Esports is a legitimate and accepted “sports” activity that has even made its way to international sporting events. In fact, the gamers earn a lot of money and have a huge following, if they are successful enough. Garmin has now announced a new version of its Instinct sports watch that is meant for this particular market of hardcore or professional gamers. The Instinct Esports Edition has all the core features of its line but also comes with functions that are specific to tracking and analyzing gamers’ biometrics and statistics.
Basically, you have all the usual core features and sensors that you have from the previous Instinct devices. You have the heart rate monitor, activity tracking, viewing notifications, and all other things that basic smartwatches can do. But what makes the Instinct Esports Edition different is that these basic features are tweaked, along with other new exclusive features, to help them become better gamers and to help viewers get a better “view” of the gamers.
The wrist-based heart rate will determine how hard their cardiovascular system is working while they’re playing a game and see the high and low points of the game. The heart rate viability will also calculate the stress level score so they can conserve and maximize their mental and physical resources. The Body Battery Energy Monitor will also tell players when they should rest and when they can play using the heart rate, stress level, and sleep data that the device gathers.
All this biometric data can be overlaid in a PC tool called STR3AMUP! so viewers of the streamed games can see which gamers are about to hit their zone or which ones are slowly losing steam. This way viewers are even more engaged with the player or the team they’re rooting for during these livestreams. And if you’ve seen any gaming livestream, you know how invested the audience are when watching their favorite players, just like any other sports.
The Garmin Instinct ESports Edition can last for 80 hours in esports mode but up to 14 days when just in smartwatch mode. It’s priced at $299.99 and is now available over at Garmin’s website.