E-sports: Is it just a game anymore?

[Midnight shadow]

Over the past 10 years the global E-sports scene has steadily been growing and is now rivaling the most popular athletic sports like Soccer, Tennis and Cricket. Yet with all its success a lot of people are still treating E-sports like a joke, which to me is quite short-sighted. It took a long time for professional E-sports to make the jump from Korea where it mainly originated to the western world, and now that it's here is it going to stay? Will E-sports ever replace athletic sports or will they sit side-by-side? Will we ever see E-sports broadcasted regularly on national TV? And do the pro players do enough to deserve the title of athletes in their field?

Can we call video games a sport now, or are they still just games?

 

[killer-curry]

For me it is a sport, they must be called to become this way because, many companies had invested for these stuff like tournaments. Sponsoring the prize pool, computers and many more. This is very similar to the sport you see these days.

Will e-sports replace athletic sports? No, I won't think so. Because there are differences between these two sports. So, they don't interfere much. Broadcasting would be not possible in local TVs but they will on air in the Internet.

Well, I won't think that they deserve a athletic title. As e-sport does not require on physical activities. It more relies on your mind, strategies, reactions.

Video games are actually still remained as a game, sports would be hard to say. As I said above, they not rely on your body, but your mind is the key.

 

[Nah]

I think I'll move this one on over to VG.

Will E-sports ever replace athletic sports

I find it highly unlikely. Too much money is invested in sports for it to get replaced, kind of like how despite the health dangers of cigarettes are well known and widely advertised no direct action is taken against cigarette companies.

It'll probably take a long time for e-sports to become a generally accepted and normal part of the culture. "Regular" sports have been around for centuries really, and shit always takes forever to get integrated into society.

I suppose there's also the question of what exactly is a sport and what exactly qualifies as an athlete (there is similarities between sports and e-sports and regular athletes and e-athletes but it's probably debatable if they're really the same thing).

 

[Frequency]

E-Sports are never gonna replace Athletic sports. Ever. Period.

That said, I don't think people in the world of E-Sports count as athletes. I play fighting games competitively at tournaments but I've never thought as myself as an athlete by definition. I just think of it as being better than the average gamer at the hobby I enjoy and being able to profit off it. (I.E: Major tournaments across the U.S)

 

[KetsuekiR]

Poker, chess, bridge and others are all considered sports. Mind sports, to be exact. With this being the case, why are E-sports not sports?

Sure, they'll never replace physical sports, and players should never be considered athletes but that shouldn't be a problem. Some time ago, snowboarding wasn't a sport but now it's even in the winter Olympic games.

There's nothing stopping E-sports from co-existing with athletic sports besides peoples' stubborn narrow-mindedness. If social media is an acceptable way of socializing, why can't E-sports be an acceptable way of competing?

In any case, like Nah stated, it'll take a long time until we see E-sports integrated into society properly but it's getting there, and with the internet becoming more and more part of everybody's daily life, it's practically inevitable. c:

 

[Ullion]

E-Sports will not replace traditional sports. However I really wish they could co-exist, and I do believe it is possible.

As for whether E-sports players count as "athletes"? I think they do. Playing at the highest level requires high levels of reaction, precision and speed. These are all physical traits. Plus I don't personally consider being an "athlete" as only relating to physical traits. I consider any trait that would directly contribute to you gaining an advantage over another competitor in a sport/game/whatever as an athletic trait. But that's just me. ^^

As for it being broadcasted on TV? It's already been done... in Korea I'm pretty darn sure their Proleague matches, GSL, SSL, etc. are all televised. Additionally same with Norway (Sweden?) I believe. Could be wrong on that point, though. Oh, and wasn't Heroes of The Dorm on ESPN2? In the future, I really do think E-Sports will easily grow on TV as it becomes more socially... popular?

edit: To continue on the point of whether e-sports players are athletes are not: There are 3 Koreans who live in the USA now with Professional Athlete Visas: Hydra, Polt and Violet.

 

[JJ Styles]

I'll probably post a few particular statements. I've mentioned before that I do love e-sports and the competitive scene in video games because they offer more than just a place for really good players but also other job offerings such as coaches, analysts, team managers, and other important aspects of competitive organizations. Being an amateur Dota and League of Legends competitor back in the day helped me be more in-touch with my self and my life, and training myself to be good at said games because the job required to was something that i truly enjoyed. Also, it was great just ripping dicks off while climbing the ranks so that i made sure that the orgs that I've worked with knew that they had the right man for the team, and for the right job.

However, as far as comparing Pro players to actual sports athletes, i do have a few gripes to say as well as the comparisons of video games and actual sports. I have at least one thing to say about each side of the barrel so bare with me kiddies.

- Pro players are not like actual sports athletes. Actual sports athletes are physically built from the ground up to be the sportsmen and sportswomen that they are. To be blunt about it, anyone of any physical build and orientation can become a professional player (to League, to Starcraft 2, to Overwatch, to mother fuggin Splatoon, to Poke-fricking-mon) if they are simply good enough for the game, but not everyone can be a mixed martial artist, a basketball player, a soccer player, a football quarterback, etc etc yadda yadda yadda. In many cases, you just have to be born with the physical attributes to be a decent athlete, and be further refined through rigorous training that would take YEARS. In Video Games, well its more on your actual skill in playing said video game after playing it for months or to a year, some gamers who I knew took only weeks to be viable for competitive play. You don't have to be born with the best or at least most desirable physical attributes to be a pro-competitive player, other than simply having 2 hands that are working so that you can use that Mouse and Keyboard or that controller or even that arcade stick. Being a pro gamer though has two things in common with actual athletes though -> Discipline and Dedication. I can be mistaken though but that's how i'd see it.

- Video games, especially competitive multiplayer ones, are subject to very drastic and sometimes even rapid changes that traditional sports don't have UNLESS I AM MISTAKEN THAT NERFS AND BUFFS EXIST IN TRADITIONAL SPORTS (dear Arceus). Does the metagame of boxing or MMA or basketball or soccer, or even professional paintball change every 3-months or so because of a patch that affects the characters thus affecting the competitive strats in a particular game? Does the NBA association actually nerf and buff players themselves because of complaints about imbalances and underpoweredness? OMG KOBE OP, BETTER NERF JORDAN.

Also, its just difficult to keep up with the level of professionalism the Korean E-sports competitive scene has compared to other regions. I've already accepted that the Philippines is NOTHING to South Korea. North America (shots fired) can only dream to be just as good as South Korea. European teams and players have proven that they are great, but for some reason, as I've heard from some EU pros that EU orgs don't pay their players enough of the $$$skrillas$$$, (although EU > NA inb4permabannedinPC). Don't even ask me about China with their 1 Million USD contracts for just a player.

 

[Midnight shadow]

- Video games, especially competitive multiplayer ones, are subject to very drastic and sometimes even rapid changes that traditional sports don't have UNLESS I AM MISTAKEN THAT NERFS AND BUFFS EXIST IN TRADITIONAL SPORTS (dear Arceus). Does the metagame of boxing or MMA or basketball or soccer, or even professional paintball change every 3-months or so because of a patch that affects the characters thus affecting the competitive strats in a particular game? Does the NBA association actually nerf and buff players themselves because of complaints about imbalances and underpoweredness? OMG KOBE OP, BETTER NERF JORDAN.

A good point, and one that I would argue means pro gamers have to work harder than traditional sports professionals. Not only do they have to train their bodies (yes, pro gamers do a gym workout everyday too) and minds every day to keep their skills up, but they have to study the meta of their game to stay on top. It's a delicate balance between studying and practicing that is hard to maintain. The only comparison I can think of would be MMA or Boxing, where the meta might change, but the changes will happen a lot slower as they aren't forced by nerfs or buffs like E-sports is.

On the subject of physical training, I would compare E-sports to something like Table Tennis where you have limited lower body movement, but you need fast reactions, good precision and amazing hand-eye coordination. All sports are different, and require different forms of training, but they are all sports. Gymnasts and Spring-board divers needs to train their entire bodies daily to be able to pull off their routines, while other sports like Tennis and Fencing focus more on a single part of the body more than the other. But just because Table Tennis requires less overall body conditioning than Gymnastics doesn't make it any less of a sport.

 

[Arsenic]

I guess I'll be odd one out. I do not like e-sports. I wish it would go away as I feel it is ruining a good portion of series I like since all developers are doing nothing more than catering to this crowd at the cost of actual interesting mechanics or really any 'meat' in a game.

Halo is a good example of this as well as another fad that seems to go hand and hand with e-sports games, micro-transactions. The game play has been streamlined, the most worked on gamemodes are e-sports focused (arena and warzone) they even ripped out almost all customization to marginally improve connection time (a trade off that is not worth it for me.) The gutting of the game shows in how many people still play online, compared to older games like Reach or H3. Then there is the micro-transactions to buy better equipment (and the few items available for customization) in their E-Sports game mode. I won't even get started on that.

The other thing I find with ESports is it poisons the game's communities. Non-competitive players tend to be ok, but the ones interested in competitive play... well I have yet to meet one who wasn't an asshole. If you beat them they cry like a little baby and complain and insult you. If they beat you they never stop gloating and insulting you. I mean for real people it's just a video game not the Olympics.

My opinion on this stuff can be seen in my sudden draw to games like Tower Unite where the focus is more on fun, relaxing, and just enough competitiveness to keep things from getting stagnant. I wish more games would embrace a philosophy of enjoyable gameplay experience instead of uber-competitive environments that cause more harm than good.

-End of Rant-

 

[saifors]

I consider it a sport just as much as chess is a sport. I've always thought of sport as more of a competitive activity that relies on a certain skill of the participants.
The whole thing of, "no it's a game" is like, no **** Sherlock, now tell me what football/soccer is, what basketball is, what hockey is, are they not "games" too.

 

[Midnight shadow]

I guess I'll be odd one out. I do not like e-sports. I wish it would go away as I feel it is ruining a good portion of series I like since all developers are doing nothing more than catering to this crowd at the cost of actual interesting mechanics or really any 'meat' in a game.

Halo is a good example of this as well as another fad that seems to go hand and hand with e-sports games, micro-transactions. The game play has been streamlined, the most worked on gamemodes are e-sports focused (arena and warzone) they even ripped out almost all customization to marginally improve connection time (a trade off that is not worth it for me.) The gutting of the game shows in how many people still play online, compared to older games like Reach or H3. Then there is the micro-transactions to buy better equipment (and the few items available for customization) in their E-Sports game mode. I won't even get started on that.

The other thing I find with ESports is it poisons the game's communities. Non-competitive players tend to be ok, but the ones interested in competitive play... well I have yet to meet one who wasn't an asshole. If you beat them they cry like a little baby and complain and insult you. If they beat you they never stop gloating and insulting you. I mean for real people it's just a video game not the Olympics.

My opinion on this stuff can be seen in my sudden draw to games like Tower Unite where the focus is more on fun, relaxing, and just enough competitiveness to keep things from getting stagnant. I wish more games would embrace a philosophy of enjoyable gameplay experience instead of uber-competitive environments that cause more harm than good.

-End of Rant-

I see where you are coming from there and there are people who take it too far. However, some people are like that regardless of whether the game they are playing is an e-sport or not. The trick is making sure the casual gamers are split from the competitive gamers to avoid the fireworks.

 

[donavannj]

A good point, and one that I would argue means pro gamers have to work harder than traditional sports professionals. Not only do they have to train their bodies (yes, pro gamers do a gym workout everyday too) and minds every day to keep their skills up, but they have to study the meta of their game to stay on top. It's a delicate balance between studying and practicing that is hard to maintain. The only comparison I can think of would be MMA or Boxing, where the meta might change, but the changes will happen a lot slower as they aren't forced by nerfs or buffs like E-sports is.

There is something in traditional sports akin to the bold segment, and it's called film study. It's studying how other players play (usually limited to their next opponent for a given film session) and trying to think of ways to counter that within one's own physical and mental abilities. Granted, in traditional sports, most athletes have coaches to assist with this, but the player still has to be able to process what the coach is saying and the best of the best on the mental side can spot things that the coach missed and can spot opposing weaknesses in real-time, much like the best of the best in e-sports can. The "meta" of traditional sports takes longer to shift for various reasons relative to e-sports, but traditional sports can have a huge meta shift.

Pro e-sports players are athletes in the same way that Olympic archers and shooters are athletes, by refining a very specialized set of physical skills.

 

[Arsenic]

I see where you are coming from there and there are people who take it too far. However, some people are like that regardless of whether the game they are playing is an e-sport or not. The trick is making sure the casual gamers are split from the competitive gamers to avoid the fireworks.

They are never split though. The competitive types tend to come to casual games and let's just say it definitely isn't the casual base that is starting any fireworks.

 

[saifors]

They are never split though. The competitive types tend to come to casual games and let's just say it definitely isn't the casual base that is starting any fireworks.

I have to disagree, as someone who often goes into comment sections be it youtube or news article, I often see casuals complaining about the hardcores and how they're ruining the fun of the game y taking it seriously and how they "force" casuals to play with this same "meta".
How often have I seen hardcores complaining about casuals fot following a games "meta"? In the past 7 years of reading through hundreds of comment sections: Not even once. There are more people that complain about them complaining then there are of the people that complain.

 

[Midnight shadow]

I have to disagree, as someone who often goes into comment sections be it youtube or news article, I often see casuals complaining about the hardcores and how they're ruining the fun of the game y taking it seriously and how they "force" casuals to play with this same "meta".
How often have I seen hardcores complaining about casuals fot following a games "meta"? In the past 7 years of reading through hundreds of comment sections: Not even once. There are more people that complain about them complaining then there are of the people that complain.

It definitely goes both ways. I don't know what the fps scene is like but in League of Legends there is a very clear divide between the casual modes and competitive modes (normal modes and ranked). The problem is that there is a lot of crossover between the 2, with casual players going into ranked matches and competitive players practicing in normal matches. The 2 groups collide and the fireworks start. However, this problem started before LoL became an e-sport and if you talk to most hard-core players, they aren't interested in becoming pro players, they are just really competitive by nature. The reason for the friction between the 2 groups is down to the game itself not the fact that it's an e-sport.

In a game like LoL you are put in a team of 5 that have to work well together to win. A single mistake by one player could mean a loss for the other 4. Put a group of strangers together in a situation like that and of course people are going to get passed off when they lose. After all, you could play a lot better than your enemy counterpart and still lose. Now put in the mixed demographics of casuals and hard-core players and the situation is intensified. The hard-core players are so paranoid of getting matched with "trolls" (I.e. casuals) that they immediately turn on anyone who makes a mistake. This problem would occur regardless of whether the game was an e-sport or not.