Personal computers are not monopolists in the esports sphere as game consoles also have their share in the business. But what is esports with game consoles? What games are suitable for easy championship holding – for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One?
PlayStation 4 has the lead in quality and quantity of the held tournaments. It Is due to unbelievable sales over the last several years that are much bigger than Xbox sales.
«Younger brother» in esports
The biggest part of the esportsmen has already had to admit that consoles cannot provide equal competition with PC in esports. Yes, consoles have fight tournaments and sports simulators, but their level cannot be compared with the level of esports PC tournaments.
It becomes a well-known fact if we take a look at the prize pools reaching one million dollars for such games like Dota 2, CS: GO and League of Legend.
As the console esports, Mortal Kombat and FIFA are pretty popular here but the level of the main tournament setting is far from the level of the PC events. Game popularity is really lower, the audience is smaller and prize pools do not impress. Several thousands of viewers and 10-40 thousand in the prize pool — that is the current level of the console tournament that can be compared only with the PC level a decade ago.
However, there are exceptions. The high popularity of game consoles made a change, so there have appeared rare tournaments with 200 thousand dollars as a prize pool. Such tournaments are FUT Champions Cup Xbox One and, let it be, Overwatch PS4 League.
What disciplines are in top in the console esports?
Ultimate Team Championship is the biggest FIFA tournament that was held for consoles. It is a level ahead from other esports events for consoles as its prize pool reaches 400 000 dollars.
FIFA is the main game of another tournament. Interactive World Cup is less prestigious than the previous one but is also considered to be one of the main. Although the game is the most popular esports discipline, football is not suitable for all countries (for instance, in the USA and some other countries is it not so popular due to the fact that there are different alternatives to the sport).
FIFA has become popular for consoles, first of all, due to the comfortable and easy playing. It is not very comfortable to manage the players in the football simulator with the help of a mouse and a keyboard, so the esports tournaments started to be held with consoles that are perfect for this kind of sports.
On the other side, a joystick is not suitable for playing MOBA games and strategies. It is quite difficult to manage the game with the help of the device and it is impossible for sure to achieve any kind of dynamics and speed.
Apart from the worldwide tournaments, FIFA is popular as a game for local tournaments that usually have small prize pools and the same participants, but they are still popular.
Fightings is another genre that is more suitable for joysticks. Street Fighter is the most popular console fighting. The tournaments of such a big level as Pro Tour from Capcom, have one peculiarity that is the usage of special joysticks with keys and triggers that are applicable for controlling the character. Prize pools of such tournaments are about several hundred thousand dollars. For instance, of 2020 Capcom and ELEAGUE had two major tournaments and the prize pool of the first one was 380 thousand and as for the second, it was 250 thousand dollars.
You must remember the well-known game Mortal Kombat, even though it gained its popularity and acknowledgment as an esports discipline, it keeps the level of small and local tournaments.
Conclusion
Although esports with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One live and it will leave, we should admit that PC esports have more opportunities: more esports disciplines and major tournaments, enormous prize pools. Besides, you will not have to buy the expensive console as for playing CS: GO, a relatively not expensive computer will be just fine.
