Konami earlier this month hosted the Pawapuro Championships — an esports tournament for the video game company’s baseball content to determine the best players in Japan — and pro baseball players from the 12 Nippon Professional Baseball teams were featured as part of the event as well.
Bringing real baseball players together with esports players, Konami had the NPB stars go on stage and also showcase their video game skills.
Konami found success providing the opportunity for fans to watch either in person or over streaming the finals and local tournaments held in Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka and Tokyo. The company reported a total of more than 1.5 million views of live streams and 7,400 people in attendance.
マーです、パワプロチャンピオンシップ2017全国大会が今年は幕張メッセで開催でした、そして有吉選手と一緒に出ました！マスコットで対決トーナメントやってフレップと対戦になって、初めてやったパワプロ。有吉選手と上沢選手がやり方教えてくれたけど、負けちゃいました…ぐぬぬ
︎ pic.twitter.com/fqhjLpG4BV
— マーくん (@clm_markun) January 6, 2018
Konami has been an NPB partner since 1999, with the NPB-approved baseball video game title Pawapuro first being released in 1994. The first Pawapuro esports competition was held by Konami in 2016 and enabled the company to determine the top players for the mobile game and console game.
“Through this baseball content eSports collaboration with Konami Digital Entertainment, we hope to further increase interest in professional baseball, as well as continue to grow and energize the sport’s fan base,” NPB Commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki said in a statement last year.