eSports first: movie studio sponsors a tournament

While gaming may be a larger industry than movies, the only overlap has been in the form of (mostly) bad adaptations. Now, Lionsgate is getting in on the eSports theme, but don’t worry, it doesn’t involve any new trashy movies.

Back in December, our sister site reviewed Ender’s Game. With its release on Blu Ray imminent, Lionsgate has gotten a bit creative with their marketing – they’re teaming up with Twitch and MLG to sponsor an eSports tournament.

The North-America based tournament will feature 32 top StarCraft II players, competing for $10 000. Anne Parducci, Executive VP of Marketing for Lionsgate explained:

The skills used to develop battle leaders in Ender’s Game are drawn from real world gaming, especially the types of skills used by premier tournament level players. We are excited to partner with Major League Gaming and Twitch, both leaders in the eSports world, to present this unprecedented movie tie-in aimed directly at those who take gaming seriously.

It’s great to see mainstream companies taking gaming seriously. Twitch viewers spend hours watching streaming game footage; why not try to leverage some of those viewers into movie or series viewers? I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more and more of this as various companies strive to take advantage of Twitch’s massive viewership.

StarCraft II and Ender’s Game? Sure, it’s a bit of a stretch, but I’ve seen weirder marketing relationships. I’d love to see some local gyms sponsor a fighting game tournament – that will show people how to klap it!

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Last Updated: February 4, 2014