Why Is Jordan Brand Making Video Games Now?

Back in school, the student population was inevitably separated into different cliques and tribes such as the jocks and nerds, never to mix. Fast forward to 2015, and they are now one and the same, with reigning basketball brand Jordan adding its seal of approval to video game culture — for decades the preserve of nerds — with the Striking Control mobile title produced to promote Chris Paul’s new shoe, the CP3 IX. This of course follows the shifting demographic of the average gamer — according to the Entertainment Software Association, over 155 million Americans play video games, 44 percent of which are female, and with an estimated 1.4 billion gamers worldwide spending $91.5 billion USD this year, the video game industry has become the most democratic and lucrative entertainment industry in the world. As such, Jordan and Nike’s move into video games makes perfect sense. As UBS analyst Michael Binetti puts it, “Does it make sense to advertise on NBC during prime time, or spend a smaller dollar amount for the exact customer they’re looking for through gaming?”

Read an analysis of this phenomenon over at Fortune, and leave your thoughts below.