We had the pleasure of speaking with Luigi Caputo, the co-founder of the Italian Esports Observatory, and a very interesting interview was born from our chat.
We recently spoke with Luigi Caputoil CEO of Sport Digital House and co-founder of the Italian Esports Observatory. During our chat we touched on many interesting topics such as the perception of eSports in Italyi future plans of the OIES and also the question of sale LAN. If you are curious to find out what Luigi Caputo has to say on these topics, all you have to do is take a look at the interview you will find in this article.
The Italian Esports Observatory
Before moving on to our interview with Luigi Caputo we want to talk briefly aboutItalian Esports Observatory. The OIES is a body that offers business opportunities to all those who have the desire and interest of invest in the Italian esports market. In fact, the platform brings together companies, sports teams and other professionals, so as to put them in contact and create business opportunities. In addition, the Italian Esports Observatory also deals with training of professionals specialized in the field of eSports and the promotion of this market in our country.
More than two years have now passed since the foundation of the OIES. How has the perception of eSports changed here in Italy in this period?
In two years of Osservatorio Italiano Esports we have witnessed an incredible leap forward in the eSports market in Italy. When we arrived we found a totally fragmented sector, not very professional and in which each operator went his own way without collaborating with the others. With our arrival we have brought a more professional attitude to Italy and above all we have aggregated all the stakeholders in the sector. Thanks to this great collaborative work we now have more than 80 companies in the network and we have also seen a leap in quality in the offer of eSport services by operators. The market has also grown not only in terms of turnover but also of community. From the latest research carried out together with our monitoring partners, it emerged that there are 6 million eSports enthusiasts in Italy and we are very happy that 45% of these are women. This percentage has grown over the last two years and we can therefore say that gaming is a very female market. From these two years a very positive balance has emerged as regards the growth of interest, but there is still a lot to do for the professionalization of the system and the training of those managerial figures who allow, especially eSports teams, to be able to propose themselves. to companies as qualified interlocutors to develop marketing and business projects.
The lockdown was certainly a period of strong growth for the world of eSports, but luckily now the restrictions imposed by our country are easing more and more. How is the progressive end of the quarantine affecting the sector?
The very first lockdown lit a beacon on the world of eSport and gaming in Italy since the sport was essentially at a standstill, but that was nothing more than a first boost. In reality, the eSport phenomenon was already present in our country but was still considered a niche sector. The quarantine allowed companies to understand this world better and to take more interest, but in the end it was only what highlighted a sector that subsequently grew regardless of restrictions, since the phenomenon of gaming in Italy is transversal to all. generations beyond the presence of restrictions or not.
In recent days, the news concerning the closure of several LAN rooms by the customs agency and monopolies has caused a sensation. What do you think of the measures taken by ADM?
It was certainly an earthquake for the eSport world but in my opinion we shouldn’t be alarmed. We all knew that sooner or later it would happen since in Italy there are no rules governing the esports sector, and that of LAN rooms was one of the many problems to be solved. It is certainly not a story that will be resolved in the short term, unless there are great steps forward by the institutions, but in all this I see a positive side and that is the growth of attention towards this world. Then we must also specify that only four LAN rooms in Italy have been closed and not all of them, so we need to provide good information and make people understand how things stand and what the actual facts are. There is certainly a huge regulatory problem and we as OIES have already produced the legal manifesto of eSports for two years. For example, in the 2021 manifesto we anticipated that the problem of LAN rooms was a problem to be solved immediately, given that there was a clear difference in treatment towards traditional game rooms. We now expect institutions to move quickly and take a real interest in solving the problems that exist in the eSport world, and above all we hope that they will finally give a definition of what eSport is, given that to date it does not exist in Italy. .
Could the closure of the LAN rooms adversely affect the world of eSports in Italy?
I don’t think that the closure of four LAN rooms will negatively affect the world of esports, as this sector is not based only on them. LAN rooms are a small piece of the great gaming mosaic and companies are more interested in aspects of the market such as sponsorships, in-game advertising, etc. However, there is a problem to be faced and solved, and the most immediate need is above all to give certain rules to this sector not only for the LAN rooms, but also as regards, for example, the contracts of the players, as they are framed. eSport teams and how sponsorship contracts should be framed in the eSport world. In short, the issues to be regulated are so many.
Is it possible that following these events, problems may also arise with regard to the presence of gaming stations and simulators within events or fairs?
That of events and fairs is certainly another of the points to be resolved given that, if you follow the interpretation of the monopolies and customs agency, then even fairs will be forced to adapt if they want to let people play video games and therefore let them use gaming machines and equipment. However, I believe that in the coming weeks the agency will inevitably have to give directives and therefore we will certainly know more.
Finally, returning to the OIES, what will the institution focus on in this 2022?
In 2022, the OIES is following a very important development plan. First of all we had the second edition of the Esports Business Days, which is the first and most important B2B event in Italy on esports. The event was held at the Rimini fair in March and, since we sold out, it was certainly a great success for the second edition as well. For the next few months we will continue this work of aggregation and above all we will launch the eSports Legal Forum again. This will be the third edition and now more than ever there is a need for it given the problem of LAN rooms, which is why we will gather all the law firms that are part of the OIES network precisely to write proposals that can help institutions find in a short time of the rules for eSports. Then we will still focus a lot on training with the Advanced Esports Program, which is the main training course in Italy on eSport business and marketing. This year we have more than 60 students who will represent the human capital that will fuel the esports sector and above all will bring the professionalism that is needed. Then we will also focus on the whole trend of blockchain, web 3.0 and the metaverse, since it is the world closest to that of gaming. Also in this case we will launch various training and information initiatives precisely to bring companies to discover this world, but above all to train all those marketing managers who will necessarily have to know the innovations brought by these tools.
We sincerely thank Luigi Caputo for his availability!
This is where our interview with Luigi Caputo ends. If you are interested in the activities of the OIES, you can stay informed via their official website, their social pages and also through the various news that are published here on our site.
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