Bruce Dias 
Esports has taken the virtual world by storm. No matter where you live, you can find local or national-level events for games of all kinds. Whether you’re hosting an event for the original Street Fighter or the new Counter-Strike, you’re going to need some level of production. Here’s a closer look at what that exactly means and how you can make your next small or big esports event a smashing success.
An esports event is a great time for everyone involved. Players get to showcase their honed skills, spectators get to watch their favorites duke it out, and the hosts get to put on an amazing event that will hopefully become or continue to be an annual thing. If you’re hosting an event, you should seriously consider a production company that has experience or a focus on esports events. While you’re doing your own research into a local AV production company, keep an eye out for the following things.
Keeping Creativity in Mind
Esports events have the ability to be as creative as any other in terms of marketing, a story, highlights, and scoreboards. An esports production company knows how to market a rivalry between two players, make a score compilation highlight, and really drive engagement and entertainment into the event.
At the venue, production companies with experience know how to set up lighting, LED displays, sound, and ways for the audience to interact with the players or the event itself. Ask a prospective company for examples of past work and look to see how their creativity makes its way into their events. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about your own event and any visions or ideas they may have to make it one to remember.
Tech Infrastructure is Key
Unlike a wedding, where audio and lighting are perhaps the most important considerations from a production standpoint, technical infrastructure reigns over all at an esports event. At an esports event, you’re going to need outstanding network performance, low latency, and reliable hardware.
Any esports event production company that you hire must have a handle on all three of those things. With so many people in one location, networks can experience considerable user loads. This can have a negative effect on your ability to broadcast the event or the matches themselves, depending on the setup. Likewise, reliable and secure hardware is important if you plan on having matches start on time without interruptions. Keeping them secure ensures that no one is tampering with the game data, like installing hacks or some other sort of rule-breaking doings.
Help Finding and Integrating Sponsors
Depending on the production company, they may be able to put you in contact with potential sponsors if you’re lacking in that area. These companies have rubbed shoulders with countless contacts in the esports world, and it’s not impossible for you to pick up one or even two new sponsors just by asking if they would know any interested parties.
They also know how to correctly integrate your sponsors into the event. A good production company knows how to incorporate a sponsor’s branding into media, the event space itself, and any broadcasts without it seeming “in your face” or taking away from the event itself and the viewer experience.
They should also be able to provide some sort of metrics for the sponsors to see how their ads are being viewed. Metrics like viewership, demographic insights, and any free online streaming metrics are valuable for sponsors and ensure that they know they’re getting what they paid for. It also helps ensure that they continue to come back for future events, as they know the exposure will make up for the cost.
Where Regular Production Companies Fall Short
Anyone reading this who knows a thing or two about esports can easily understand that it has different demands from other events. As mentioned above, the technical aspects are unlike most other events and need to be the main focus. This is why regular production companies often fall short, and those who are interested in hosting esports events should look towards companies with experience.
Even looking past the basic tech requirements, different games and scenes have different needs. Between the commentators, analysts, organizers, players, and spectators, each group plays a vital role, and it’s important to understand where and how they fit in at the event. Players need to know when they’re going to be live, spectators need a way to get in with seating, broadcasters need their own separate area, etc. It’s a lot that a regular production company may not even think to consider until it’s too late and the event is potentially ruined.
Expect the Unexpected
In an ideal world, every esports event goes off without a hitch—but this is not an ideal world. Weather, delays, and even someone tripping over an important cord are all feasible problems to have at an event. Have a conversation with the production company beforehand and ask what their plans are for unexpected events and how they mitigate potential mishaps and mistakes that could wind up ruining the show. It’s a good idea to ask about any common mistakes in the industry and how they avoid them, or even any past mistakes and what they’ve learned from them.
