Watch Other People Play Videogames at Tokyo's Sleek New E-Sports Bar

We're bearing down on football season, and sports bars across America are preparing for hordes of jersey-clad fans starved for wings and beer. Meanwhile, over in Japan, an analogue of sorts is preparing to open and seeks to attract a different kind of fanatic: videogame enthusiasts.

Rocket News 24 reports that Square Enix, the publisher of the massively popular Final Fantasy series, is opening a sleek new restaurant and café called Storia that will cater to big time videogame fans in Tokyo. Like a traditional sports bar, flat screens abound here; but instead of watching a group of roided-out athletes battle head to head, customers will be watching out-of-shape videogame warriors go at it in intense digital contests.

For non-hardcore gamers, the idea of a bar or café devoted to live streaming videogames might sound ridiculous. But around the world, watching other people face off in digital competition has become big business. Fans pack stadiums to watch players compete in videogame championships, and even here in the US—a relative latecomer to the trend compared to places like Japan and South Korea—there's now a dedicated 15,000 square-foot e-sports stadium in Orange County, California. In 2014, Amazon spent nearly $1 billion to buy Twitch, a platform that allows people to watch gamers face off online.

Professional sports teams have also seen the potential value of e-sports and are investing accordingly. Real-life soccer clubs like West Ham and Valencia have set up e-sports teams to compete professionally in the soccer game FIFA, and the real FIFA even hosts a FIFA videogame World Cup. Meanwhile, several NFL teams are looking into drafting professional videogame players to represent their teams when playing Madden. Electronic Arts, the company that makes FIFA and Madden, will host Madden tournament this year with $1 million worth of prizes.

In Japan—home of Playstation, Nintendo and Pokémon—the Square Enix e-sports café is only the next logical step in the evolution of videogame viewing. And if Square Enix's over-the-top mouthwatering digital dishes in its Final Fantasy games are any sign of the the physical food that'll be served at the company's restaurant, we have high hopes.

So first Japan, then the world? There is already a smattering of videogame bars here in North America where players can drink and game, and regular old bars are increasingly tuning their TVs to e-sports competitions.

But if you're a gamer, be aware that your skills tends to spiral downward the drunker you get. So maybe think twice before picking up the sticks to take on that 21-year old dweeb hopped up on Bawls who is rocking everyone in Street Fighter, because when you lose, everyone at the e-sports bar will be watching on the big screen.