Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English.
I'm Neil.
Sam: And I'm Sam.
Neil: Now Sam, how would you define eSports?
Sam: eSports? Well this is essentially
competitive video gaming. Individuals
and teams take part in competitions
where they play video games.
Neil: So just like me and my kids at the weekend?
Sam: Well, no! eSports is enormous.
Tens of thousands of people turn up to
watch these events. The players are
professional and get paid huge
salaries – the best ones are millionaires.
Neil: Well, maybe I’m not quite in that
league yet! But the business of eSports is
our topic for this programme. Before we
press 'play' on the subject though, a
question. Approximately how much was
generated by eSports and video
games in the last year? Was it…
a) $130 million? b) $13 billion? c) $130 billion?
What do you think then, Sam?
Sam: I’m going to say $130 billion. It’s a
huge amount, but I think it’s that successful
at the moment.
Neil: OK, we’ll find out if you’re right at
the end of the programme. Not so long
ago the idea of making a living playing
computer games would have seemed
impossible. However, times have changed
as technology has improved. eSports are
even going to be included in the
2022 Asian Games. So it might not be
long before they make an appearance at
the Olympics. Gabriël Rau is a pro-eSportsman.
He was interviewed for the BBC
programme In Business. He thinks
eSports are going to grow and grow, but
does he think that’s a bad thing?
It's becoming more of a normal sports
thing with this generation about to have
children and moving forward I feel like it
might even become a staple. Might
become as normal as sports are right
now. I don't think it necessarily
has to be a bad thing. It is time-consuming
though, so I feel like, if you do want to
introduce anybody, especially children,
into video games, discipline is the way to go.
Neil: So, is the growth of eSports a bad thing?
Sam: Not, according to Gabriël. He thinks
that people having children now have
grown up with computer games and
these are beginning to be seen in the
same way as traditional sports.
In fact, he thinks they will become a
staple.
Neil: And what does he mean by that?
Sam: Something that is a staple is a basic
element, something we expect.
For example, in the UK we talk about
potatoes being a staple food
and football being a staple of the school
curriculum.
Neil: But he does mention a disadvantage,
doesn’t he?
Sam: Yes. He speaks quite quickly but he
says that it is time-consuming. It eats up
a lot of time!
Neil: Oh yes, I know that from my own
experience.
I can start playing a game then find that
many hours have passed and it’s the
middle of the night.
Sam: And that’s why Gabriël goes on to
talk about the need for discipline. This is
having strict controls and restrictions and
importantly sticking to them. So, for
example, if you say you are only going to
play for an hour every day, you have to
stop playing after an hour, even if you
want to carry on. That’s discipline.
Neil: And he makes the point that this is
important if you are introducing children
to video games. Not everyone involved in
eSports wants to be a player. It’s now
possible to study the business of eSports
at university where you can learn how to
manage eSports events.These are the
thoughts of a student on one
of those courses talking about her
response to seeing a big eSports event.
When you look at the background of how
it all comes together and the people that
spend all that time getting into it, for me I
would love to put something like that
together, not so much to play it but to put
that together and create that experience
for other people and that was just my
main aspiration really.
Neil: So she doesn’t want to play, does she?
Sam: No, she doesn’t. She seems more
interested in putting together an event,
which means setting up and managing an
event for others to take part in. That, she
said, was her aspiration, her ambition.
Neil: Right, before we review the
vocabulary, let’s have the answer to our
quiz question. Approximately how much
was generated by eSports
and video games in the last year?
a) $130 million? b) $13 billion? or
c) $130 billion? What did you say, Sam?
Sam: I thought $130 billion.
Neil: And, for once, you’re right so well
done. The actual figure was
approximately $137 billion, which was
more than the music industry when
you include music sales and concerts.
Right on now to remind ourselves of
some words and phrases from today’s
programme.
Sam: Yes, we’ve been looking at eSports,
the world of competitive video gaming.
Neil: We heard that it was becoming so
normal that it might become a staple, an
expected basic activity in the same way
sports like football are.
Sam: But be warned, playing video games
is very time-consuming. It eats up a lot of time.
Neil: So you need to have discipline. That
means you need to have and keep to
restrictions such as the length of time you
play or the time of day you play. That is
particularly important for children.
Sam: If you organise an event, you can
say that you put it together.
Neil: And your ambition, your hope for the
future is an aspiration.
Sam: And my aspiration is to beat my
high score on my favourite game, so are
we done now, Neil?
Neil: Yes, it’s game over for today. We’ll
see you again soon and don’t forget to
look out for more from the
BBC Learning English team online, on social
media and on our app. Bye for now.
Sam: Bye everyone!