The fourth edition of the festival for electronics and video games from Abidjan (Feja) ended on Sunday 6 December. This international festival has become the meeting place for African players who are becoming more and more professional and even starting to earn their living in front of the console, like their counterparts from other continents.
as reported from Abidjan, Sidy Yansane
Feja ended with sports and combat tournaments. For the final of Tekken 7, the play area in the Cosmos shopping center in Yopougon was transformed into an arena, where the two players competed through inserted screens. , their struggle projected on the wall. The public does not miss a beat.
The end of the first day of the # FEJA4 competitions. Let’s rediscover together some pictures of our lovers and players in gaming. See you tomorrow for the apotheosis. Always on @Cosmos_yopougon from 09:00 # eSport #Gaming pic.twitter.com/5iyz2WbPhZ
– Paradise Game (@ParadiseGame_) December 5, 2020
But this competition is no longer a game. For some players now, it’s even a job. For two months, Dakar’s Sidy Mohamed Sow, aka Kuro666, has been part of the Senegalese team Solo e-Sport. He became a professional in the Street Fighter game.
His teenage passion became his livelihood: “Sometimes we saw European, American or Japanese tournaments. We saw players who started as us who went up to the professional category thanks to their talent. And we said to ourselves that if we can make a profession out of it, then it is “all profit”, he says.
Africa is trying to catch up in the sector
If professional players are legions in the rest of the world, Africa is catching up. Advertisers are still cautious, but change is coming, according to Sidick Bakayoko, founder of Paradise Gameand Abidjan Electronics and Video Games Festival.
“This year we could have Ubisoft and Bandai-Namco merging with Feja 4 and we hope that next year we will be able to go even further and that is what is needed,” explains Sidick Bakayoko. Then add: “The more we have big publishers, big brands that will be associated with African events, with African teams and with African project managers, the more you will see that this universe will evolve, structure itself and it will get better for everyone. ”
The video game industry currently weighs one billion dollars in Africa. Just under 1% of the world market.
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