Wider internet access may boost esports industry

THE GOVERNMENT should boost internet access in the countryside to make the esports landscape more inclusive, according to the top executive of a Philippine esports company.

“It is very important to reach everyone,” Ronald Robins, founder of Manila-based Mineski Global, said in an interview. “How can we get better at esports games if we don’t have internet?”

Mr. Robins recalled his struggles in Cebu province in central Philippines when he was younger, as he faced difficulties in joining big esports tournaments in the absence of support for aspiring esports players.

Several local groups have sought more government support for the Philippine esports industry, including seeing it as a legitimate creative sector and sport.

That playing video games competitively could be a salaried profession was nonsense a few years ago. Now, professional gamers make a decent living and turn into millionaires on some occasions.

Salaried pro gamers in the United States earn as much as $60,000 yearly, while tournament prize money can go as high as $50,000, according to Esports Grizzly. Video game streamers earn as much as $2,000 a month.

Internet access in regions outside Metro Manila, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao, ranged from 28.5% to 51.3% last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. In contrast, seven of 10 households in Metro Manila had internet access.

Mr. Robins’ company has introduced the GG Truck (Good Game Truck), which seeks to “gamify” the country’s 42,000 barangays or villages by providing a literal truck with a gaming setup including an LED display, generator set, stage lights, wi-fi internet and an operating crew.

Using the truck, a gamer can enjoy the services of an operating crew and the ability to stream his game on Facebook.

The initiative aims to provide internet access and discover talent in rural communities.

“We have a very specific approach to inclusivity,” Mr. Robins told ����ý. “We believe everybody should have a chance and GG Truck allows us to execute tournaments anywhere.”

The GG Truck is equipped with a sizable high-gain antenna where cell towers in remote areas can gain fast internet access for casual gaming events and esports tournaments.

“Instead of asking everybody to come to Metro Manila or Metro Cebu, we reached out to all of these communities, and it allows us to open it up as an internet café and still have all of these tournaments for mobile gamers,” Mr. Robins said.

Aside from the GG Truck, Mineski brings reliable internet access closer to remote areas by setting up more than 100 internet cafés at P30 per hour. 

Mr. Robins thinks the local esports industry is unstoppable as it continues to gain traction each year, backed by 43 million active Filipino gamers.

Mr. Robins said timing is crucial to an entrepreneur’s success.

“Where you there at the right time or were you there too early or too late?” he said. “You learn from all your failures, allowing you to sense when is the right time is to do something,” he added.

“The most important thing in your entrepreneurial journey is learning how to bounce back when you fall,” Mr. Robins said. “That’s sounds like cliché, but it’s true.”

An entrepreneur should be around people who will make them uncomfortable because they will push you out of your comfort zone and open new learning opportunities, he added. — Edg Adrian A. Eva