Head of global competitive gaming defends wagering as a natural part of sports, says World of Tanks could easily be popular 30 years from now
Source: gamesindustry.biz
Some developers clearly disapprove of people betting on their games. Others, not so much.
Speaking at a roundtable interview in Taipei today, Wargaming head of global competitive gaming Mohamed Fadl dismissed concerns about wagering in eSports, according to a GameSpot report.
“You’re stupid to say betting is bad,” Fadl said. “It’s a natural part of sports.”
Despite that, Fadl acknowledged that Wargaming would need to exercise caution in how it handles gambling around the company’s hit World of Tanks. But there’s plenty of demand for it, and he would entertain the possibility of World of Tanks players being able to bet virtual currency in their matches. Even if it never fully supports betting real-world currency within the game, Fadl is optimistic about the benefits of introducing wagering not just to World of Tanks, but to the larger games industry.
“I believe betting down the road will be one of the major incomes for eSports or streaming platforms,” Fadl said.
Beyond the betting question, Fadl was also bullish on the long-term health of World of Tanks, which debuted nearly seven years ago. He said it was an “easy” prediction to say the game would remain popular 10, 20, or even 30 years into the future because of frequent updates that will keep it abreast of whatever hits the market in the meantime.
“It competes with any game that is released this year, quality-wise, graphic-wise,” Fadl said. “Free-to-play games that are at this level, they never get old. Like a body, a heartbeat; every day, they pump fresh blood into the system.”
