Nowadays, there are so many life paths and so many different ways to make money. A lot of them were not necessarily present a few years back and that makes it decently hard for the older generation to relate and to even comprehend that there are new ways of making money. I think there will always be a generational gap with the parents, no matter how much they're connected to the 'new world'. It's not a bad thing but it's something to know and to acknowledge.
There are ways to explain to your parents that competitive gaming is viable but it can sometimes be tricky. Before you even think about convincing anyone else that it is possible, you first have to know for yourself that you can do it. First, you could ask yourself if you're old enough to even get into it, then you'll wonder where do I even start? But once all these questions will be answered (and they will be fairly quickly as you can find all your answers on the platform), you will finally get to that question: When can I start making a living off of video games?
It can start earlier than you think
For those who read my previous post on explaining to your parents about competitive gaming, you know that I told an anecdote about the time I lived off of video games for a period of my life. Sure, I wasn't eating prime ribs or wagyu beef every night, but I was making enough to go by. And I think that's really the biggest question that you have to answer for yourself. What lifestyle am I aiming for when I think of making this my career? There is a large gap between the people that are able to live from video games and the people that have luxury cars from video games and it all comes in due time.
Unfortunately, right now, the game you play matters
Different games have access to different budgets and different money pools, if you're stuck only being really good at Pacman, there's a cap that you might hit fairly quickly that might not satisfy you or the lifestyle you had envisioned for yourself. Although, games that really take advantage of their Esports teams and communities like Dota, League of Legends, Fortnite, etc. will invest a lot of money into, not only players but competitions to make them as attractive as possible and that way, a lot more people can make it a career. In these games, it's not rare to easily see the top 200 people playing the game being able to live from the game. Whether it's from winning competitions, getting sponsorships, or being part of a team, they can all make ends meet and usually more.
Then, it's all about leverage
At some point, you have to start seeing the game as a medium more than the end goal. What I mean by that is that, getting notoriety in a game for being one of the greats in the game is good. Being able to win tournaments or at least place and get decent money is great, but what's best is when you start using that clout and traction that you get from playing games and you create leads somewhere else. The most common example and the easiest way to do it is with twitch. We all know twitch and it's great because there are so many content creators that are so great at what they do yet they're not playing in any competitive teams and simply enjoy playing in front of an audience at home. Understanding that from that point on, you can lead the community that follows you anywhere you'd like is so powerful that it can lead you basically anywhere. Take for example, Kai, he started on Twitch but now he has businesses that go far beyond twitch and gaming. I don't think he ever cared to become a competitive gamer in any game necessarily but how he leveraged playing games for 'money' is how he managed to make all the money he's made so far.
Start now and embark on this journey and believe that there's a way out there for you, there always is, sometimes, you just have to be a bit more creative in some games than others.
There are ways to explain to your parents that competitive gaming is viable but it can sometimes be tricky. Before you even think about convincing anyone else that it is possible, you first have to know for yourself that you can do it. First, you could ask yourself if you're old enough to even get into it, then you'll wonder where do I even start? But once all these questions will be answered (and they will be fairly quickly as you can find all your answers on the platform), you will finally get to that question: When can I start making a living off of video games?
It can start earlier than you think
For those who read my previous post on explaining to your parents about competitive gaming, you know that I told an anecdote about the time I lived off of video games for a period of my life. Sure, I wasn't eating prime ribs or wagyu beef every night, but I was making enough to go by. And I think that's really the biggest question that you have to answer for yourself. What lifestyle am I aiming for when I think of making this my career? There is a large gap between the people that are able to live from video games and the people that have luxury cars from video games and it all comes in due time.
Unfortunately, right now, the game you play matters
Different games have access to different budgets and different money pools, if you're stuck only being really good at Pacman, there's a cap that you might hit fairly quickly that might not satisfy you or the lifestyle you had envisioned for yourself. Although, games that really take advantage of their Esports teams and communities like Dota, League of Legends, Fortnite, etc. will invest a lot of money into, not only players but competitions to make them as attractive as possible and that way, a lot more people can make it a career. In these games, it's not rare to easily see the top 200 people playing the game being able to live from the game. Whether it's from winning competitions, getting sponsorships, or being part of a team, they can all make ends meet and usually more.
Then, it's all about leverage
At some point, you have to start seeing the game as a medium more than the end goal. What I mean by that is that, getting notoriety in a game for being one of the greats in the game is good. Being able to win tournaments or at least place and get decent money is great, but what's best is when you start using that clout and traction that you get from playing games and you create leads somewhere else. The most common example and the easiest way to do it is with twitch. We all know twitch and it's great because there are so many content creators that are so great at what they do yet they're not playing in any competitive teams and simply enjoy playing in front of an audience at home. Understanding that from that point on, you can lead the community that follows you anywhere you'd like is so powerful that it can lead you basically anywhere. Take for example, Kai, he started on Twitch but now he has businesses that go far beyond twitch and gaming. I don't think he ever cared to become a competitive gamer in any game necessarily but how he leveraged playing games for 'money' is how he managed to make all the money he's made so far.
Start now and embark on this journey and believe that there's a way out there for you, there always is, sometimes, you just have to be a bit more creative in some games than others.