Japan tightens rules for professional gamers

LIVE Japanin the past, any gamer who could make money from playing games could call / claim to be professional gamer. However, this will change from 2018, when the country’s government has set up a new agency to manage the certification of true professional gamers.

A new agency called Japan Esport Union (JESU), supported by Japan’s largest esport organizations such as CESA or JAMMA, will issue certificates to gamers who own titles and prizes from specified tournaments. . With the establishment of JESU, professional gamer will become a legal profession in Japan, recognized by the government of this country and supported by law and legal procedures.
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Umehara Daigo – One of Japan’s most famous professional gamers

To become a licensed professional gamer, Japanese gamers must satisfy the 4 conditions set forth by the Japan Esport Union below:

– Self-awareness of your own professionalism
– Respect sportsmanship when competing/playing games
– Train hard for impressive results in JESU recognized tournaments.
– Dedicating to the development of the country’s esport.

Currently, JESU is only officially recognized Winning Eleven 2018, Call of Duty: WWII, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Tekken 7, Puzzle & Dragons and Monster Strike are professional games (players of these games are only recognized as professional gamers). Other titles will be officially confirmed in the near future.
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Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is one of the most loved games in Japan
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Licenses issued to professional gamers will be valid for 2 years. In addition to performing well in tournaments recognized by JESU, these gamers also need to sign a document guaranteeing that they will comply with the above 4 rules and participate in a short course.

Obviously, an agency with strict laws like this will bring not only incentives but also inconveniences to gamers who want to pursue a professional path. In addition, although the game industry in Japan is very developed, the country’s esport industry follows a relatively isolated path, when it is only dominant in the fighting genre and almost anonymous in other categories. Can the legalization of professional gamers change this and leave Japan’s mark on the world eSports map, or will it only bring death by the aforementioned strict laws? Let’s wait and see.