ZETA DIVISION to Open Next-Generation Esports Human Resource Development School "ZETA DIVISION GAMING ACADEMY POWERED BY VANTAN" in April 2027!

crow: This is the first time I've spoken with Nishihara in a media setting like this!

crow: Five years ago, partly because I was a player, I was focused only on winning. I couldn't imagine at all how many people were supporting us or how many people were involved in a single tournament. But now that I get to work at events like this, I've gradually started to realize it.

Nishihara: It's fine for players to be sharp for the sake of winning. However, for example, this academy includes a curriculum for behind-the-scenes roles, right? I think the idea is for students to learn and feel various things in their first year. Even for those aiming to be pros, in the end, the ones supporting them are the behind-the-scenes staff and various adults. I want them to understand the feelings of those adults and the meaning behind a team manager saying things like "Let's do this" or "Let's do that" to the players. Just winning is fine, but if there's an opportunity to touch upon those aspects even a little, I think the realization that "So that's why they were saying those things" will come sooner as they build their careers. crow was also really edgy at first, like "As long as I win, it's fine," and had an attitude like Who cares about that stuff...

crow: I didn't say that! (laughs)

Nishihara: (laughs) Back then, he was truly stoic about adopting anything just to win. But as you do it for a long time, you eventually come to understand adult circumstances as well.

crow: Nishihara has been kind since back then. He's always been player-first; when we got good results, he'd show his emotions and be happy with us, and when results were disappointing, he must have been frustrated, but he always spoke to the players properly. But when I first joined JUPITER, he was a bit suspicious. He kept saying sweet things (laughs). I soon realized he's a passionate person, though!

crow: On a personal note, I have streamers and pro gamers among my acquaintances, and I've heard a lot about the shortage of video editors. There was a time when I couldn't find one and was looking myself, and my acquaintances are also looking but saying there's no one good. I think there's a huge demand.

Nishihara: There really is no one. We have quite a few people involved, but since it requires a set of understanding of the game and the competitive scene, it becomes quite specialized. I think it's an occupation where the realm of "liking" something has a strong influence.

crow: Becoming the kind of person people want to support is one thing, but setting aside individual games, for games like VALORANT that I played—which are played by multiple people—I think humanity and social skills are important. You have to think about many things, and when building a team, relationships and various complex things intertwine.

Nishihara: Even in individual games, you have an opponent to practice with, and in team games, you communicate with teammates during daily practice. There are people whose personality changes when they get into a game, right? If you ask if you can play and strive together with such a person every day, it's difficult. Between a player where you're a bit concerned about their humanity and a very positive player with roughly the same skill level, I think people would find the positive person easier to work with. Employment is the same; in the end, it's not just a matter of specs like paperwork. There are multiple interviews, and you are hired based on your ultimate humanity. Whether it's teammates choosing an individual, or us as ZETA DIVISION choosing a player, or ultimately whether I can support this player or a manager sacrifices themselves to support a player—social skills are extremely important. One more thing: on SNS, people might say "Why isn't this player teaming up?" That's like the talk in card games about how they'd be strong if lined up in this order, but there are things like humanity and compatibility involved.

To further boost the Japanese esports industry from now on, we decided to start this school business with Vantan out of a desire to root ourselves in the field of education and human resource development to further promote it.

First, regarding events, specialized knowledge is necessary, so I think it's important to teach that properly and produce human resources from the field of education. Regarding management, in the current industry, there are relatively many cases where former pro gamers become team managers after retiring. Those who can manage because they understand the players' feelings are succeeding. We want people who have firmly acquired so-called social skills, human growth, basic business knowledge, and manners in dealings with companies, yet also understand the players' feelings and understand games. I want to install those basic human elements even into those who aspire to be players. Also, for business-related people—for example, in sales or business development like me—if you don't have more game knowledge than anyone else, you won't be trusted by people in companies. When people in companies want to do some promotion, they work with ZETA DIVISION, who is well-versed in games, because they themselves lack that knowledge. Therefore, being a player, loving and being knowledgeable about games, and yet possessing minimum skills as a working adult—making this multiplication work well is the part we want to focus on.

They are planned to coexist. Here, the curriculum with ZETA DIVISION will be at the forefront, but that won't be the case for the existing department. I think they will be chosen according to the students' preferences.

It's quite difficult to predict, but recently, world tournaments held in Japan have increased significantly. I believe this is proof that the overseas community is thinking "Japan is great." I hear a lot that various overseas esports teams and productions are paying close attention, saying they want to hold esports tournaments in Japan from next year onwards and that the Japanese community is amazing. In that sense, I personally think it will grow much more, and I'm thinking with the momentum that it's just about to start now.

At ZETA DIVISION and GANYMEDE, we are considering a direction to implement internships. Naturally, there's a limit to the number of people, so it might be difficult for everyone who wishes, but we hadn't really accepted interns much until now, so I'm thinking of moving forward with this as an opportunity. People from GLOE and CyberAgent are also telling me daily that they actually want talent and to please introduce excellent people. Therefore, while I naturally think it's not a world where everyone can enter their desired place, I have a desire to make it a valuable place as one such route.

Basically, while it's open to everything, we have opportunities to teach directly at the Academy, so in a sense, I think it's an advantage. However, it's not a system where we only hire from the Academy.