[ENG / PT-BR] eSports in Movie Theaters / eSports no Cinema

Are eSports the future of Movie Theaters?

[ENG] eSports in Movie Theaters

After more than 2 years without going to the theater, I went to the Gávea Mall, in Rio de Janeiro, to watch a play. But another thing caught my attention: both the theater and the cinema were announcing sessions to watch eSports tournaments or streamings of other famous Twitch players.

Searching on the internet, I realized that this movement is global, and intensified with the COVID-19 pandemic. People, for a number of reasons, are going to the movies less. Today, we can watch the latest releases straight from our favorite streaming service, right from the comfort of our homes, without the risk of being bothered by inconvenient people or rude children. There is also the problem of cost: going to a Mall just to see a movie has become a really expensive experience, as you have to spend money on car parking, tickets, and also popcorn and drinks (always at incredibly high prices).

In this context of the "death of the movie theater", it is natural that they seek to offer new experiences to attract new consumers. And that's where eSports come in: if watching the final of a League of Legends tournament is fun, it's even better to watch it in a movie theater, with a huge screen. Moreover, in this case, the cinema also offers a differential, which is social interaction: while in a "normal" movie the spectators must stay still and in their seats, in an eSports tournament the crowd will talk among themselves, cheer together, discuss the players' choices, etc.

Instead of watching eSports at home, alone, you can go to the cinema and watch it together with other gamers, similarly to what already happens with soccer: instead of watching at home, people go to bars and restaurants to cheer together.

I didn't really know that this possibility existed; for the next big eSport tournaments I'll keep an eye out to find out if a movie theater near my home will broadcast it, because I'll definitely want to try it out to see if this experience is, indeed, cool!

[PT-BR] eSports no Cinema

Depois de mais de 2 anos sem ir ao teatro, fui ao Shopping da Gávea, no Rio de Janeiro, para assistir uma peça de teatro. Mas uma coisa me chamou muito a atenção: tanto o teatro como o cinema estavam anunciando sessões para assistir transmissões de Torneios de eSports ou streaming de outros jogadores famosos na Twitch.

Procurando na internet, percebi que esse movimento é global, e se intensificou com a pandemia do COVID-19. As pessoas, por uma série de motivos, estão indo menos ao cinema. Hoje, podemos assistir os últimos lançamentos direto do nosso serviço de streaming preferido, direto do conforto da nossa casa, sem o risco de ser incomodado por pessoas inconvenientes ou crianças mal-educadas. Também tem a questão do custo: ir num shopping para ver um filme no cinema se tornou algo caro, pois gasta-se com estacionamento, com as entradas, com a pipoca e as bebidas (sempre com preços absurdos).

Nesse contexto de "morte dos cinemas", é natural que eles busquem oferecer novas experiências para atrair novos consumidores. E é aí que entra o eSports: se assistir a final de um torneio de League of Legends é divertida, melhor ainda é assistir num cinema, com uma tela imensa. Além disso, nesse caso, o cinema também oferece um diferencial, que é a interação social: enquanto num filme "normal" os espectadores devem ficar quietos e em seu lugar, num torneio de eSports a galera vai conversar entre si, torcer juntos, discutir as escolhas dos jogadores, etc.

Ao invés de assistir eSports em casa, sozinho, você pode ir ao cinema e assistir junto com outros interessados, semelhante ao que já acontece com jogos de futebol: ao invés de assistir em casa, as pessoas vão aos bares e aos restaurantes para torcer junto.

Eu realmente desconhecia a existência dessa possibilidade; nos próximos grandes torneios, eu vou ficar de olho para descobrir se algum cinema próximo da minha casa vai transmitir, pois com certeza vou querer experimentar para ver se é legal mesmo!

Thanks for reading this post, and until next time!

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