While people who don’t know much about it debate whether eSport is actually real sport or not, motor racing fans have already seen the answer to that many times over – a number of gamers have made a successful transition into real racing with eSports series like Nissan’s GT Academy and the FIA has even acknowledged its legitimacy with the creation of an official championship for the Gran Tursimo Sport video game.
And now Ford is getting in on the act with the announcement of its first official eSport team – Fordzilla.
Starting at Gamescom, Europe’s leading trade fair for digital games culture, Ford says it will recruit national Fordzilla teams for France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK – as well as a European team consisting the star players from each national team.
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Ford’s Ranger Raptor features in the Forza Motorsport 7 video game on Xbox One.
“We at Ford have a racing pedigree that others can only envy. Now is the time to take that know-how and apply it to the world of eSports – capturing the imagination of a new generation of virtual racing drivers,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing Sales & Service, Ford of Europe.
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But it is not just fun and games – it’s also big business. Vey big business – in 2019, the global esports market is expected to generate revenues of US$1.1 billion, up 26.7 per cent year on year, while the audience will reach 453.8 million, made up of 201.2 million eSports enthusiasts and 252.6 million occasional viewers. Contrary to the popular stereotype, the average gamer is in their early thirties.
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Ford says that its Fordzilla eSports team will compete in a number of different games, with national teams across Europe.
“The distinction between real and virtual worlds is blurring. Gaming is now a part of mainstream culture,” said Amko Leenarts, director, Design, Ford of Europe.
“Top gamers challenge professional race drivers in real life and many of our day-to-day activities are ‘gamified’, from using fitness apps to collecting loyalty points for a free coffee. Harnessing the passion and expertise of the gaming community will help evolve our thinking around what future journeys will look like – something that we are all committed to and really excited about.”
This isn’t the first time Ford has hosted a stand at Gamescom – which boasts more than 1,000 exhibitors and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Back in 2017 the company was the first car manufacturer to appear at the show, while last year it used the show as the European debut of the Ranger Raptor.
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Ford was the first manufacturer to launch a vehicle – the Ranger Raptor – at the European Gamescom show.
Ford says that the team team will compete in a number of different racing games, including the Microsoft Xbox-exclusive Forza Motorsport 7.
The Forza franchise is the best-selling racing franchise of this console generation and is home to one of the largest racing communities in the world. Millions of people worldwide play Forza games each month and Ford says more than 1 million players choose Ford vehicles.
“We are pleased to see Forza Motorsport continuing to be the game of choice for big brands like Ford as they launch eSports initiatives,” said Justin Osmer, Sr. Manager of Partnership Development at Turn 10 Studios, the creators of Forza Motorsport.
“With millions of fans playing Forza games, we’ve seen significant growth in the numbers who want to compete, or simply spectate, in eSports and it’s great to see a long-standing partner like Ford Motor Company bringing even more opportunities to participate.”
