Day: June 8, 2018

I don’t have a regularly scheduled gaming column, but a few days ago Trevor Noah dropped a Fortnite joke on one of the most celebrated daily comedy shows in the nation and I thought, ‘okay, I gotta say something.’

This is that something.

Fortnite represents the latest reach from the realms of cyberspace into the meatspace mainstream. In the gamer world youtube and twitch replace CNN and Fox News. Game Informer is the NYT of it’s genre. Channels like Syfy are already reaching out by airing reality tv shows centered around gamers and occasionally dropping one-off airings of Street fighter tournaments. Gaming is here. Gaming has always been here, but it has been avoidable, fringe, even juvenile. It is no less these things for the majority of mainstreamers, but the so-called fringe is getting bigger. At this exact moment there are close to 94,000 viewers watching livestreams of Fortnite battles. There are even more, 147,000+ watching livestreams of Realms Royale–a game I never even heard of until this moment (it looks pretty dope though). 105,000 of those people are watching one guy, Ninja, play the game.

Ninja is their Lebron. The 27 year old Tyler Blevins has captured the hearts and streams of most gamers out there. He topped out at 667,000 concurrent viewers once. They were watching him play a freaking video game! So, he has all the sponsorships and even has the prefunctory trophy wife. Yes, that line sounds sexist, but it is meant to showcase the similarities between the gaming world and the sports world. They are plentiful. In truth, the gaming world might be more sponsor friendly, because the gamers are watching and listening for tips. The gamers think they can be Ninja. The sports buffs know they are not Lebron.

Sitting here and taking in a Bud Light and a meal before I head home. This young week has already been long and enlightening in many ways. I’ve gone through relationship struggles, living arrangement conversations, short and long term planning complications, and a legit stall out in the writing process driven by little more than a bad attitude about putting my butt in the chair. I am learning a tremendous amount about who I am and the new process that I need to enact in this, the second half of my existence.

 

The idea of existence is very peculiar. Are we nothing more than memory and action romanticized through the understood power of the subconscious mind? We apply a certain level of exceptionalism to humanity, claiming a soul that bugs do not share. I have reached a point where I accept the not knowing what is next—even acquiesce to the possibility of darkness and not knowing. Now I am focused on being around and healthy as long as possible and appreciating the iterative process of daily living and what experiences may come each and every day.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. I think most people would be surprised at how little professional athletes actually see of the tremendous salaries they are given. The thought struck me as I watched a commercial depicting ARod trying to choose the direction between the dugout and the pressbox in an ESPN commercial. I thought, ‘Why the hell is this guy working?’ In truth he is likely bored—Baseball contracts pay out far more often than other sports, but it did get me thinking about those other sports and the shiny new contracts NFL rookies are getting right now.
2. Yes, I am broke and thinking about how life would be different if I’d made better choices and handled my money right. I didn’t, obviously, and here we are.