Can Pokémon Unite become the next big esport?

Multiplayer online battle arena games, commonly referred to as MOBAs, have been around for a long time, and many of the games in the genre have become huge esports titles such as League of Legends or Dota 2. Now that Pokémon Unite has been released, it opens up the MOBA experience to a wider audience of players.

Nintendo made Pokémon Unite extremely accessible to players who might not own a PC to play other MOBAs such as LoL, and it is free-to-play, which enables anyone with a Switch to pick up and play. It also gets a boon from the highly recognizable Pokémon name, which tempts any Pokémon fan into picking it up, especially because players don’t even need a Nintendo Switch Online membership to play.

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Will Pokémon Unite be the next big esport?

Before the game even launched, there were already discussions about whether Pokémon Unite would be the next big esport. There have been some widely recognized Pokémon esports titles up until now, such as Pokken Tournament, and competitive main series tournaments, but Pokemon Unite is more primed to be the next big esport because of its simple gameplay and unique twist on the MOBA experience.

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This is the first MOBA game in the Pokémon franchise, and it is one of the most competitive games Nintendo has released for the series. It is unclear whether Nintendo plans to cultivate an esports community with this game, especially since they haven’t had a good track record with supporting esports tournaments that feature their games.

Potential roadblocks in Pokémon Unite’s bid for the next big esport

There are several issues that have been brought up regarding whether or not Pokémon Unite will become the next MOBA to have a large esports community. Perhaps the biggest one doesn’t even involve the game itself.

Nintendo is known for aggressively enforcing their copyright entitlements, which includes the use of their games in Let’s Plays, unsanctioned tournaments and livestreams. This could mean that the only tournaments for Pokémon Unite will be those run by Nintendo themselves.

Other issues are related to the game and its gameplay. The first complaint to come to players’ lips is the microtransactions. Aeos Coins can be purchased through real life money, or by grinding the game, which is the biggest point of contention among most players. To put it in perspective, 30-50 Aeos Coins are earned per match, but it takes between 5,000 to 10,000 Aeos Coins to unlock additional Pokémon. To add salt to the wound, players can earn no more than 2,100 Aeos Coins per week.

Another smaller issue is balance. Fans complained early on of balance issues, but the company tackled those pretty quickly and released a balance patch shortly after the game’s release. As long as the game receives frequent balance patches that fix uneven Pokémon, balance shouldn’t be too much of an issue in the competitive nature of the game.

Why Pokémon Unite has potential for esports

Any MOBA game instantly has potential to be a large esport. The fact that Pokémon is in the name instantly gives the prospect of an official league more interest.

The game is perfectly laid out for a competitive scene, and it seems that Nintendo does intend to cultivate an esports community by adding a spectator mode into the game, which gives tournament organizers potential to hire shoutcasters who can more easily create an entertaining experience for viewers.

Massive market appeal is the biggest argument for Pokémon Unite being a huge esport. Pokémon is one of Nintendo’s most recognizable IPs, up there with Mario and The Legend of Zelda. People who play Pokémon games spend hours breeding competitive Pokémon or hunting for shinies, which means that there is an immediate appeal to grind Pokémon Unite to cultivate their competitive Pokémon.

Pokémon Unite has even more potential to reach players because a confirmed mobile port will bring the game to anyone with a phone. The game is expected to release on mobile devices sometime in September.

Once the game is more established, polished and more Pokémon are added to the lineup, Pokémon Unite is primed to be just as prominent of an esport as Smash Bros.

Lead image credit: TiMi Studio Group / The Pokémon Company