By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
THE country’s rival telecommunication companies (telcos) are testing the local “electronic sports” (eSports) market by hosting their respective “Clash of Clans (CoC)” tournament.
Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. each put a prize pot of P2 million ($43,791.86) for their respective “CoC” tournaments.
Smart and Globe hosted regional qualifiers around the country last month with grand finals to be held in Manila. Each winner of the qualifiers would receive prize money and a chance to win at least P500,000 in the grand finals.
Irymarc Gutierrez, executive director of Philippine eSports Organization (PEO), didn’t disclose the amount that Smart invested in the event that PEO is co-hosting. Globe has not responded to the BusinessMirror’s query as of press time.
According to Gutierrez, the growing community of “CoC” players in the country and the tournaments organized by Smart and Globe would benefit the eSports industry in the country.
“The implication of which would be a big shift in the market because this is the first time that eSports would tap such a big market—mobile gamers—through a bigger medium and [a bigger] channel [mobile phones],” Gutierrez told the BusinessMirror in a phone interview.
Smart and Globe are both capitalizing on the potential of “CoC” by banking on their respective prepaid marketing tack by encouraging users to access games on handheld devices.
For the International Data Corp. (IDC), eSports would likely help more the personal computer (PC) market in the Philippines.
IDC has said in a statement that a driver for the PC market this year will be the growing popularity of eSports.
“It has been observed across Southeast Asia that once again, organized competitive computer gaming is a growing trend,” IDC said.
But instead of “CoC“, the IDC pointed to “Dota 2,” a multiplayer online battle arena by Valve Corp., as having a “huge following in the country” and which “has sent gamers back to computer shops and Internet cafés to play against and among each other.”
“As a response, computer shops have not only been aggressively expanding but have also deployed high-end PCs and PC accessories to cater to gamers’ needs. This, in turn, is helping drive the volumes of PCs being shipped into the country, particularly those of white-box or clone PCs,” IDC said. But for PEO, it’s not the game that matters but the support being extended to eSports.
The local tournaments are “very much a part of our push to elevate gaming into a form of competitive sports, extolling good values like discipline and teamwork in a fun-filled arena,” Gutierrez said.
“CoC” is a massive multiplayer online mobile game, where players take the role of a chieftain with the goal of creating a powerful village by gathering resources, training troops and building and upgrading structures. Players can interact with others by joining clans that allow them to engage in wars.
“It’s about time we put together the country’s biggest ‘CoC’ tournament and provide a venue for players and fans alike to showcase their skills in the spirit of friendly competition,” a statement quoted an executive of Smart as saying.
“True to its name, this will be a next-level gaming event where participants can meet and share a common interest. Not only do we strive to offer them offers that suit their digital lifestyle, but also experiences and events that harness their passions and interests,” a Globe executive was quoted in a separate statement as saying.
Image credits: Photo courtesy Globe Telecom Inc.