THE ESPORTS ROUNDTABLE IS A PODCAST THAT HOSTS DIFFERENT GUESTS EACH AND EVERY WEEK, DISCUSSING ALL THINGS BUSINESS IN ESPORTS.
This week on The Esports Roundtable, host Joe Hills welcomes Jonathon Oudthone, President of NGAGE Esports as his guest. Together, they discuss Oudthone’s experience and history in esports, how the newly-announced Esports Stadium in Arlington came to be, and the potential for social change through esports investment in local communities.
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As always on the podcast, the guest gives a little insight into their past to give listeners an idea as to how they got to their current position. In Oudthone’s case, he was an avid Street Fighter player – which led to his time as a Broadcast Director in the fighting game community – working for Capcom, the EVO Championship Series, and Namco. He founded Panda x Gaming – a grass roots broadcast and events management company for the Fighting Game Community- back in January 2009.
The conversation shifts to NGAGE Esports, one of the companies under Infinite Esports and Entertainment – alongside OpTic Gaming, Houston Outlaws, GG Esports Academy, No Scope Media, Triggerfish Partnerships, Team Allegiance, and Obey Alliance. Oudthone explains exactly what NGAGE Esports is: it’s an events management and production company that specialises in brand activation and fan engagement in esports.
Oudthone and co. knew that they needed to “come out swinging” with NGAGE if it wanted to really make a wave in the industry. So far – with Houston Outlaws’ Texas Tour, the upcoming OpTic Arena event, and the aforementioned Esports Stadium – NGAGE Esports has done just that. The first year of the company is dedicated to building up a portfolio and showing what it can do.
From there, the topic switches to the process of building an esports stadium, especially in an area that’s mostly uninformed about the industry, how it works, and how it’s thriving. Oudthone explains that NGAGE Esports is playing the long game when it comes to the Arlington project – the esports industry is growing monumentally and demand for esports-dedicated venues is only going to grow. For example, franchises in the Overwatch League will be required to compete from their own arenas in the near future.
Oudthone left a comment after his time on the podcast: “We are delighted with our partnership with the City of Arlington for Esports Stadium this year. Real estate investment is ramping up across the global industry and we want to set the standard for the technical capabilities of our space as well as for authentic integration into the local community.”
Speaking to Esports Insider, Joe Hills, Founder and Host of The Esports Roundtable, also commented:
“News around Esports Stadium’s scale and advanced stage setup gave me goosebumps. I can’t wait to see how the venue rallies the local esports fan base and regenerates the community around celebrating the best of gaming competition.”
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.