“Across North America this year, companies are turning malls, movie theaters, storefronts and parking garages into neighborhood esports arenas. At the same time, content farms are spinning up in Los Angeles, where managers now see gamers as some peculiar new form of famous person to cultivate — half athlete, half influencer. And much of it is powered by the obsession with one game: Fortnite. ” Nellie Bowles in the NYT: Gamers are the new stars. Esports arenas are the new movie theaters. All We Want to Do Is Watch Each Other Play Video Games.

+ Lisa Damour: Parenting the Fortnite Addict. (Miraculously, my 11 year-old son decided to kick his Fortnite habit on his own because he didn’t like how extended time in the game made him feel. But Fortnite is part of a broader pattern. Like internet companies, game developers are getting a lot better at making products that get people hooked. In my experience, this is what real people are talking about while the media is fixated on Facebook and privacy as the big issue.)