DAGEN: THE BIG BUSINESS OF GAMES
, FORTNITE HOLDING ITS
FIRST-EVER CHAMPION SERIES THE
TOURNAMENT FEATURES MORE THAN
$10 MILLION IN PRIZE MONEY WITH
THE FINAL TAKING PLACE NEXT
MONTH.
JOINING US NOW, VIDEO GAME AND E
-SPORTS JOURNALIST ROD.
GOOD TO SEE YOU, ROD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE
TALK TO ME ABOUT THIS TOURNAMENT
>> I MEAN, IT'S AWESOME, THE
FORTNITE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP JUST
FINISHED HERE IN NEW YORK,
$30 MILLION WAS GIVEN AWAY AND
SOME OF YOU MIGHT KNOW THIS 16-
YEAR-OLD KID WON $3 MILLION
PLAYING FORTNITE, AND NOW, HIS
PARENTS CANNOT SAY ANYTHING TO
HIM.
DAGEN: EXACTLY.
CABOT LIKES FORTNITE.
>> YEAH, I LIKE FORTNITE WE SAW
MORE AND MORE UNIVERSITIES
EMBRACING E-SPORTS AND THE
UNIVERSITY SPENDING $6 MILLION
ON E-SPORTS FACILITY, AND AKRON
SPENDING THAT, IS THIS GOING TO
BECOME THE NEW COLLEGE FOOTBALL
WHERE SCHOOLS ARE RECRUITING E-
SPORT GAMERS TO THEIR SCHOOL
WITH THESE FACILITIES?
>> I MEAN ABSOLUTELY, COLLEGE
SCHOLARSHIPS HAVE BEEN BEGINNING
IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, THERE ARE
MORE SCHOOLS AROUND THE COUNTRY
EMBRACING THIS AND FORTNITE IS
JUST ONE GAME OF MANY THAT'S
GOING ON, RIGHT NOW THIS WEEKEND
THERE'S A CALL OF DUTY WORLD
CHAMPION CHAMPIONSHIP INDIANA IN
LOS ANGELES AND THE EOO WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP JUST FINISHED IN
VEGAS AND THAT'S ALL DIFFERENT
GAMES AND DIFFERENT DEVELOPERS
AND DIFFERENT COMPANIES.
>> WHAT KIND OF GROWTH IS THIS
GOING TO HAVE?
I KNOW A FEW BANKS THAT HAVE
ACTUALLY HIRED A DEPARTMENT SO
MORE THAN JUST ONE OR TWO
RESEARCH PEOPLE TO BEGIN TO
FOLLOW THIS AS AN ECONOMIC
SECTOR.
>> YEAH, I MEAN, VIDEO GAMES
PROBABLY YOU TALK ABOUT ON THIS
SHOW, ARE A $1 BILLION INDUSTRY.
>> BUT I MEAN MORE OF THE E-
SPORTS KIND OF.
>> BUT BECAUSE VIDEO GAMES IN
GENERAL ARE GROWING SO MUCH AND
FORTNITE IS A GREAT PREMIER
EXAMPLE OF COMPETITIVE VIDEO
GAMING THAT'S GROWING THE
OVERALL E-SPORTS PIE BECAUSE IN
THE HEART OF THEM THERE ARE
MULTI-PLAYER COMPETITIVE GAMES,
SO THE BIGGEST GAMES IN THE
WORLD RIGHT NOW ARE THE
COMPETITIVE GAMES THAT EVERYONE
IS PLAYING AND IT'S THE CORE
THAT IS E-SPORTS AT THE MOST
PROFESSIONAL LEVEL.
DAGEN: THAT'S ONE REASON, ROD I
KNOW IT BOTHERS YOU THAT PEOPLE
WILL DISMISS GAMING AND
PARTICULARLY AS OH, IT'S
ADDICTIVE, LIKE A DRUG, BUT THAT
KIND OF IT JUST SHOWS A LACK OF
UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE
SKILLSET IS, HOW COMPETITIVE IT
IS AND HOW IT ACTUALLY CAN TRAIN
YOU FOR DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES,
EVEN AS A TEENAGER.
I MEAN THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES
INTO GAMING AND THERE'S A LOT OF
GOOD THAT COMES OUT OF IT, RIGHT
>> THE CRITICISM IN THAT WAY IS
REALLY ABSURD TO COMPARE VIDEO
GAMES TO LIKE A TRULY ADDICTIVE
DRUG SO LIKE AN OPIOID IS
PATHETIC AND THAT SHOULD NEVER
BE HAPPENING AND SHOWS A LACK OF
UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S GOING ON
AND AT THE SAME TIME VIDEO GAMES
AN E-SPORTS ARE A SOCIAL
ACTIVITY MORE SO THAN REALLY
BOTH ACTIVITIES NOW.
YOU'RE PLAYING AGAINST PEOPLE
FROM AROUND THE WORLD, PLAYING
COMPETITIVELY ALL THE TIME,
TALKING TO PEOPLE FOR HOURS ON
END TO TRY TO GET THAT END GOAL.
IT IS A VERY SOCIAL THING NOT
ONLY IS IT LIKE NOT PEOPLE THINK
THAT IT'S ANTI-SOCIALISTIC
ACTUALLY ONE OF THE MOST SOCIAL
THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO ONLINE,
AND E-SPORTS IS AT THE FOREFRONT
OF BRINGING KIDDING TOGETHER
FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
>> IT'S MORE SOCIAL THAN TAKING
SELFIES AND EDITING THEM SO YOU
DON'T LOOK LIKE YOURSELF BECAUSE
AGAIN, WE ARE A TECHNOLOGY-BASED
CULTURE AT THIS POINT, WHERE WE
RELATE TO PEOPLE, ONLINE SO IS
IT BETTER TO RELATE VIA GAMING,
OR ON INSTAGRAM, AND THAT'S ONE
OF THOSE QUESTIONS, JACK I KNOW
YOU WANTED TO ASK ROD SOMETHING.
>> WELL YOU GUYS JUST DESCRIBED
ME BECAUSE I'M ANTI-VIDEO GAMES
I DON'T LET MY SEVEN-YEAR-OLD
PLAY THEM BECAUSE I WANT HIM
OUTSIDE PLAYING.
I'M A FORMER NFL PLAYING AND MY
SCHOLARSHIPS AND MY OPPORTUNITY
TO GO ON AND FEED MY FAMILY, SO
BUT MY QUESTION TO YOU IS IS YOU
GOT ME RECONSIDERING THIS NOW.
SO HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE TO
GET REALLY GOOD AT THESE GAMES
AND DO I ALLOW MY SEVEN-YEAR-OLD
WHOSE A PHENOMENAL ATHLETE AT
HIS AGE OFF THE CHARTS DO I
ALLOW HIM TO SPEND FIVE HOURS IN
FRONT OF THE TV PLAYING VIDEO
GAMES VERSUS BEING OUT TRAINING
WITH ME?
>> HONESTLY FOR COMPETITIVE
GAME AND THE GAMES IN E-SPORTS
IT REALLY DOES TAKE AS MUCH TIME
TO PRACTICE AND TO PLAY AND TO
REALLY GRIND YOUR WAY AT THE
GAMES AS IT DOES A PROFESSIONAL
SPORT.
YOU NEED TO PLAY SIX TO EIGHT
HOURS A DAY AT THE PROFESSIONAL
LEVEL PRACTICE WITH YOUR TEAM
AND PRACTICE AGAINST THE BEST
PLAYERS IN THE WORLD TO REALLY
DO SO AND TO YOUR POINT, REALLY
PARENTS SHOULD BE MORE INVOLVED
IN WHAT THEIR KIDS ARE DOING
VIDEO GAMES ARE BIGGER THAN EVER
BEFORE.
EVERYONE THAT HAS KIDS HAS A KID
PLAYING GAMES, AND IF YOU'RE
MORE ACTIVE IN WHAT THEY'RE
DOING THEY WILL RESPOND BETTER
AND THEY WILL LIKE GOING OUT
BECAUSE YOU HAVE AN INTEREST AND
YOU SHOW THE INTEREST IN WHAT
THEY DO AND WHAT THEY LOVE TO DO
AND THEN ALSO BE ABLE TO EXCEED
IN IT.
DAGEN: I CAN CONNECT THE WORLD
OF GAMING TO REAL-WORLD
ACTIVITIES, BECAUSE THE YOUNG
LIKE TOP TIER NASCAR DRIVER, A
FEW OF THEM, LEARNED TO DRIVE BY
PLAYING GAMES.
THEY ARE GETTING PAID MILLIONS
OF DOLLARS TO DRIVE ACTUAL
VEHICLES, BUT THEY LEARN THROUGH
GAMING, ROD.
SO THERE IS THIS INCREDIBLE
REAL-WORLD APPLICATION.
>> YEAH, BUT IF YOUR KID CAN
RUN FAST, JUMP HIGH, AND HAS
GOOD PROSPECTS OF GETTING A
SCHOLARSHIP DO YOU LET THEM PLAY
GAMES?
I DON'T KNOW IF I AGREE WITH
THAT.
>> SOME OF THOSE KIDS LOVE
PLAYING GAMES AS MUCH AS THEY
LOVE PLAYING TRADITIONAL SPORTS
AND SOMETIMES THEY EXCELL EVEN
MORE AT THE GAMES.
THERE ARE PRO-ATHLETES THAT PLAY
GAMES JUST AS MUCH.
DAGEN: SO WE CAN ALL GET ALONG
AND WE CAN HAVE OUR WORLD ONLINE
, WE CAN BE GREAT AT
GAMING AND BY THE WAY MAYBE YOUR
KID MIGHT BE MORE SUCCESSFUL AT
PLAYING VIDEO GAMES THAN PLAYING
SPORTS.
>> YOU'RE RIGHT.
>> THEY HAVE TO LEARN THE PLAY
BOOK AND LEARN DIFFERENT
DEFENSIVE SCHEMES.
>> OH, YEAH I'M TALKING ABOUT
GAMES WHERE YOU'RE SHOOTING EACH
OTHER AND ALL OF THAT.
>> HE COULD BRING $3 MILLION
HOME.
>> THAT MEANS HE HAS TO PLAY
EVERY DAY TO BE THAT GOOD.
ALL DAY I DON'T KNOW.
DAGEN: I HOPE YOU COME BACK AND
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE
DISCUSSION.
>> I DID AND ANY TIME YOU NEED
ME TO BRING UP E-SPORTS I'M HERE
FOR YOU.
>> I WON'T TELL YOU WHICH GAMES