I recently had a chance to speak with many people on this topic, and asked them the following question:

A big debate right now is Console Vs. PC: which platform is better/will to push eSports into the mainstream. What is your take on this debate, which side are you on, and for what reasons?

Angel Munoz, Founder and President of the Cyberathelete Professional League - Since its launch nine years ago the CPL has focused on PC gaming. Why? Because we think that the keyboard/mouse combination requires a bit more dexterity than a joystick; and pixel accuracy is more challenging on a PC. We also think that the PC's open format facilitates faster technological improvements. In fact, beyond the traditional CPU/GPU innovations, there are a number of new products that should help push PC technology years ahead of consoles. For example: AGEIA's PCI Express PhysX card, Bigfoot's Killer Network Interface card and AIseek's new Intia "AI processor" card, to name a few.

On the other hand, the general public thinks of consoles when they think of videogames, and because of that, eSports will probably be driven to the mass market through console competitions. In fact, the majority of E-Sport leagues are now focusing on console tournaments because they want to grow their audience with the wider appeal of consoles.

To me, a console tournament is like NASCAR. It appeals to the general public and displays its dominance over the US market. Meanwhile a PC tournament is more like Formula One racing, which many (including myself), consider being the greatest form of motor sports on the planet. Fans of each (PC and Console) will undoubtedly continue to argue over which platform is better, but at CPL we believe that both can co-exist and benefit the market. However, we plan to continue our emphasis on PC tournaments.

Craig "Torbull" Levine, Manager of Team 3D - PC and console gaming each have their place within eSports. Console titles are generally a little more simplistic and easier to follow than most PC titles. This should be a stepping stone and entry point for more casual / mass market gamers. The graphics are great, they usually have built in spectator functionality, and most are individual in game play (fewer screens to watch / follow)

Most of the PC eSports titles (Counter-Strike and Warcraft specifically) have more advanced strategies. The games require more strategic planning and a variety of different motor skills. The multiple-player screens and views, advanced-spectator functionality (HLTV for example), and non-standardized player uniforms (without the ESEA Broadcast Application used in DirecTV’s CGI) make PC titles harder to capture meaningful content. The multi-layered PC game play should really hook people into eSports and provide them with a deeper gameplay to follow.

Both console and PC titles require a tremendous amount of skill, strategy, and mental awareness and I do not think that either platform is any easier or harder to excel in.

Roderick Alemania, DirecTV Championship Gaming Invitational - It all boils down to numbers of software units sold. Year after year, console titles consistently sell more units than PC titles; thus, by definition, console titles are better positioned to push eSports into the mainstream.

Jason "1" Lake, Manager of compLexity - I think there is room for both platforms in eSports. However, I strongly believe consoles must be further integrated into eSports as the vast majority of gamers worldwide play on them. If professional competitive gaming can create viable competitions using both platforms, we stand a much better chance of succeeding at developing our sport into a mainstream activity.

Carl "Perfect Legend" White, Sponsored compLexity Dead or Alive 4 Player and Evolution 2006 Champion - Well I am going to have to say that I am for the console side. My decision is kind of biased since I am a console player myself. Consoles would be better solely because you can follow the action much easier, and with Dead or Alive 4 it’s even better since the players are competing on one screen. However, PC will make it more difficult since you have to watch so many screens to determine what is going on. It’s like if every football player had a helmet cam and you had to determine what was going on through every players’ view, which we all know would be extremely difficult for the casual audience to know what’s going on in-game.