Christian Guthrie

Communications & New Media Major

Recently I had the chance to talk with Marc Patenaude, the tournament organizer of Maine Competitive Gaming to discuss ESports and the future of the new video game scene that is quickly growing in popularity.

CG: For those may be new to the scene, what is Maine Competitive Gaming?

MP: Maine Competitive Gaming is an eSports organization dedicated to bringing gamers together from all corners of the state, providing a safe and fun environment to play and compete in video games. We host 10-15 events a week in Portland at various locations and monthly events at the Howard Johnson in South Portland and the Best Western in Waterville. Some of the more popular games we host are Super Smash Bros, Rocket League, Street Fighter V and a wide assortment of indie titles.

CG: Competitive gaming is a unique type of entertainment that has quickly been considered a legitimate sport by outlets like ESPN, what is it about gaming that  stands out from other traditional sports?

MP: Gaming as a whole. One example for eSESPN and other major media outlets recognizing the LCS for League of Legends and The International for DOTA definitely helped propel the scene into a much wider audience which now respect the concept of competing in a videogame for money. Over the past year the increase in parents expressing interest at my tournaments whether it is what games we are playing or where their kid had placed in the 50-60 people that are competing. What makes this stand out for me is the wide range of people it brings together, groups of friends and kids are dropped off, all different interests and passions other than the love to compete at Super Smash Bros. or Street Fighter V.

CG: Services like Twitch and YouTube are key when it comes to reaching a large audience. With both of these outlets, do you believe that competitive gaming still has room to grow beyond streaming service and tournaments?

MP: Twitch and YouTube have been pivotal in the growth of eSports, the community statewide, as well as Maine Competitive Gaming as a whole. One example for eSports tournaments is just this past month at PAX, the tournament area ‘PAX Arena’ was sponsored by Geico, and with this more and more large companies realize that this is an actual sport. For the state, the community has become extremely passionate from Bangor to Portland at competing to be the best in Maine and because of this it has sparked an audience that wants to see these players not only compete but win at these events every month. For Maine Competitive Gaming Twitch and YouTube were the starting points for us other than actually hosting events, with the exposure this created we now are able to host more events at a wide variety of venues. From bars to all age gaming lounges to our major coming up in June #MCGArena, hosted at The  Maine Mall between Best Buy and David’s Bridal. #MCGArena is ran alongside Port-
Con and will be hosting a variety of fighting games all day June 11th, more information can be found at smash.gg/MCGArena or on our facebook page.