Today on The Adrenaline Zone, Sandy and Sandra welcome Rebecca Brock Dixon, founder of the*gameHERs, a media platform and social network for women who game. In this episode, Rebecca lets us into the world of esports, what it takes to start a business, and why what she’s doing with gamers is changing the sport. First up, Rebecca shares how she got into gaming herself, having started in the corporate professional world before moving into entrepreneurship and getting drawn into esports by the huge success of the gaming industry and the fact that half of gamers are women. Next, Rebecca explains exactly what esports is—professional, competitive video gaming—how it’s structured and monetized, and what the experience of going to a tournament is like. She also talks about the amazing fan culture and the enthusiasm fans have for their teams and favorite players.
Rebecca then focuses on the involvement of women in gaming and esports—about half of the world’s three billion gamers are women—and how, despite such numbers, women gamers are often overshadowed, especially in the media and the professional side of gaming. Rebecca suggests that much of this is down to the early marketing of games as “boys’ toys” and their reputation as being isolating but points out that women have always been part of the gaming world and are eager to share the great experiences they’ve had through it. Moreover, she highlights how games can teach valuable, transferable skills, from hand-eye coordination to teamwork, that can be used in myriad industries, including the wide variety of jobs on offer in esports. And Rebecca also discusses her company, the*gameHERs, which aims to be the go-to space for women interested in gaming, whether they’re looking for community or professional opportunities.
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The Finer Details of this Episode:
Quotes:
“The statistic that everyone loves to quote is that gaming is twice the size of the movie plus the music industry. So you take movie plus music times two, gaming is still bigger than that. So I thought, wow, I kind of want to learn more about that.”
“When the players arrived on stage, it was like madness. I mean, it was just complete celebrity freakout, and all the colors of each team were there, they all have cheers, it is literally like a sporting event. They all have nicknames, and they were giving the heart.”
“We are sitting in a moment in time when gaming is intersecting with quite literally everything from education to health care, to the military, to kids, adults. And so, the word gaming itself, the video game industry itself, almost needs a little bit of a rebrand and PR makeover.”
“Most of these women want to talk about all the great stuff, you know, how they met their best friends through video games, how they got their career through video games, how they had some serious mental health problems, and video games were a tool that they were able to use. And in fact, one of our strongest partners, one of our most long-term partners is the Center for Suicide Awareness. And one of their main tools that they use is gaming.”
“Kids who play on esports teams are more likely to do a lot of the stuff I just said, like the six-figure salary right out of college, but more likely to volunteer in life and be compassionate and charitable. And you know, it makes sense. I mean, you’re on a team, you’re learning responsibility and disappointment and hard work.”
Links:
The Adrenaline Zone Homepage
Rebecca's LinkedIn
the*gameHERs
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