Japan-based gaming conglomerate Konami has unveiled more information about its future Creative Center Ginza at the Tokyo Game Show.
The facility will consist of three parts: a store of esports-related products, a school specialised in esports, and a venue for events. It was first announced in March.
The first part of the Creative Center will be the Esports Ginza Store, a retail outlet for Konami products. In addition, the internal studio Konami Amusement will start producing PCs and peripherals that will be sold there.
The Esports Ginza Studio will serve as a venue for esports competitions, but also other productions like music and theatre. It will provide resources to broadcast the events to streaming platforms and media outlets. It’ll allow live streaming in multiple languages and integration of live graphic overlays.
Finally, the Esports Ginza School will feature courses to help people obtain the knowledge to work in the industry in a variety of areas. The company’s goal is to find diverse talent to bring to esports.
Kimihiko Higashio, President of Konami discussed the project in a ceremony: “The people who participate in esports will, in the future, stand side-by-side with those participating in real life sports like soccer, or even surpass them. Compared to esports pioneers America and Europe, Japan has still a long way to go. However, looking from another angle, it means Japan has lots of room for growth. I want to show the world, from here in Ginza, that the appeal of esports will not lose to that of real life sports.”
Esports Insider says: Konami is the first publisher in Japan to build such a huge esports complex. It’s a big investment which will help Konami in engaging its community and, hopefully, bring new people into esports. However, we’re curious to see how it will benefit Konami on a long-term perspective.