Zona de Azar USA – ‘Simpsons’ Esports Episode Reflects Industry’s Growth In Mainstream Consciousness

USA.- March 18th 2019 www.zonadeazar.com This Sunday, The Simpsons will air an episode called “E My Sports” that focuses on pro gaming. League of Legends (LoL) publisher Riot Games consulted on the episode in which characters play a fictional game called “Conflict of Enemies.” Esports continues to gain awareness thanks to celebrities, athletes, and pop culture references.

League of Legends (LoL) publisher Riot Games consulted on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons to make sure that esports would be accurately depicted. Fox’s 30-year-old show isn’t the first to embrace esports as a plot device, but Riot’s collaboration serves as a “next step” on the path to awareness.

On March 17, Fox will air a new episode of The Simpsons called “E My Sports.” Bart, one of the show’s protagonists, begins to excel at competitions for a fictional game called “Conflict of Enemies.” The game is similar in appearance and gameplay to Summoner’s Rift—a popular map in League of Legends, although they will not be playing Riot’s game, itself. Bart’s father, Homer, finds that he enjoys coaching the team in their efforts.

Co-Heads of Esports at Riot Games Whalen Rozelle and Jarred Kennedy consulted on the episode, as well as David “Phreak” Turley, a commentator from the League of Legends North American league. Rozelle, Kennedy, and Turley provided insights that ensured players, fans, and coaches were depicted in an authentic manner on TV.

In a statement emailed to The Esports Observer, Riot Games said that—despite not having its game in the episode—the publisher’s involvement was to “introduce sports and entertainment fans to the excitement and drama that is professional League of Legends.”

Selling esports as an emotional event has been the objective behind several recent shows and documentaries. Netflix featured the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) in its series 7 Days Out, a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into organizing a major event. It’s telling that esports was grouped together alongside the Kentucky Derby and NASA’s Cassini Mission in the documentary.

Ubisoft highlighted player anticipation to promote its 2019 Six Invitational on Feb. 15. “To Win it All: The Road to the Six Invitational” is a documentary that follows three professional Rainbow Six: Siege players as they compete for a $1M USD prize pool.

Entertainment and esports are colliding, serving as test cases for what’s to come. Ten million people attended a Marshmello concert inside Fortnite, for example, paving the way for virtual events.

During our Celebrating Women in Esports series, G2 Esports head of communications Karina Ziminaite predicted that esports will continue to secure its place in pop culture.

“Connections between esports/gaming and originally non-gaming entertainment will deepen,” said Ziminaite. “We just recently saw [Brazilian football star] Neymar saying hi to Ninja after a football match. [In addition,] hosts like Ellen DeGeneres, comedians, and various TV shows keep adding esports and gaming representatives to their agenda.”

Edited by: Zona de Azar Press www.zonadeazar.com