Today, we dive deeply into the esports world and its profitability, guided by our guest, Marcus “Esports” Howard. 

Marcus is a lifelong gamer, a published author, featured speaker, indie games advocate, professor, international startup advisor, blockchain enthusiast, and growth hacker. Besides wearing so many hats, Marcus is passionate about making esports profitable. 

Throughout our conversation, we delve into Marcus’ relationship with video games and his parents’ influence in developing his video game technology career. He kindly shared the most significant learnings from his first experiences as a game and software developer and community builder.

We also discuss esports’ possibilities of turning into a standalone business, the future of Web3, the metaverse, and NFTs. In addition, we talk about Marcus’ book and the issues in the gaming and esports industry he addressed with his work. 

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Resources:

Book: Marcus Howard, Sven Boermeester, Carel Van Graan – INNOVATE® Gaming & Esports – a Book that showcases the people, companies, products, and services that are leading the race within the gaming/esports industry’s innovation ecosystem.

Connect with Marcus on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-esports-howard-60785023/.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/therearetwoofme

Full Episode Breakdown:

2:04 – Marcus describes his relationship with video games and his first contact with a console when he was 6.

7:21 – Marcus narrates how his parents’ insistence on him and his twin brother to study coding helped him develop his career. 

12:13 – Marcus talks about the moment he decided to build his career in the gaming and esports space. 

15:14 – Marcus talks about the difference between what he thought the video game and esports industry will become and what really happened.

20:10 – Marcus and Gary discuss the moment esports became a separate industry from gaming.

25:18 – Marcus and Gary discuss the differences between traditional sports fans and gaming and esports fans.

31:19 – Marcus and Gary talk about esports’ possibilities of turning into a standalone business.

35:13 – Marcus shares his thoughts on where he sees Web3 and the metaverse heading.

40:24 – Marcus talks about NFTs and the monetization of emerging technologies.

44:13 – Marcus talks a bit about his book and how he navigated the writing process of it.

49:21 – Marcus explains the industry issues he aimed to address with his book.

52:35 – Marcus talks about the relationship between historically disadvantaged communities and gaming and esports.