Japanese publisher Konami is currently in the process of building a 12-story esports center in Tokyo.
This building is one of the first steps Konami is making to not just get its name further into the esports conversation, but also help improve the Japanese esports scene.
“Compared to esports pioneers America and Europe, Japan has still a long way to go,” Kimihiko Higashio, Konami’s president said at the brick-laying ceremony. “However, looking from another angle, it means Japan has lots of room for growth.”
The Konami Creative Center will act as an esports arena, as well as a place where players can go shopping or get information about hardware, and train for future competitions. It will apparently have high-tech sound, lighting, and video equipment that will help keep productions high quality.
“The people who participate in esports will in the future, stand side by side with those participating in real-life sports like soccer, or even surpass them,” Higashio said. “I want to show the world, from here in Ginza, that the appeal of esports will not lose to that of real-life sports.”
This building comes at a time where the Japanese Esports Union is pushing to drive efforts like this. Konami, along with other big publishers like Capcom and Sega, are working to get more involved in esports.
Konami says the building is on schedule to be completed later this year in November, which means it will be a prime location for teams competing in the esports portion of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which Tokyo is hosting.
