Thomas Guigueno / Photo credit: Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP
E-sport, these video game competitions where players compete alone or in teams against other players from a console or computer, has been on the rise for several years. And its success is confirmed, like this year at Paris Games Week, where tournaments bring together thousands of spectators. Europe 1 attended one of them.
The 2023 edition of Paris Games Week ends this Sunday at Porte de Versailles, in Paris. The opportunity to discover the craze for e-sport. In short, video game competitions where players compete alone or in teams against other players from a console or computer. Europe 1 went to the French high mass of video games.
In the corridors of Paris Games Week, thousands of people are heading towards the hall where there is an arena. On the program, a tournament of an emblematic game, Rocket League, mixing cars and football, where two teams compete to score the most goals in five minutes. In front of them, a crowd of supporters in an atmosphere worthy of a Ligue 1 match.
“Players almost considered athletes”
Today, e-sport is a sport in its own right and is developing quickly with the proliferation of tournaments and events, but also with the construction of dedicated stadiums, like the one planned in Évry next year. According to the streamer LifeIsCool, a reference in match commentary for several years, it is not only the infrastructures that are evolving. “We have players who are now considered almost as athletes because they are obliged to have specific nutrition, a sleep rhythm which is also very regulated, with strategic mental coaches as well. We really have a whole ecosystem which is ultimately very similar to sport”, explains the commentator.
Proof of its evolution, e-sport now goes beyond the scope of events like Paris Games Week. This week, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, even called on France to become a European leader in the sector.