Mr. Chatchai Khunpitiluck, Senior Executive Vice President of Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), said at the opening ceremony of Pantip E-sport Academy that "The popularity of games as a form of entertainment is growing everyday especially when the world has already stepped into the digital age where technology plays a big role in turning games that used to be just for fun and entertaining to become a form of competition that knows no border where children and youths can enjoy themselves in the digital world. The development of gaming personnel, especially among the youth, is another important factor to increase the worth and added value of creative products in the gaming industry, to make digital content of Thailand attain higher capacity and competitive advantages in all aspects, and to make Thai gaming industry well accepted in the international market. These goals are also in line with DEPA's long-term plan to train around 500,000 digital entrepreneurs and supply skilled workers into the industrial sectors as a major driving force of the digital economy in Thailand in the next 20 years. The Office of Digital Economy also hosts seminars to promote and encourage youths, digital industry personnel, and those interested in entering the industry so that they can gain knowledge needed to upgrade their skills which will become an essential foundation for them to land on a stable career in the future."
Mr. Veerarit Somboonsub, Asset Manager of Pantip Plaza, TCC Land Asset World Retail Co., Ltd., revealed that Pantip Plaza is the largest IT shopping center in Thailand which provides comprehensive services, products, technologies, and maintenance, as well as repair services to serve customers' IT demands. Currently, the most important booster of the IT market is games. Ever since hardware, such as CPUs, video cards, and RAM, has been developed to attain higher capacity, gamers are able to enjoy faster and more efficient equipment that can enhance their gaming experiences and even work. The company, therefore, plans to penetrate the game market with more aggressive strategy by contributing to the field of games and E-sports and aiming to become the "E-sports Center of Thailand." This will make Pantip Shopping Center stronger than ever. To reach this goal, Pantip has collaborated with various sectors, and in this project, Pantip Shopping Center has partnered with Digital Economy Promotion Association (DEPA), Thai Game Software Industry Association (TGA), Thai E-Sports Association (TESA) and leading universities to organize "Pantip E-sport Academy" which will become a good starting point for E-sports in Thailand.
"The company wants to develop Pantip Shopping Center to become a center of E-sports. So we partnered with other organizations to build an E-sports stadium under the name "Pantip E-sport Arena" for the first time in Thailand at Pantip Pratunam, and its success exceeded expectations. As a result, there are plans to launch the second one at Pantip Chiang Mai. The stadium right now is fully equipped in all aspects, be it the most complete competition equipment, standardized lighting system, and the large area of the place. Pantip E-Sports Arena at Pantip Pratunam also has been recognized internationally as the largest E-sport arena in Southeast Asia. In addition, there are future plans to train and sharpen the ability of those who are interested in being E-sports athletes," added Mr. Veerarit.
Regarding the marketing perspective on games and e-sports business of the world and Thailand, Mr. Veerarit Somboonsub stated that, the value of the gaming and E-sports market worldwide is enormous because the game is already a long-standing market and the average growth rate is climbing every year with the total value of over 90 billion US dollars. The market in Thailand in 2016 has a reached the value of about 6 billion baht, and in 2017 it is expected to grow to 10 billion baht. As E-sports in Thailand continue to grow, it will consequently make the game market rocket as well. The factors that help promote the growth of games and e-sports in the country include the cooperation between the public and private sectors to promote competition, sponsorship of rewards, and financial support in sending e-sports athletes to compete in the global field. These activities will increase the interest in sports e-sports even more.
"The growth of E-sports is an opportunity for many Thais including students and people working in the game industry and e-sports. They will be given the opportunity to learn about the software, marketing and management, team building, and forming team for competition. They also will learn how to put to creativity into IT contents. Pantip Plaza will be one of the supporters to provide necessary assistance in every aspect related to E-sports, not only for the bright future of E-sports in Thailand but also for us to truly become the E-sports center of Thailand." Mr. Veerarit concluded.