The Esports Roundtable is back again, with host Joe Hills welcoming another fantastic guest to the esports business dedicated show. Jason (Jace) Hall, the Chair Of The Board of Directors at Twin Galaxies and Partner at Vision Venture Partners joins Hills to talk through a wide range of topics.
Jace talks through his intriguing past, through from the first time he played a video game to where he is now. He talks through his journey, beginning with founding and acting as CEO of Monolith Productions, the studio behind games such as Alien vs Predator, Condemned, F.E.A.R. and more.
Whilst most play games with their mate Jim down the road, Hall on the other hand has had different experiences since joining Twin Galaxies. Instead, Jace would be playing often and frequently with Rick Fox – the esteemed and world famous NBA player. He takes listeners on a journey from friendship to business, and being CEO at Echo Fox through to how Vision Venture Partners got setup.
“Esports is merely a slice of the video gaming universe” mentions Jace as he talks about the esports landscape. He shares fascinating stories about how Rick Fox came to purchase an North American League of Legends Championship Series spot (we shan’t spoil it here) and an assortment of great anecdotes from his relationship with Rick and work at Vision Venture Partners.
The two then explore the Battle Royale genre which has seen explosive growth last year. The H1 Pro League is an idea pioneered by Twin Galaxies with a player focus and Jace explains what the effort is, why he thinks it will work and how the idea was built from the ground-up.
“There is an overarching story that relates to the fact that video game publishers make games and sell them, that is their job, that is what their shareholders want to see. They’ve always been very forward thinking in how to market and sell their product. The idea of holding a tournament or exhibition when launching a product is a great idea to draw attention to your product” begins Jace, before delving into the deeper process as to how the Pro League idea materialised. The approach to Daybreak from idea through to conception – the interaction between a publisher and a rights holder and the intellectual property debate.
Joe goes on to talk about the explosiveness in the Battle Royale genre and competition from the likes of PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite which have burst onto the scene in the last year.
Joe Hills, Founder and Host of the Roundtable podcast commented on this episode: “The vision for H1Z1 Pro League is huge. It remains to be seen how seriously teams take the game and the infrastructure when BR games like PUBG, Fortnite and Hunt are outperforming H1.”
Hills is the Founder of Looking for Group, an esports executive recruitment company and has worked to achieve placements for many high profile individuals in the burgeoning esports industry.