Demystifying Esports: A Personal Guide to the History and Future of Competitive Gaming

As a parent of a game-loving teenager, I think this book is a great guidebook especially to a mom like me who does not know anything about the games at all. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who gets anxious when they see their kids bright-eyed and excited when playing games.Through this book I realized that anxiety comes from ignorance. I was thinking of games as a bad thing because I was so ignorant about them. The world has been greatly changed and it is not the same one I grew up in. Demystifying Esports calms down my anxiety and concern and gives me a view of the future in positive ways. There are a lot of opportunities for esports in education, jobs, business and society, and these also serve as a venue of communication, sharing experience, and building family memories.After reading this book, I have become more confident because of the knowledge that I gained from the book. I think now I will also be able to enjoy the future LoL World Championship (so called LoldCup) with my son. Of course, the condition that he has to finish his assignment first before he can watch the games will be lifted.

As mother of two boys, this book makes me take a step back and look at gaming with a different perspective. I was "Angry grandmother" before reading this book. I strongly recommend this book for the parents who struggle with kids playing game. Enjoy it if it's unavoidable!

As the book title suggested, the book does the job to - demystify eSport - which the industry itself is no different from other industries. eSport has been taking a natural path to evolve into a mature form of its birthplace: Korea.This book offers a holistic view for readers to know the industry from in-and-out. The audience of this book includes anyone who is interested in the eSport scene, either you're a hard-core gamer, professional gamer, a mere fans who like to watch a game without playing, or parents who want to know more about what gaming entails for themselves and for their kids.

The book is great! I can’t put it down after I started reading it. It answered a lot of my questions.Honestly, esports has been an industry I’m interested in learning for a long long time. Growing up in China, I lived very much the same life author described in the book. The dangerous gaming shopping trips, pirated games, arcade games room, and furious mom, it was like the childhood of mine! China probably a decade late than Korea on many things and that’s why I totally witnessed the development of PC bangs in China. Everything was almost the same. I remember it was 1.5 Yuan in 2001 for an hour play in the PC bang. And my favorite games were counter-strike, WarCraft III (frozen throne?), and StarCraft! I remember watching the first SlayerS game video clip with Sky tv watermark in a PC bang. At that time there was no YouTube. It was just a video clip somehow managed to get into the hard drive of the most PC bangs’ computer in China. (Btw I played Protoss) I spent way too much time on those games.I still feel some guilt today even if I’m thinking about playing games. I knew that the playing has been legitimized and this book confirmed that with so many stories and facts.The up and down of esports in Korea makes such an appealing story that I didn’t know about. I really like how the author mixed up the history with your personal encounters which makes the book fun to read.I’m also a believer in esports’ future. I can see how gaming streaming has pushed computer hardware development (ex. The latest Nividia Graphics card release). And how this could become the future generations main entertainments ( probably it already is)

Personally, this is an important book and essential reading as a veteran of the game industry. For those that have been longing for a clearer account of the rise, current affairs, and possible roadmap of interactive games as a spectator event, this is a piece to that puzzle. Demystified is not only for parents, but useful for people that could use a deeper understanding of where and how esports fits into the world of interactive entertainment, why and how it came to be, and the impact it has on pop culture -- not only youth.Edit: Re-written to adhere to review guidelines. Deleted habitual sns hashtags.

I confess I am part of those aged more than 45 who had no or a very prejudiced idea of "gaming". Thanks to this book by Dr. Hyun, I now understand what it really is, how it all started, and why it has risen to a cultural and economic domain of its own, with millions of passionate amateurs and thousands of sharp professionals. This book successfully explains it all because it is not a dry essay, but is written as a personal testimony by someone who has lived through the rise and incredible development of this new human activity, in the cradle where it all began, Korea.

As a long time (read: old) gamer I've never quite gotten the rise of e-sports and how it's become such a key component of the media. I really recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more on how esports grown and impacted the industry.

Demystifying Esports opened my eyes to this utterly fascinating industry by taking me on a journey through Dr. Hyun’s vividly personal story.

If you are a devoted gamer (like myself), you should read this book. It will be a fun ride.If you are a parent of a devoted gamer (like my parents years ago or myself in a few years), you should read this book even more! It will help you understand your kids and better your relationship with them.Pros:1. Hilarious personal experiences balanced with penetrating professional insights.2. Each chapter is divided into smaller sections. Easy to read, easy to follow what the author wants to say.Cons:1. It is 180-something pages, but feels too short! It was that much fun. Please write a sequal with examples from other esports!

As someone uninitiated in eSports, I chose this one among a score of titles available, went through a sample, and then immediately ordered the Kindle edition-- my first on it. A gripping one that changes your perspective about this wonderland of eSports.

The author managed to provide an insightful guide into the history of eSports in both an informative and entertaining way. Especially the stories from the author's childhood and youth made me laugh several times.It's a great read both for parents and people who are interested in eSports from a business perspective. Highly recommended.