For two days from March 23rd to 24th, 2024, Game & Co., Ltd., which develops esports-related businesses, and professional gaming team “Crazy Raccoon” held the esports educational event “CR Fortnite CAMP.” “CR Fortnite CAMP” is a “professional gamer experience camp” sponsored by the e-sports school “CR Gaming School” operated by Game & Co. Through direct instruction from Crazy Raccoon members and interaction between participants, the aim is not only to improve playing skills, but also to improve communication skills and deepen awareness of jobs related to esports.
This time, e-Sports Business.jp reported on the situation at the site and conducted an interview with Atsutoshi Kubo, director of Game & Co., which hosted this event.
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Please see the article below for interviews with the sponsoring companies of this event.
Field report
The first day of “CR Fortnite CAMP” started with a program titled “Road to becoming a professional gamer.” First, we prepared for the two-day camp by creating self-introduction cards and setting goals, and then worked on free assignments under the guidance of former professional Fortnite player Ruri (Crazy Raccoon) and mentors. Ta. After event-limited uniforms were handed out to participants at the “Pro Gamer Certification Ceremony,” products from Pixio, a PC peripheral brand that supports the event, were introduced.
On the second day when the editorial team visited for interviews, Tonpi, who is a caster at the official “Fortnite” tournament, was interviewed. Mr. Shiras (ZETA DIVISION), who serves as a commentator, also participated as a lecturer. Each student worked hard to practice for the tournament scheduled at the end of the program.
It was impressive to see the students not only waiting for guidance from the instructor, but also asking questions and engaging in dialogue based on each topic. Participants received advice not only on playing skills but also on daily practice methods.
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Tonpi at the end of the event? The tournament was held with live commentary and commentary from Mr. and Mr. Shiras, and after the tournament, participants were seen congratulating each other on their good performance, regardless of the winner or loser.
After the tournament ended, Buryuru, who belongs to the DetonatioN FocusMe “Fortnite” division, made a surprise appearance. All participants experienced the original map “Piske & Usagi Hop Step Jump!'' of the popular IP “Kanahei's Small Animals Piske & Usagi'' created by manga artist and illustrator Kanahei and developed by TV Tokyo Communications.
interview
We asked Atsutoshi Kubo, director of Game & Co., which is hosting this event, about his thoughts on “esports x education.”
–Please introduce yourself.
Mr. Atsutoshi Kubo (hereinafter referred to as Kubo)My name is Kubo and I am a director of Game & Co. Game & Co. is one of Bravegroup's subsidiaries and operates esports competitions and coaching services.
I have been involved in the e-sports business since I was a university student, and had experience in launching and operating the e-sports tournaments “RAGE Shadowverse'' and “RAGE Shadowverse Pro League.'' After that, I joined “Ichikara” (currently ANYCOLOR), which operates the VTuber group “Nijisanji”, and was in charge of the “Nijisanji” project and new businesses. Utilizing that experience, he joined Virtual Entertainment, which operates the “esports x VTuber” project “Buispo!”, and spun out as Game & Co. at the time of launching “CR Gaming School”. It's the shape.
–Please tell us the purpose of holding “CR Fortnite CAMP”.
KuboOne of the main goals is to “allow children who will support the e-sports industry in the future to come into contact with a variety of role models.”
This time, we will talk about Ruri, who was originally active as a player but is now active as a streamer, and Tompi, who is in charge of live commentary and commentary for official tournaments. We had people from all walks of life come, including Mr. and Mr. Shiras, and current athlete Buriru, who appeared at the end of the event.
We also had students from an e-sports vocational school participate as mentors, some of whom are running e-sports businesses like us, and some of the participants were of the same age. I planned this event because I thought it would be a good place to interact with such a variety of people and help them decide how they want to be involved in games in the future.
――The participants range from elementary school to high school students, but were there many elementary school students?
KuboMany of them were elementary and junior high school students, and some were already members of e-sports teams.
–I get the impression that Fortnite has a particularly large number of young players.
KuboI agree. Of course, abilities such as experience and judgment are important in competitions, but I think there are quite a few kids who can compete well with professional athletes when it comes to simple shooting techniques.
–What do you value in the area of ”esports x education” that caters to such a young generation?
KuboI place great importance on communicating with the people around me and providing opportunities for them to open up.
When we were kids, it was common to play games face-to-face, but now many children are playing games at home and online with complete strangers. Under such circumstances, “CR Fortnite CAMP” is also a place where you can meet people who take the game as seriously as you do for the first time and learn about how they are working on it.
When thinking about becoming a professional e-sports player, the ability to communicate with team members and listen carefully to the coach's opinions is essential. I think this is the same as other sports.
――What impressions did you have after seeing the participants at the event?
KuboI had the impression that many participants actively asked questions such as “What should I do to become better?” and “I have a problem like this, what should I do?”
The same can be said for studying and acquiring skills such as English conversation, but while the world today is full of educational materials that can be accessed for free, there are people who don't know what they are missing or what they should do. I think many people are unable to plan their path to their goals. For this reason, at CR Gaming School, which provides one-on-one online instruction, we place great importance on how to get students to verbalize their own challenges and ways of thinking.
In that sense, when I see the participants of CR Fortnite CAMP actively asking questions, I think that as long as the environment is set up, it will continue to grow.
–I think this is similar to school education, but instead of being taught one-sidedly, students are required to have the ability to find and solve problems on their own.
KuboI think that this is the form of education in the future. Until a few years ago, it was said that “everyone should learn programming,” but now the world is changing at a tremendous speed, and we are starting to see an age where AI will do the work for us.
In education, I think we are living in a world where “just being able to study” is not valued as much as it used to be, with the National Center Test being abolished and formats like the AO entrance exam increasing.
Under such circumstances, the key is not to make children do the same things as everyone else, but how to let them try things they like and how to give them experiences that are different from others. I think it will go. I hope that through games, children will learn how to learn about things that interest them.
–Finally, please tell us about your future business prospects.
KuboGame & Co. has a vision of “For esports 100 years into the future.” Over the past 10 years that I have been watching the esports market myself, the top tier has become a viable market. On the other hand, I believe that there is much work to be done in order for the esports market to continue to develop.
It's not like we're going to see results six months or a year from now, but when we look at esports from a 10 to 20-year perspective, there are so many things we can start working on now. For example, the children who participated in today's event will become professionals in a few years.I would like to continue such efforts in the future.
In the future, we want to deliver “CR Fortnite CAMP” to a wider range of people, and we plan to expand it to rural areas. We will work closely with local government officials and local businesses to make this a long-term project, rather than just a one-off event.