The brand new H20 Esports Campus near Amsterdam is a great example of innovation within e-sports. It is unique in its kind and has no global counterpart as of yet. No doubt it will become the pinnacle of esports in The Netherlands bringing esports, gaming and creative tech together on one location. We discuss 8 reasons why we believe this campus is great news for esports.
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By now you know I love sports innovation and great ideas that support sports going forward. You also know I am a solid believer in the new generations entirely changing the world of sports on the back of technology. The recently opened H20 Esports Campus near Amsterdam is bringing these two beliefs together. The H20 esports campus is a centre where new generations will come together to participate in e-sports and where technology is at the base of future innovation.
In an earlier post I have written about the phenomenal rise of e-sports over the last few years and its blossoming popularity all over the world. The Netherlands has been lagging behind a little bit, implying there is a huge opportunity here. The recent opening of the H20 Esports Campus near Amsterdam is grabbing this great opportunity. It is both a unique breeding ground for new talent and for fresh creative new ideas and the first initiative of its kind in the world. This campus has everything that the modern e-athlete wants and hence can be seen as the pinnacle of e-sports in the Netherlands.
Below I have listed 9 reasons why the H20 campus is such a great idea and will help boosting e-sports in The Netherlands
You know I have talked a lot on the new generations Z and Alpha. No doubt these generations are not only the future, they also will be the big innovators of that same future. They embrace e-sports and gaming. This is not a small thing! Let me give you some figures: 33% of all the people in the world are gaming! And this number is growing and particularly consists of the Gen Z and Gen Alpha generations. If you know that by 2030, Gen Alpha and Gen Z combined will account for 45% of the workforce, you know what is to come. Mind you, this is only 10 years away!
It means the world of sports may be in for big changes and e-sports will be amongst these changes. It is these generations which the H20 e-sports campus is aiming at. You can bet your life that it will be a huge success and no doubt other countries will follow suit with similar initiatives.
Technology is the future and without technology there is no deal if you were to ask GenZ and GenAlpha. The attraction of the H20 Esports Campus is that it not only focuses on e-sports, but also aims to stimulate innovation around anything that relates to gaming and e-sports. With the help of new technologies such as VR, AR and AI, new (sports)apps may be developed, something which will particularly appeal to the new gens.
Also interesting to read: 10 awesome reasons why E-sports will take off
Let’s first pay a quick visit to the H20 campus as we didn’t explain yet what kind of facilities this campus offers. It is truly awesome when you wander around the premises. It contains 10,000 square metres of gaming, e-sports and creative tech!
Imagine yourself entering the Rabo Esports Stadium Amsterdam with video walls, with platforms where e-athletes are battling each other, with a studio where analysts and commentators are shoutcasting and discussing what they see. Imagine gaming rooms where pros and amateurs can practice and battle each other. Or what about a virtual reality battleground or a drone racing center? It is all there and more! Whether you want to do some simracing or organize a Zwift cycling competition, this is the place to be!
Such an environment will attract the top e-athletes. Not only can they put in some necessary practice, they also can make use of knowledge related to nutrition, physical fitness etc. In fact team Gullit, which is a professional FIFA e-sports team has made the campus its home base. No doubt others will follow suit. In such a professional environment with shared services, best practices and an elite athlete environment, performance levels undoubtedly will improve.
Spotting new talent will become much easier at the H20 campus. During my visit at the campus, I noticed how kids were practicing minecraft and learning tricks from a top player. It turned out to be a kids camp and all of these kids were having a ball. In a center like this, talent will be easy to spot and hence the level of play in The Netherlands might quickly improve. Being a talent is no longer sufficient, as a player you now will meet strong competition and hence your skill level is likely to improve.
The sweet thing about this initiative is that it not only stimulates e-sports itself, it also will generate a creative vibe. Creative tech is a very important element on this campus. The aim is to create new games and apps with the newest available technologies. This campus will eat, sleep and breathe games, e-sports and technology. Yes sure, you can become an elite e-athlete, but if If you are not good enough, you might have a talent to develop a game or app or the creative mind behind a team or whatever. It means all the brains, skills and top sport mentality are bundled in one place, leading to new startups and incubators.
Don’t be surprised if the H20 Campus will be a breeding ground for new groundbreaking ideas, both from the athletes as well as developers. Expect new start-ups and incubators to become active on this campus.
One of the ways sports is repositioning itself nowadays is by means of sportainment, a mixture of (yes you got it right) sport and entertainment. What should you think of? Tournaments with a great show will definitely attract young fans and participants, but there is more. The campus will attract new participants as holiday camps, bootcamps, teambuilding, staff outings etc are being offered, which will lead to great experiences of different user groups and hence increase the popularity of e-sports.
As stated the H20 Campus does have a great stadium, called the Rabo Esports Stadium Amsterdam. All kind of esports events can be organized here and also being streamed/broadcasted and shoutcasted? Such a stadium does not exist yet in The Netherlands and no doubt it will lead to both increased popularity and revenues for both the campus and the region.
Gamifying is hot nowadays, not only in sports but everywhere, such as for example in education. On the campus you will find a VR-experience that aims to teach people to extinguish fires at home and to offer therapy sessions for people with burns. Also kids can play games with their VR headsets on.
With this technology physical sports and technology can easily be merged. The H20 Esports Campus is based in a sports park where many traditional sports have their base. As you know most traditional sports are not at the forefront of implementing technological innovation into their sports. Many do insufficiently realize it is a MUST going forward in order to remain popular with the new generations. Gamification can help. With so many traditional sports present near the H20 campus there is a unique opportunity to crossfertilize. These sports might be an ideal testing ground for new creative gamification ideas generated by the creative talent on the campus.
Also interesting to read: 9 powerful reasons why gamification of sports mattters a lot
With the arrival of VR/AR/AI technology an entire range of new opportunities will arise, including brand new sports. Expect for example current e- games like fortnite to become real new physical sports, yes that is very much possible! e-athletes equipped with VR goggles will battle it out. This way kids are likely to become more active in sports again as technology will be blended into sports, a requirement for these youngsters. Sports with a tech game element in it! What more does a kid want? Being active in your own game! That’s what sportification is and no doubt the H20 Esports campus will be active promoters of this.
Also interesting to read: sportification new mantra of the game industry
As you can read, I am pretty positive about this initiative of founder Dirk Tuip and no this is not a paid promotion article! Please take a look at their site and if you want, please comment below!
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