Evil Geniuses is among the most successful teams in the nascent eSports industry, and Steelseries, a company that makes various eSports products, has partnered with them for its new EG Signature Line. The peripherals on offer include a keyboard, a mouse, a mousepad, and a set of headphones, all of which bear the Evil Geniuses logo and sponsorship from an EG teammate known as SumaiL, one of the top gamers in the world.
To the average sports fan, the EG Signature Line might seem odd. But, in traditional sports, such brand partnerships are commonplace. Superstar basketball players have shoe lines, for example, and team logos appear on everything from clothing to food products. Team-branded gaming peripherals thus make perfect sense, as the consumers likely to purchase that equipment are almost certainly fans of professional gaming.
Branded Professional Gamer Peripherals
Steelseries' EG Signature Line was Developed for Pros
Trend Themes
1. Team-branded Gaming Equipment - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop partnerships between gaming peripherals companies and professional gaming teams to create team-branded equipment for fans to purchase.
2. Esports Sponsorships - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create sponsorship opportunities for esports teams by partnering with companies that make gaming peripherals and develop team-branded lines of equipment.
3. Cross-industry Collaborations - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Encourage collaborations between gaming peripherals companies and traditional sports brands to create cross-branded equipment that appeals to both esports and sports fans.
Industry Implications
1. Gaming Peripherals - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop team-branded gaming peripherals to cater to the growing fanbase of professional gaming.
2. Esports - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore opportunities for partnerships and sponsorships within the esports industry to further promote professional gaming and reach a wider audience.
3. Sports Merchandising - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Extend the reach of sports merchandising by partnering with esports teams and incorporating team logos into gaming peripherals and equipment.