KOTA KINABALU, 25 MAY 2017 - PNM Ideas Sdn. Bhd. proudly announcing Borneo e-Arena, a tournament for e-Sport games featuring most played game in the world such as Mobile Legend, Dota 2, FIFA 17, Overwatch and more. Due to the e-Sports industry in Malaysia has grown leaps and bounds over the past few years, PNM Ideas used this using this opportunity to develop more platform to the youth to enrol into the e-sport industry.
According to Newzoo, providers of market intelligence covering the global games, e-Sports and mobile markets, the Southeast Asian e-Sports industry is slated to grow to US$ 696 million in value for 2017 – an opportunity that Malaysia stands to benefit from. It also highlight that the country has more than 1.8 million e-Sports fan. This is a number that is expected to grow over the years, especially with the number of initiatives and incentives available within the Malaysian market. Malaysian e-Sports players are also making a name for themselves in the international gaming arena. Local tournament are also getting bigger each year, with more coverage.
e-Sports tournaments have gained traction in Malaysia. In its early days, it started with cybercafes organising their own events. At the time, the challenge was to convincing sponsors to participate as most believed that holding a tournament in the confined space to be limiting in terms of exposure. The industry has certainly seen a change of pace as we are seeing more companies exploring bigger scale tournament venues. Location such as open air parking lots, stadiums, shopping malls, convention centres and larger-scale cybercafes are enticing sponsors to further develop the e-Sports scene in the country. In addition to providing a bigger platform for exposure, such tournaments present an opportunity for sponsors to set up a kiosk or booth at the venue itself.
With the support from the Ministry of Sabah and Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), PMN Ideas plan to make Borneo e-Arena an iconic yearly event for Sabah.
