Plugged in to a new reality

University course helping to enhance perception of gaming

Five years ago it would have been unthinkable for a top Chinese university to offer a full-fledged course in e-sports, but today one of the nation's leading institutions is doing just that.

Chen Jiang, associate professor at Peking University's School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, launched an e-sports class in the spring semester－and its popularity is soaring.

"The class was originally designed for 120 students, but about 160 showed up on the first day," Chen said.

"The students asked me to bring more people into the class and change to a bigger classroom, which I did. Two weeks later, there were about 200 students."

Chen's course involves much more than playing games. It includes in-depth study of the gaming industry, technical designs and user experiences.

In order to pass the course, students must successfully complete about five individual and group assignments.

The innovative effort is an inevitable result of the dramatic growth of China's e-sports market.

According to the 2017 China Game Industry Report released by Penguin Intelligence, the market value of China's e-sports sector reached 20 billion yuan (about $3 billion) last year, generated by gamers' spending, copyright distribution, merchandising and e-commerce.

The report also pegged the number of registered online gamers at 220 million－up from 170 million in 2016.

Another survey, from market researcher Niko Partner, showed China's e-sports market topped $1.26 billion in 2017, while the total purse payouts at Chinese tournaments was $64 million, up from $51 million the previous year.

"China's gaming market has become mammoth, and the figures indicate the country's share of global gaming revenue is around 25 percent," said Chen.

Asian E-sports Federation president and Chinese billionaire Kenneth Fok Kaikong isn't surprised by the numbers.

"E-sports is a trend, and it's very popular among the younger generation," Fok said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"It has experienced dramatic development in the past three to five years, and everyone believes China's e-sports market is very promising."

But relative to the huge market, e-sports' academic study and talent development have not kept pace.

"When I prepared the class before the semester, I did a lot of research on how foreign universities have incorporated e-sports courses," said Chen.

"A typical example is the University of Southern California, one of the best universities in the United States. Students there can earn around 14 academic degrees at different levels associated with games and e-sports, including game design.

"I was totally shocked when I saw how far USC has come. They were already offering so many degrees, and we didn't even have an e-sports course in any of our top universities."

According to the E-sports Industry Talent Supply and Demand Survey released by Tencent, only 15 percent of industry positions in China have sufficient human resources.

The survey also indicated the industry will need to fill 570,000 jobs in league management, media production, data mining, commentating and training.

In September 2016, the Ministry of Education listed 'E-sports and Management' as a major for colleges, paving the way for higher education institutions to offer related courses and official diplomas.

In 2004, the Communication University of China became one of the first in the country to offer degrees in game design, and last year it launched a course in digital media art, aimed at developing gaming management and design talent.

The renowned Shanghai Theater Academy, meanwhile, is offering an e-sports commentating course. Forty students signed up for its launch last fall.

E-sports leagues and clubs are also cultivating talent. For example, the King Pro League (KPL)－based on Tencent's homegrown hit King of Glory, has been working with its clubs to get players assigned to professional training sessions, as well as finding positions for coaches and data analysts.