Electronic Arts is planning its future with eSports in mind, according to CEO Andrew Wilson.
Wilson explained that he saw the growing field of professional gaming as one the company's sports franchises might be easily suited to, but that less obvious titles in the EA back catalogue might make for a surprisingly good fit. "I looked at a number of properties that we're doing that certainly have an eSports focus," Wilson told Red Bull. "As a company, we believe this is something that's going to continue to grow. "We have some ready-made franchises for this in our sports properties, but we also have a number of other franchises that people may not typically think about as eSports opportunities, but we think there might be an opportunity in the future, so it's something that you're going to see more of from us."
EA makes games like the FIFA series, the NHL series and the Madden NFL series. You might be interested to know that each of those three have had eSports tournaments dedicated to them thanks to Virgin's EA Sports Challenge in 2013.
They're also the subject of smaller competitions so it's not hard to see how they could be further developed.
Wilson's remarks also present the opportunity for wild speculation. As such, Wired.co.uk is now contemplating a world involving competitive housebuilding via The Sims franchise, competitive graphics via Deluxe Paint, and competitive non-player-character seduction via Mass Effect.
Commenting on whether America was likely to develop a mainstream eSports scene to rival traditional sports, Wilson added, "I see no reason why we wouldn't follow in the footsteps of what some of our gaming community in other parts of the world have started."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
