Totsu Corporation is dedicated to elevating Esports beyond the realm of gaming, with the aspiration of embedding it as an influential element within society.We are committed to fostering widespread recognition of the potential of Esports.
After reading “What is Esports?”, please read Totsu Esports Vision.
■What is Esports?
・What is Esports?
Esports is the practice of playing video games competitively at an organized, professional level. It has its roots in the early 70s, and championships for games such as Space Invaders (1980) and Starcade (1982) became underground hits among fans of arcade games.
To this day, individual players and teams compete in a variety of games, in a variety of formats, often televised to large online as well as offline audiences.Each sport is largely tied to a particular game title, and with it, a fan-base dedicated to said game. These include popular games such as VALORANT, League of Legends, and FIFA– each of them requiring a different strategy, team size, and skill set to reach competition-level.
・Layers of Esports
Most tournaments are organized on three
levels, usually local,national and international,although some leagues may have further denominations between local and national. In Japan, for example, you might have city,state,prefectural, and only then nationwide competitions. Only teams that have won each respective tournament can progress towards(ultimately) international championships.Tournaments and championships are usually organized by either private enterprises, the game developers or a centralized authority for any given game.
When planning a tournament, either one single game, or alternatively a list of games are chosen and publicized, and any teams wishing to participate can attempt to win, and potentially make it into the next tournament. Prize pools are usually funded by sponsors, publishers or even by community contributions, and vary in amount,usually corresponding to the level of tournament or championship.
Teams can either begin at the grassroots level, be that high-school or university clubs, or be funded by private enterprises that fund their ascent and act as the teams sponsor– although the former is far more common. Esports talent is usually scouted through online exposure (through streaming platforms such as Twitch, for example), ranked gameplay or smaller competitions.Professional organizations then sign players and provide training, infrastructure and a salary,which varies depending on the size of the organization and the game that is being played.
■Esports Team Roles / Coach Responsibility
Teams almost always contain 3 main roles: the in-game leader (IGL), who acts as the captain,making key decisions for the team both in and out of the match, the coach, and the analyst(s).The coach, as in many other sports, oversees training and discipline in the team, while an analyst is responsible for overseeing and dissecting performance data and opponent strategies in preparation for a match or tournament.
Coaching is an important, although sometimes overlooked component of competitive Esports:most games change and evolve with constant updates, for example by adding new playable characters, so adaptation and strategy development become very important. Coaches help players improve their skills, teamwork and communication, but they also give the players a sense of direction when it comes to training and aim to prevent burnout and support mental focus.
■Problem and Solution in Japan
・Problem
The current challenge Japan is faced with is an unfortunate shortage of coaching talent.Limited infrastructure and exposure to Esports has led to a bottleneck that slows player development and keeps the market for such games smaller than in regions in which coaching is more established.
・Solution
That begs the question, what is there to be done about this problem? Primarily, the following services are of great importance to Esports at large and the coaching bottleneck specifically:
Esports infrastructure, event support, broadcast & media, and player & team support.
High-performance PCs, networking, and gaming environments with spaces for team analysis and practicing are key infrastructure needs and event support for tournaments of any size from the on-site infrastructure to the required broadcasting equipment must be available, set up, and properly maintained. Finally, there needs to be talent management, contracts and branding set up for players, teams, coaches and analysts.
■Our Mission and What We Deliver at Totsu
▼▼Specific Initiatives ▽▽
1.Introduction of Esports facilities
2.Training and dispatch of coaches
3.Hosting tournaments organized by Totsu
4.Activities of our company’s Esports club
＜With our extensive experience in visual information technology, we provide comprehensive support for Esports — Covering both the cultivation of human capital and the enhancement of technical infrastructure.＞
Learn more→「Totsu Esports Vision」