In physical professional sports, the business model is based on viewers. More viewers = more profit. In esports, the business model should be the opposite. If we make it based on players, we can achieve success.

Think about the QL system... it has an in-game ad system and a subscription system. If the game had millions of players every day, both of those systems would be generating enormous revenue. Furthermore, it has now become a common empirical fact that the only people who really watch the professional competitions are people who also play the game. That means, not only would the game generate more revenue from having more players, it would also generate more revenue from viewers. Without the players, there are no viewers, and it is therefore imperative to begin with players.

Advertising a game as being both fun and a form of exercise is a good way to bring in more players. Exercise is popular and profitable, and it's also honest. The game is fun (or, can be), and playing it is exercise. That's not a lie, like the enormous farce that exists within the viewer-based professional sports model. Honestly, how could they sell all those products, if they did not convince people that they were watching something truly worthwhile? Imagine the commentators saying things like, "Wow, what a great move that was... but it's not like it cured cancer or anything. Although, the player does endorse shoes that can absolutely not help anyone cure cancer. Really, these players and this game are less important than car mechanics. If all the mechanics disappeared tomorrow, our cars would start breaking and the fabric of society would quickly deteriorate into horses and covered wagons. On the other hand, if the sports and players were gone tomorrow, people would just watch something else on tv.". You see, they have to be dishonest. They need to create a giant illusion, but we do not.

If we can bring in the players, we will have the viewers, and we will have all of the tremendous profit from the player-base itself (some of which can be cycled through the professional competitions). In physical sports, the profit gained from a player-base is almost exclusively found in merchandising... selling balls and shoes and the like. Part of the reason for that, is the fact no one actually owns the games themselves, and therefore cannot buy or sell them. Here, of course, id software owns the game, and every additional player results in greater profit for them. There are certain other reasons for video-games to use a player-based model, such as the fact it is easier to play a video-game than a physical sport - due to the internet, and not having to travel around to fields or courts or whatever.

By going with a player-based model, we can be more honest, more successful, and while it still is unnecessary and ultimately insignificant, it can function as a healthy addition to society.