How the WSL could make four billion dollars! Or thereabouts.
Earlier this week, Chas Smith reported that the WSL’s CEO, Paul Speaker, believes the organisation will make $10 million on the sales of contest jerseys. His infatuation with pantomiming the jewelled business model of the NFL could indeed be the spigot to great fortunes.
But are contest jerseys the most lucrative branding? What the WSL and its fans needs, and I believe will actually pay for, is a video game.
Imagine World Surf League 2016, a more realistic sequel to the lethargic fun that Kelly Slater Pro Surfer and Transworld Surf brought to our living rooms.
Transworld Surf: XBOX
Pick a world tour rookie, I call Conner Coffin, and surf through man-on-man heats around the world. Rack up points to unlock boards, waves, and surfers higher on the ratings. Surf companies will pay for product placement and banners on this digital tour.
A video game will also bring unimagined rewards to the average surfer. Let me explain.
It’s no surprise that the WSL is aiding in the popularity of our sport. In Brazil alone, there are five million surfers and that numbers continues to balloon with each crowned champion.
Eventually, we are going to reach a tipping point where crowded lineups kill the fun of surf dead forever. A video game will counterbalance that. If well made, a game with realistic graphics and a dopamine loop that portrays some sense of progress, will inject money into the WSL and give the users a synthetic sensation of surfing. Gamers are going to get their high and pass on an afternoon glass off. Think about it.
“Hey kid, you don’t really want to paddle out into the violent abyss of a crowded beachbreak. Lounge out on the couch. Stick a controller’s spike into your vein and get your fix”.
While the kid who could’ve been Filipe commands the digital version through roters-and-a-half in Peniche, I and the rest of truly devoted can surf in harmony.
Numbers show that sporting video games do well.
In the United states, 13 percent of video games purchased fall under the genre. The NFL has made four billion dollars off the sale of its video game franchise and I’m surprised the WSL hasn’t followed suit.
While Medina and Mick jerseys are going to be viewed as an absolute necessity by your very fashion forward audience, I think the pot smoking lazies would thank you with their mom’s money more so if you gave them the opportunity.
Give the nerds what they need!
(Note: This is Jake Tellkamp’s return to BeachGrit after a foray into the mainstream surf mag world. His previous story, also advising the WSL what to do, can be read here.)
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Good to see telly back on the grit.
Maybe add a mini game (grand theft auto type) where you can sling drugs and run hookers for bonus attributes.
if it ain’t virtual reality with those big fuck off goggles i’m not buying. if it is, well, shut up and take my money!
ps take notes from sunny garcia surfing
i would buy a console and the new game for sure. fucking jerseys are you kidding. whos gonna walk round with microhall on their back hahahahaah
What a world we live in.
Ok THIS is a great fuckin’ topic. Surf nerds are secretly frothing for a game, but amongst surfers, video games are for dorks. But I don’t care, we seriously need a new game. It’s time.
I don’t know how many flat days I’ve sat around wishing there was a digital re-creation of surfing that could at least give me a similar mental-fix to surfing. When was the last time we had a legit surfing game? Google says Kelly’s game came out in 2002. 14 years? WTF. Haven’t we had multiple gaming systems since 2002?
There is a pretty good iPhone game called +BCM World Surf Tour. Would be the perfect starting point for a platform such as Xbox or PS4, it just needs a little more attention to detail. It’s not perfect, but if you haven’t played it, you should check it out.. You have to paddle hard to get into waves, you can get barreled, different waves act differently, and there’s no unrealistic tricks. I’ve played it probably a couple hours, and I still haven’t figured out how to do an air on it, but supposedly it’s possible. However, I wish there was more to it. It needs more customization, tricks could be a little more fluid, barrels could be a little better, just small tweaks, and it could be built upon. It’s just super lame that the gaming industry only makes shooting games or mainstream sports ball-games… EA SURF?
Give Youriding.com/en (free) a try on your comp when you get home. I believe there is an iphone version out, but it’s not nearly the same gameplay.
this is actually a really good idea.
Sunny Garcia Pro Surfing is still the greatest game ever made
ill back ya with that
as long as we can still do 720 bs heelflips off a 15ft jaws lip
this ain’t kitesurfing
Would Fanning be able to do airs and would Toledo be able to charge 10ft chopes?
Please be multiplatform and better than the one Sally Fitz made recentlyish.