Gaming products for every eSport category

What devices and accessories do pros and casual gamers need to conquer the game?

Sourcing for the gaming market requires knowledge of today's popular eSports and what devices and accessories match the games' needs. Here are the top eSports categories and products that suit the players:

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) and Battle Royale- The biggest eSports games today are MOBAs Dota 2, League of Legends, Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor and Battle Royales Fortnite and Player Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG). Battle Royale is a subcategory of multiplayer online games. The two game types are played not just by the pros, but casual adult and kid gamers worldwide.

Many popular MOBAs can be played as apps and by teams with each member playing a role (e.g. Captain, Tank, Marksman, Support and Mage). Battle Royales are online or mobile single-player survival games but can also be played in squads.

Given these, the dominant platform or device nowadays for the said games is not the PC or laptops, but 4G phones and tablets. These portable gadgets allow teammates to meet up online and in person to practice together.

First Person Shooter (FPS) – Well-known FPS eSports games are Counter-strike Global Offensive (CS: GO), Rainbow Six Seige, Halo, Battlefield, Overwatch and Call of Duty. These games, mostly on PC, require precise aiming and shooting.

Many players favor the gaming mouse over a PC controller for it has buttons that match the natural finger position as compared to the latter where fire buttons are the front R1-R2 or L1-L2. Mice also click faster and are more durable than a raised controller button, which is among the first to feel loose over time. Remappable controllers can be a solution, though.

Fighting – Popular among Millennial and Gen Z gamers are fighting games Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tekken, and Mario in Super Smash Bros. These games are mostly playable on consoles, and via wireless controllers. A fight stick, which has the arcade control layout, is what's being used by the pros to make longer combos.

Real-time strategy (RTS) – Examples of RTS eSports are Starcraft II, Warcraft III and Age of Empires. Players come up with situation-based strategies and navigate maps to destroy or seize the enemy base. Because many RTS games can be single-player, a basic gaming PC or laptop setup with a reliable mouse and keyboard will do. Noise-cancelling headphones can help as well in game concentration and hearing warning sounds about attacks clearly. PC game Starcraft II, for example, has hotkeys for keyboards and gives alerts.

Sports and racing – Some of the popular sports games are NBA 2K League, FIFA and Rocket League while for racing, Project Cars and iRacing. Some sports games, like NBA 2K, rely on button-press timing for shooting. A basic gaming PC or a console with a durable keyboard and controller, respectively, can do the job as well for this game type. Speakers and headphones also let the gamer enjoy the court commentators and in-game sound effects. As regards racing, an easy-to-turn steering wheel helps the player take the lead.

Below is a gallery of gaming products made for eSports.