports offer a fair chance for people to achieve perfection, and it’s not just about winning but to also have a sense of including the community.
mxdwn: Why would esport events be beneficial for the gamers?
Nguyen: The sense of community and interaction with others in the event. Red Bull offers a welcome space for people who play games at homes to connect with others and form a community. Gamers who either come to the events or watch the event online are passionate about video games, and they can feel the sense of a community supported by Red Bull and interact with others during the event while toasting together with red bull in their hands.
Red Bull sees the community growing and wants to be part of it so that we can have a relationship with the people in the esport community to share the trust and loyalty, and enjoy great moments together.
Lopez: I think people want to be part of something. When they watch events like this, they will feel included. They will feel “I am not alone anymore.” It not only about the game itself but the accompany of others. As we can see, people, watching streamers or YouTubers playing games, can feel an accompany of someone doing something they do. Game community has its culture, and esport is a cultural event connecting everyone in the community, and I always feel happy being part of it.
Tucker: During my professional game career, I made lots of friends online or offline. The competitive nature of esports really promotes me to empathize with others. Even though the game is competitive, people still get bonded together because we all try to understand each other. You can just come to the event, sit down with a total stranger, and play games with them. And for me, to be better at the game, I need to not only know about myself but also understand others. When you can empathize other, you will get better at the game because you can almost feel what they feel and predict what they are going to do next. You can also take the things you learn from esport and use them in real life. Being empathy and a friendly to others and brave to face the challenges in real life.
mxdwn: What do you find the most difficult for people participating esports?
Nguyen: People might not understand the esport value of competitive games because what they see is players pressing those buttons on their Playstations in front of a computer screen, but there must be a reason, that you see people sitting together or standing around to watch people playing games. And they also want to try it, and sit down and play with others. The reason of that is a competitive nature really gives video games the nature of sportsmanship, especially for fighting games.
Lopez: When I host the event and commentating game plays, I will need to keep it entertaining because that’s my job. And I love my job. I love what I do. Not all the people who love the game can come to the event live, but watching the event online is another way to feel the connection.
Tucker: Most of the people who come to the event or watch it online already played the game. They know what all of this is about. When they watch people who are good at the game, they will learn how to improve. When they come tot he event, they can meet new people and share their experience.
mxdwn: What do you think about games without the competitive nature? Can they be an esport for the community?
Nguyen: There must be something that player can compete somehow in a certain way. So, yes. I do believe all the games can bring people together and form a community.
Lopez: Yes, they can. As long as you feel happy about playing, you will be able to share your happiness with others.
Tucker: I love playing all kind of games, because it’s just fun to do, and that’s all we want for playing video games right? To have fun.
More information can be found on the Red Bull Conquest Tournament Series Website.