Hi-Rez Studios COO
Todd Harris says that the popularity of e-sports has more to do with the human element than the games themselves. “From a viewership standpoint the human interest stories about the players is what makes people tune in,” Harris told GI.biz. “The reason I watch the Olympics even if I may not care about the sport is the awesome videos they have that show me where this person came from, what their journey is, and all these kids for the most part have similar stories.”
Harris goes on to say that he expects e-sports to become more popular on consoles, though one might expect him to say as much given SMITE’s recent appearance on Microsoft’s XBox One. “The console providers, both of them, are much more flexible now about allowing a developer to give ongoing updates,” he explains.
