Fuel Games: Pioneering Blockchain & Esports
THE WORLD'S FIRST BLOCKCHAIN BASED ESPORT
CO-FOUNDERS OF FUEL GAMES JOIN MONEY IN SPORT 2018
30 October 2018
Money In Sport is delighted to announce that the Co-Founders of Fuel Games, James and Robbie Ferguson, will be speaking at the 2018 Money In Sport Conference.
The Australian brothers, James and Robbie Ferguson, have been generating a huge amount of media attention worldwide after a hugely successful pre-sale event. Their innovative technology not only has huge potential for esports, but could lead the way to turn the blockchain into something much more real for a number of industries where traditional assets could be represented by digital tokens.
FUEL GAMES
Fuel Games is a blockchain technology firm pioneering true ownership of digital assets in video games, backed by leading companies such as Coinbase. Its in-house flagship game, Gods Unchained, has had the most successful pre-sale out of any blockchain game, with Forbes calling it “the world’s first blockchain-based esport”.
A unique item within the game auctioned for $62,000 USD in August this year. They’re working on exciting announcements to partner with large gaming studios, esports leagues and traditional sports IP owners in order to create true ownership of digital collectibles and assets.
WORLDWIDE MEDIA ATTENTION
The brothers have generated a huge amount of attention around the pre-sale of Gods Unchained. This attention has not only come from within the blockchain and esports communities, which are similar in demographics, but has crossed over to mainstream media with articles in The Financial Review, Forbes and Venture Beat to name a few.
The pair have attracted $2.4 million in funding for their venture, with Continue Capital and Nirvana Capital leading the seed round, which also had participation from Sora Ventures and Coinbase.
- Financial Review | July 9, 2018
We decided to build Gods Unchained because we felt based on what we had learned that we could provide a high-quality competitive gaming experience to actually show the disruptive benefits of the technology.
- Forbes | July 16, 2018
All sorts of assets are going to end up being represented as digital tokens on the Ethereum blockchain or other blockchains like it. Traditional assets like securities, stocks, bonds, debt instruments, software licenses, and video game items will be sold through blockchain tokens.
- Venture Beat | September 24, 2018
Down the line, some investors believe that NFTs enable use cases far more valuable and consequential than gaming: real estate, precious metals and other assets could be tokenized, enabling investors to buy smaller, more liquid stakes in these assets.
- CoinBase | August 24, 2018
CRACKING THE CODE: Blockchain TECHNOLOGY & SPORT
Money In Sport 2018: Day One, 10:45am
James and Robbie Ferguson discussed the future potential of blockchain technology in esports, and how this is breaking into mainstream sport. Watch their full session from Money In Sport 2018 below.
JAMES FERGUSON
CEO & Co-Founder at Fuel Games
James co-founded Fuel Games with his brother Robbie. For their first title they built Etherbots, an on-chain, multiplayer strategy game which broke the record for the largest pre-sale for a blockchain game.
Fuel Games has grown to more than 20 employees, and their new title Gods Unchained is the first console quality game that runs on the blockchain, having made over $3M revenue in three months.
ROBBIE FERGUSON
COO & Co-Founder at Fuel Games
Robbie co-founded Fuel Games with his brother James. Robbie led the blockchain development of Etherbots, architecting and developing both the provably fair smart contracts and the User Experience for interacting with them.
Robbie also designed the marketing campaigns which led to sold out sales and both games breaking the records for the most successful blockchain game sales.
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Philanthropy – A new revenue stream for Australian sportRead More Diversification of Revenue StreamsRead More Fuel Games: Pioneering Blockchain & EsportsRead More Bringing Fans Back To The StadiumRead More Philanthropy – A new revenue stream for Australian sportRead More Diversification of Revenue StreamsRead More Fuel Games: Pioneering Blockchain & EsportsRead More Bringing Fans Back To The StadiumRead More NEWS HOMEPAGE
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Bringing Fans Back To The Stadium
BACK TO THE STADIUM
INNOVATING THE IN-STADIUM EXPERIENCE
24 October 2018
Traditionally, sports fans would seek no alternative in attending a stadium to watch their favourite team play. Today, fans are more spoilt than ever with TV & mobile offerings, and the need to attend a stadium week in week out no longer exists.
At Money In Sport 2018, we'll delve into the innovative methods being used around the world to improve the in-stadium experience and bring fans back to the stadium.
2018 Money In Sport Delegate Passes available here.
THE DWINDLING CROWDS
Something appears to be missing in Australian sports: the crowds. In the major sporting codes, AFL, Cricket, NRL, A-League, and Super Rugby, the average crowds peaked in the past and are all trending downwards. Meanwhile, live viewing on TV and other media remains strong, despite fragmentation of the audience.
In fact, the truth is more complicated than that as Australian sports leagues still boast two of the top 10 most attended sports leagues globally:
- #4 is AFL is #4 with over 36,000 average attendees
- #9 is Cricket (big bash) with over 26,000
So what is going on?
AUSTRALIA'S STADIUM PAIN
Poor city planning makes a great sporting event difficult to achieve. In Melbourne, the Stadia are in a central precinct with good public transport links. Sydney has never been like that, and to successfully host the Olympics, the city basically shut down, and the transport network was redesigned for 2 weeks.
By contrast, in the US an NFL stadium is a privilege, not a right, to be attracted, financed and planned by the highest levels of city government to ensure that the team will be well supported and attended.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium: Home of the Atlanta Falcons
AN EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER?
Given our lounge rooms or home theatres can offer high definition, close-ups and replays, perhaps it is no surprise that the Australian stadium experience is in decline.
Too often, the transport system, stadium facilities and the sport are not integrated and do not offer a great, or even good, consumer experience. The best live sporting experience should create “inspiring memories” with different attributes combining to an integrated experience.
CONFERENCE SESSION: BACK TO THE STADIUM
Money In Sport 2018 - Day Two 11:30am
Featuring a Keynote Presentation & Panel Discussion
Stadium operators around the world are using innovative methods to bring fans back to the stadium. This session at Money In Sport 2018 highlights these as our speakers discuss how stadiums can create an experience to remember.
Ian Clarke
Managing Director at CSVentures
Ian is the Managing Director of CSVentures, an investor and advisor to early-stage technology companies, and an experienced company Director.
Ian presented the Keynote Presentation for this session at Money In Sport 2018 - Watch the full session below.
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Philanthropy – A new revenue stream for Australian sportRead More Diversification of Revenue StreamsRead More Fuel Games: Pioneering Blockchain & EsportsRead More Bringing Fans Back To The StadiumRead More Philanthropy – A new revenue stream for Australian sportRead More Diversification of Revenue StreamsRead More Fuel Games: Pioneering Blockchain & EsportsRead More Bringing Fans Back To The StadiumRead More NEWS HOMEPAGE
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Twitter Joins Money In Sport 2018
TWITTER JOINS MONEY IN SPORT
LEADING PLATFORM FOR SPORTS NEWS, CONVERSATION & BROADCASTING
We are delighted to announce that Twitter will be hosting an exclusive panel at Money In Sport 2018 as part of our continued dedication to bringing our delegates the ultimate sports business conference.
Twitter has become part of the fabric of sport, whether it is breaking live news, fan conversation around live events or in recent times, the live broadcasting of sporting events, there is no doubt that Twitter has become the leading social media platform for sports content.
Joining us at Money In Sport will be Olly Wilton, the Head of Sports Partnerships at @TwitterAU & Maurizio Barbieri, Twitter’s Head of Sports Partnerships for SEA and Greater China.
EXCLUSIVE CONFERENCE SESSION: PRESENTED BY TWITTER
Featuring Olly Wilton & Maurizio Barbieri
OLLY WILTON
Head of Sports Partnerships for Twitter Australia
Olly Wilton works with Australia and New Zealand's sports leagues, teams and broadcasters to bring their fans closer to the action and help their content go further and faster.
Olly has been with @TwitterAU since they opened their doors in Sydney in 2013.
MAURIZIO BARBIERI
Head of Sports Partnerships for Twitter SEA & Greater China
Maurizio grows conversations, communities, and revenue opportunities for Twitter’s sports partners by creating a lineup of programs to satisfy content hungry audiences in South East Asia.
Money In Sport continues to bring its delegates the leading minds and decision makers in the sporting industry and we are delighted to have the involvement of one of the leading worldwide brands.
Join the conversation with Twitter at Money In Sport 2018.
MONEY IN SPORT
17 October 2018
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Engaging & Connecting With Millennial Sport Fans
MILLENNIAL SPORT FANS
ENGAGING A NEW GENERATION
09 October 2018
Millennial marketing is something that all brands are striving to perfect, but many are using out-dated strategies that do little to connect or engage with consumers in this key demographic (those born between the early to mid 1980s and 2000).
Less Viewers, But More Fans Than Ever
Millennials are seen by many brands to be a hugely lucrative market. They are the highest spending demographic, the second largest generational group, highly engaged online and can also be very loyal customers. But there is a growing concern that Millennials are engaging less and less with sport and sport-related content as major sports around the world see younger viewers tuning out.
But this doesn't mean that Millennials aren't just as mad about sports as older generations; in fact it's almost the opposite. Millennials are just as passionate about sport as older generations, the thing that's changing is how they consume sport.
The Fans Are Still There, Brands Just Need New Ways To Engage Them
Television ratings for the NFL 2016-17 season declined 9% for Millennials. While in the same year, the number of Millennials actually watching the NFL increased. Similar trends can be seen across all major American sports.
This is enough to show that sport fans are just as thirsty as ever for content, we just need new ways to engage them.
Traditional strategies, traditional media and traditional content isn't connecting with this audience. But labelling Millennials as just 'digital consumers' is looking at it too simplistically.
Where Are These Millennial Sport Fans?
One mistake most brands and marketers make is thinking that Millennials are the only ones online. This isn't true, in fact older generations (particularly Gen X fans) spend just as much time as Millennials checking scores and watching highlights on apps and websites.
The key difference is in streaming live sport (both legally and illegally) and their use of social media for sport content. Research from McKinsey shows that Millennials spend twice as much time streaming sport online compared to Gen X, and significantly more follow sports on social media - particularly Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. But Facebook still leads the way here and is widely used by consumers of all ages.
Esports Now Key To Engaging Younger Millennials
The average age of the Australian esports fan is 26, older than you might have thought, but also right in the middle of the Millennial demographic. In fact, Millennials make up 66% of all esports fans. With a global economy predicted to be worth around $1.49 billion USD in 2020, esports is no longer a niche audience.
Despite a common belief that the esports audience is completely anti-advertising, the most recent research by Nielsen actually shows that fans are open to brand partnerships and see it as way of engaging with and considering new brands - as long as they are relevant.
Millennial Marketing At Money In Sport
Money In Sport will feature speakers who are experts in influencer marketing, content creation and engaging millennials across different platforms, providing exclusive insights on how your brand can create meaningful engagement with this demographic.
Esports also presents a huge opportunity for brands to engage with younger Millennials. Money In Sport 2018 will be focusing on how brands and organisations can monetise esports and start connecting with this demographic.
CONFERENCE SESSION:
CONTENT FOR THE NEW GENERATION
Day One: Money In Sport 2018
How will your organisation engage and connect with a new generation of fans? View the whole session from Money In Sport 2018 below.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
LATEST ARTICLES
Philanthropy – A new revenue stream for Australian sportRead More Diversification of Revenue StreamsRead More Fuel Games: Pioneering Blockchain & EsportsRead More Bringing Fans Back To The StadiumRead More Philanthropy – A new revenue stream for Australian sportRead More Diversification of Revenue StreamsRead More Fuel Games: Pioneering Blockchain & EsportsRead More Bringing Fans Back To The StadiumRead More NEWS HOMEPAGE