Can "e-sports" be considered true sports?
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This. I love both. I'm a gamer who is a bit of a sports nut. Gaming is not a sport. Don't get me wrong, I love watching fighting game tournaments, but it isn't a sport. The same reason that I don't consider NASCAR to be a sport. A sport requires athletic ability.Owyn_Merrilin said:
Is chess a sport?
There's your answer. I don't know why you'd want it accepted as a sport though. Even when comparing such things as rugby(football for you yanks) and hockey, hockey will be compared as the lesser sport because the injury rate is lower and apparently it isn't as manly. So how do you think e-sports are gonna fair?
That said I'd like to see the injuries you could get at e-sports...mostly RSI I'm imagining...maybe a broken nose from face-planting the keyboard...
There's your answer. I don't know why you'd want it accepted as a sport though. Even when comparing such things as rugby(football for you yanks) and hockey, hockey will be compared as the lesser sport because the injury rate is lower and apparently it isn't as manly. So how do you think e-sports are gonna fair?
That said I'd like to see the injuries you could get at e-sports...mostly RSI I'm imagining...maybe a broken nose from face-planting the keyboard...
Hockey may have a lower injury rate than rugby, but it's got to be higher than American football -- because fights are so common, if for no other reason. Rugby and football are somewhat similar, but they're really very different sports, and people tend to get injured more often in rugby -- although the injuries in football tend to be more serious. If hockey is seen as a lesser sport in the US, it's because it's Canada's main sport, kind of how Cricket is mostly a UK thing, and both American football and Baseball are primarily American (although Baseball may actually be more popular in Japan than it is in most of the US these days.)Mad1Cow said:
Really, though, those of us in the US don't see it as any lesser of a sport than football, it's just that football is hugely popular as a spectator sport here, and hockey is only moderately popular. It's made worse by the fact that people don't actually have much chance to play hockey in large portions of the country, due to a lack of frozen lakes in the Winter. Unlike football, which can be played anywhere with a large enough field, and basketball, which can easily be played indoors, hockey requires ice, which is in short supply down south, and keeps most high schools and colleges from having teams. Without those teams, people don't grow up playing it, and they really don't care as much about watching it. I mean, I never played an organized sport in school, but I still played plenty of pickup games of football, and I played a few baseball games in P.E., but ice hockey? I've never played it in my life, and I don't think I know anyone who has.
Haha you do have a point sir! Pro-gamers are differently fitGeneric Gamer said:
but it's not fair to suggest it doesn't have any worth, chess is played at a highly competitive level and no one would suggest that it isn't a very cerebral activity. I suppose you could maybe call them sports for the mind?
You can play basketball or go running by yourself. There is no competition in that and it is still considered a sport. So instead of pretending you are the smartest person in the world, mayhaps you should just be quiet and listen to what the dictionary has to say about the meaning of words, mkay?Realitycrash said:
Sport = sport
Game = game
Competition = competition
They are all different words with different meanings for a reason.
I'd say there is a lot of "sport" behind it.
considering that sports that are considered sports don't necessarily mean that you have to "run around", I for one would not then consider golf as a sport but it does otherwise.
sure there are physical elements to golf, you are certainly a better golf player if you are in shape and in more control over your body, but the same can be said for elite gameing too, you need to stay in shape in order to be more alert, hightened ability to concentrate, body response, and so on and so forth.
and golf is just an example there are several more sports that don't require much movement.
btw, there are high leagues in more games other than Starcraft and FPS games, Arena RPGs like HoN, DotA and LoL have grown pretty big, fighting games like Street Fighter have a huge ammount of money circulating in tournaments, another RTS that's somewhat big within E-sporting is Warcraft III, I'm no expert but these are games I know have pretty nice clans and tournaments.
btw, sports channels in sweden do occasionally show Counter Strike tournaments and games, and a few sport bars in stockholm are known to have the occasional e-sport evenings, sure not as badass as korea but we are on our way there =P
considering that sports that are considered sports don't necessarily mean that you have to "run around", I for one would not then consider golf as a sport but it does otherwise.
sure there are physical elements to golf, you are certainly a better golf player if you are in shape and in more control over your body, but the same can be said for elite gameing too, you need to stay in shape in order to be more alert, hightened ability to concentrate, body response, and so on and so forth.
and golf is just an example there are several more sports that don't require much movement.
btw, there are high leagues in more games other than Starcraft and FPS games, Arena RPGs like HoN, DotA and LoL have grown pretty big, fighting games like Street Fighter have a huge ammount of money circulating in tournaments, another RTS that's somewhat big within E-sporting is Warcraft III, I'm no expert but these are games I know have pretty nice clans and tournaments.
btw, sports channels in sweden do occasionally show Counter Strike tournaments and games, and a few sport bars in stockholm are known to have the occasional e-sport evenings, sure not as badass as korea but we are on our way there =P
i honestly do consider eSports a sport, sure its not physical but it is very competitive, the players play for alot of money and have contracts with sponsors and teams.
This isn't 6 dudes form some bedsit dicking around in a building for a few hours.
The MLG which is the biggest western tournament is a big thing people play for 10's of thousands of dollars, and of course their reputation, there are also other big tournaments in Europe and the USA, to name a few their is the IPL (IGN Pro League) NASL (North America Star League) Dreamhack Summer and Winter, ECL (European Console League) among others. South Korea has loads and even a TV channel specifically for SC2.
there are even private tournaments, this can vary but the biggest is the ShoutCraft Invitational, with its prize fund raising with audience (first was about $1200, second $2500, the third will have the maximum $5000 (Blizzard has rules))
these tournaments and teams have big sponsors, most from the computer and video game industry, people like Asus, Alienware. but also NOS drinks and so on.
If were going to keep this archaic view of sports requiring Physical Activity, then the English language will need to accept eSports as a genuine sub category.
This isn't 6 dudes form some bedsit dicking around in a building for a few hours.
The MLG which is the biggest western tournament is a big thing people play for 10's of thousands of dollars, and of course their reputation, there are also other big tournaments in Europe and the USA, to name a few their is the IPL (IGN Pro League) NASL (North America Star League) Dreamhack Summer and Winter, ECL (European Console League) among others. South Korea has loads and even a TV channel specifically for SC2.
there are even private tournaments, this can vary but the biggest is the ShoutCraft Invitational, with its prize fund raising with audience (first was about $1200, second $2500, the third will have the maximum $5000 (Blizzard has rules))
these tournaments and teams have big sponsors, most from the computer and video game industry, people like Asus, Alienware. but also NOS drinks and so on.
If were going to keep this archaic view of sports requiring Physical Activity, then the English language will need to accept eSports as a genuine sub category.
I consider them more of a game, like Chess or Poker. That said, both are played competetively and get media coverage, so I don't see why gaming can't be considered as well.
That said, the line between game and sport is pretty blurred, as its kind of hard to think up guidelines seperating the two without finding some sort of exception. Not all sports require balls, contact, or even a great amount of physical ability. It seems like the major defining difference seems to be the sport's influence on popular culture and how popular it currently is. Kind of like how Tennis is considered a sport while Raquetball is typically considered a game. Or Golf and Croquet.
My personal definition is that a "sport" is something you can only really do if you have competition. Strictly a two or more player affair. If you can get the same experience playing by yourself that you can playing with opponents, its a game. To use Raquetball and Tennis again. Tennis can't be played by yourself, you have to have an opponent. The rules don't allow for single play. Raquetball, on the other hand, can be played by yourself so long as you have a court. Having an opponent changes the dynamics of the game, but not the rules.
That said, the line between game and sport is pretty blurred, as its kind of hard to think up guidelines seperating the two without finding some sort of exception. Not all sports require balls, contact, or even a great amount of physical ability. It seems like the major defining difference seems to be the sport's influence on popular culture and how popular it currently is. Kind of like how Tennis is considered a sport while Raquetball is typically considered a game. Or Golf and Croquet.
My personal definition is that a "sport" is something you can only really do if you have competition. Strictly a two or more player affair. If you can get the same experience playing by yourself that you can playing with opponents, its a game. To use Raquetball and Tennis again. Tennis can't be played by yourself, you have to have an opponent. The rules don't allow for single play. Raquetball, on the other hand, can be played by yourself so long as you have a court. Having an opponent changes the dynamics of the game, but not the rules.
Sports only become games if you add rules. If I play basketball outside by myself, shooting random shots and following no rules, it is still a sport, but not a game. A sport doesn't need to be a game or have competition in order to still be a sport. As to your other question, why the hell not? Because the dictionary says it's an entirely different thing.Patrick Young said: