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Changing the Game
Book

Changing the Game

Discover How Esports and Gaming are Redefining Business, Careers, Education, and the Future

Lucy Chow
River Grove Books, 2022
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A negative stereotype of people who play video games as reclusive underachievers obscures the potential social and financial benefits of gaming. Billions of people worldwide play video games. A lucky few become champions who amass wealth by winning competitions. Some players become streamers, allowing viewers to learn and have fun by watching them play. As business leader Lucy Chow explains, most gamers play with others, not alone, enabling them to create and sustain friendships. Competitive esports events also bring fans together, in person and online. If this is a totally unfamiliar world to you, then you can thank Chow and her 38 contributing experts for this thorough introduction.

Summary

Gaming, which is now integral to the social, cultural, and economic mainstream, has three billion players worldwide.

The number of active video gamers on the planet reached 2.81 billion in 2021, according to Newzoo. Updated estimates report that three billion people now play. Esports, a form of competitive gaming, has grown to rival traditional sports for attention. In 2018, a tournament springing from the video game League of Legends attracted more viewers than the Super Bowl. The esports experience encompasses playing video games and watching professionals (streamers) play for training and for entertainment on streaming platforms such as Twitch, which an estimated 30 million people watch daily.

Mainstream media have historically dismissed gaming as trivial or even menacing, perhaps because some games have violent content and warning ratings for parents. However, most video games are appropriate for a wide range of ages. And video gaming is increasingly becoming mainstream itself.

In 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization endorsed playing active video games as “good for your body, mind, and spirit.” That year, the US Food...

About the Author

Lucy Chow is secretary general of the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) Global Women Leaders Committee, and an investment committee director for the WBAF Angel Investment Fund. She is also a contributor to Life on the Move and The Possibilities Project: A Young Person’s Guide to Career Success.

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