Inside Asian Gaming

DECEMBER 2017 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 73 “Rather than jumping into making one or two events, I would rather spend more effort on enhancing our infrastructure to enhance our capabilities so that when the time is right we will be positioned to step forward as the preferred base for eSports in Asia.” S HE has spent more than a decade pushing Macau’s art industry, now MGM China co-Chairperson and Executive Director Pansy Ho has singled out eSports as the next great opportunity for Macau to enhance its global tourism appeal by becoming “the preferred base for eSports in Asia.” Revealing a surprisingly detailed plan tied closely to her own experiences in the art world,MsHo tolda small selectedmediagathering at November’s MGS Entertainment Show that long-term investment into key infrastructure and education projects focused specifically on eSports development can give Macau a significant edge over rival Asian cities as the sport continues to evolve in the coming years. “How do we make sure we become attractive enough that we are selected as the place where eSports events or activities take place? This is what we need to look into but it’s not as straightforward as simply organizing events because the level of the events will suffer if it only caters to the local population,” she said. “The idea here is quite the contrary. It’s not to enable Macau to become a place to cater to local events, it is to instill an idea to use Macau as a base to eventually attract more international and more interactive events … rather than simply to [rely on] local participation. “We need to make it attractive compared to, first and foremost, places that have a larger population base and therefore inherently a wider player concentration.” Ho’s interest in eSports comes both as a surprise and as no surprise at all. On the one hand, professional video gaming seems as disparate from fine art as raw vegan from rump steak. Yet when it comes to truly fulfilling the Macau government’s diversification brief, Ho recognizes that the two industries have much more in common than meets the eye. And key to it all is preparation. “We need to get ourselves ready,” Ho explained, pointing to government policy, the building of relevant infrastructure and focused education of the public as vital to Macau becoming an industry leader – be it in eSports or art. “For instance, can Macau be the home of art trading in Asia? No, not today. Why? Because you cannot even organize the importation IN FOCUS Artist’s rendering of MGM Cotai’s dynamic theatre