Let’s get something straight. The business of gaming is booming. That does not mean the golden ring that has been chased around ‘esports’ per say. It means everything from Madden to FIFA to Wordle to console games on a global scale. Those who understand the business, scale appropriately, take the time to engage in the culture, learn from the mistakes made by others, and own the Intellectual Property are doing really well. A case in point is the New York Times, which has grown its subscriber base exponentially by adding more casual games to its offerings.
Platforms that tie casual gaming to traditional sports and trivia…the best example being Immaculate Grid…also have found an important niche to grow from. Each has its spot without having to become the business to supplant traditional “sports.’
It was with all that in mind that I read Eric Fisher’s piece Wednesday on the demise…or the retrenching…of the NBA2K League. It was the latest example of an overextension by ’traditional’ sports into the business of gaming to create something which the marketplace doesn’t really need, or more important, say that it needs. Now NBA2K, like FIFA, like Madden, like MLB The Show, are great, vibrant, properties. They have an audience, a culture, a hierarchy, and engagement level with people who love games, all their own. That does not mean that the marketplace dictates creating a professional business that needs massive capital with no absolute clear path to success in the investment. During the Pandemic, and for that matter for several years, we have heard loud vices in the esports world talk about how this game or that would supplant the NFL or The Premier League or Major League Baseball as the choice of a new generation of fans. Heck, there were even silly boasts by one of the myriads of professional pickleball leagues…since merged and retrenched…that that sport on the professional level would surpass MLB in just a few years. What? Nope. Not happening.
When live sports paused, the world looked more and more to this idea of gaming as a way to engage, and yes, millions at home were left to turn to whatever device they had for some semblance of normalcy. We saw Iracing rise and find a spot on broadcast TV. Drone Racing, which has a unique niche and is still very vibrant, made it to broadcast TV, and the sports world oohed and ahhed and said, ‘yes let’s go here and put money towards this, because that’s where the Next Gen fan is going.’ Then sports returned, and guess what, numbers went up, engagement went back up and sports ‘gaming’ took a back seat. Not the back of the bus, get out of here seat, but one that was part of a product, not the driver of dollars in the multibillion-dollar businesses of leagues like the NBA or the NFL or the LPGA Tour or MLS. Fans, consumers, brands are engaged with the real LeBron James or the real Lionel Messi or the real Aja Wilson, not someone playing a game as LeBron. These gamers are elite at their craft and have solid followings globally, but to expect the gamers to supplant live action with real elite athletes was a challenge and flawed bet.
And here we are with the retrenching of the NBA2K League, and the flaw which those who ran to throw money at the professionalization of casual sports games didn’t acknowledge. We as humans are cyclical in acting as we grow, and we love to connect back to things that we found normal growing up, especially in challenging times. No matter what the age, our parents or partners or friends’ families took us t a live event…the Globetrotters, Monster Truck shows, college football, MLB, NWSL…whatever that live communal experience with real human beings doing things did. We ate cotton candy, watched the vide bard, bought some merch, shared some smiles, built memories, took some pictures and went home. Then we got to be teenagers, and low and behold, those love old school events were silly…we love these devices, and we loved the games we could play, and maybe our parents or cousins orcousins friends played along with us. It was the next great thing, and decision makers looked at it and said…oh man look at that, they hate the NFL or The NHL lets go all in on what is on the device to get their attention…and suddenly there was a rush to ‘esports.’ Most times those making the decisions did not take the time to understand the culture, the why, the intricacies, even the authenticity of whatever game it was they saw their kids playing…they just knew this is where Next Gen was, and we had to get there. It’s why I received a call a few years ago from a very senior team official whose organization had just spent millions on a team in the failed Overwatch venture. I asked how I could help in their storytelling of these athletes and the business.
Her response? ‘Do you speak Korean or German because that’s all our players speak, and we are having a lot of trouble understanding what’s going on.’ What? You invested in a team in every way yet had no idea what the real business was? For those who don’t know what happened to Overwatch and pro sports teams take a look on Google…because it doesn’t really exist anymore and failed from the start because of a rush to force a traditional ‘pro sports’ model to a business that was doing just fine on its own.
Now back to NBA2K and FIFA and Madden etc. The retrenching of the NBA backed venture does not mean that the game is failing. Those casual games as a way to engage fans, build a young database of casual interested global audiences, expand brands, and most importantly have fun and connect to a core sports element, aren’t going anywhere. They are solid. Expensive but solid. Hopefully also pro sports teams don’t give up on hosting gaming tournaments as a way to connect with fans because that best practice worked and needs t be developed…and maybe that’s where a newly envisioned NBA2K League will reside. Not at extravagant spending, but as measured, sponsorable, manageable offshoots of the core business.
Also here is another lesson learned tied to the rush to esports mentioned above. What happens when those kids get older and become young parents? They don’t, as some predicted, sit around a console playing shooter games with their young ones. They…shocker…want to get them out of the house and take them to A LIVE EVENT! The PBR, WWE, WNBA, NHL, MLB…something similar in a tradition that their parents did, and it repeats the cycle because that’s what we remember. Now those experiences change over time…but they are live experiences with real people in a communal space that we remember and go back to. Gaming has its own rightful and growing place, but it is not at the expense of live sports, so long as the live event continues to evolve.
There is room for everyone, but homework and thought needs to be done to see if a fad or a casual experience has the legs to become a massive business in the culture the spender chooses to insert itself into. As a good friend said…’Just because millions play hopscotch every day doesn’t men, we need a pro hopscotch league.’
I am truly sorry for all those who lost spots in the NBA2K League this week. I wish every startup sports venture could work. Those big investors in ‘gaming’ who have folded tents had the ability to do so, because some f those investments were speculative, and in many cases, were less than what they would spend n say, a backup forward or a reserve safety. If it worked, great, if not, we gave it a shot. The reality is chasing the shiny toy without knowing the DNA and the history sometimes leads to blindness of investment and all the collateral damage that goes with it.
By the way, the traditional sports leagues, with all their issues…they are doing just fine as they continue to adapt and grow. The startups…we can make a list of those that have come and gone. It’s not easy and it’s harder when you don’t listen and misread the market.
Off to watch a baseball game…on my mobile device. Moderation in all things.
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