By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The gaming world of eSports has been around for some time, but the
explosion in popularity over the last few years has caused many markets to get
involved. The Great Bend Recreation Commission is now in the process of
bringing eSports, video games turned into a spectator sport, to the community
to enjoy.
Getting advice from Barton Community College eSports coach Curtis Rose, Great
Bend Rec Business Director Joe Henry said the Rec wants to create tournaments
and leagues for gamers to compete, but also for those interested in watching.
"There's almost an equal component of interest in actually playing and watching someone else play," said Henry. "That's why there are such huge revenue streams in on-demand streaming and live streaming. Half of the demographic out there, when they're not playing they want to watch."
The Recreation Commission plans to purchase seven PlayStation 5 consoles and
several television monitors. Tournaments and leagues would be set up to play
Madden NFL, NBA 2K, Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers and Mario Kart. The
competitions, lasting roughly three hours, would most likely take place at the Rec
Center on Stone Street.
"I've come across some research that socially and cognitively there are massive benefits for children who aren't very well socialized," said Henry. "They get in these communities where they're in headsets and talking with each other. They're going to things with like-minded individuals. It's showing a lot of social and cognitive benefits."
While the Rec Commission wants their own leagues and tournaments ready to go by
this summer, Henry announced the Rec will partner with Barton Community College
to hold a Rocket League tournament on March 25 on the college's campus.