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Should computer gaming be an olympic sport?

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Reply 40
Original post by Veggiechic6
Yes I'm sure the demographic is different. People who pay money to watch Olympic sports are ordinary people. People who pay money to watch other people play computer games... well the word starts with 'g' and ends in 'eek'. :smile: That is of course my personal opinion but I wouldn't have thought I'm alone in thinking that. I'm off to bed now, it's very unlikely (hopefully) that the powers that be would somehow think it appropriate to include computer games into an honourable sports competition so the whole debate is moot. Happy Christmas everyone!


I'd just like to point out that you have committed pretty much every logical fallacy there is to make in this thread. Shifting the goalposts, no straw man argument, ad hominem etc etc.
No, next question.
Original post by Veggiechic6
Yes I'm sure the demographic is different. People who pay money to watch Olympic sports are ordinary people. People who pay money to watch other people play computer games... well the word starts with 'g' and ends in 'eek'. :smile: That is of course my personal opinion but I wouldn't have thought I'm alone in thinking that. I'm off to bed now, it's very unlikely (hopefully) that the powers that be would somehow think it appropriate to include computer games into an honourable sports competition so the whole debate is moot. Happy Christmas everyone!


I don't agree that computer gaming should become an Olympic sport. But that's not what people are arguing with you about.

I don't think you understand how much some of these players earn and thus how competitive it is. This year one player netted just over a million dollars from competition winnings alone. Then add on sponsorship and the number becomes absurd.

With that kind of money at stake its clear to see how much some of these guys train to do this.
Reply 43
As a former competitive esports player myself, I really don't think its an olympic sport.
This is mainly due to the broad spectrum of games you could play, how do you decide which to play? Also, once you allow one, many have to be included so then the olympics would be like 50% sports, 50% gaming and that would be awful.

Also bare in mind the olympics has gone on for hundreds if not thousands of years before gaming was invented, it just ruins the tradition.
Original post by Veggiechic6
I'm saying that training for an Olympic sport would be much more difficult than training to play a computer game well. To be good enough for Olympics, you need to be absolute top of the tree in a multitude of skills related to your sport. It's not just the training itself, it's the determination to succeed and be the best, beating all others in local/national competitions. It's about teamwork, coaching, support, not to mention financial support. Remember the Olympics is partly about entertainment and corporate sponsorship. Would people pay to watch people sitting and playing a computer game? Regardless of how much 'training' the players have done for it, most of the audience wouldn't see it as a high level thing, they'd be thinking 'I could do that too'. Whereas as proper Olympic sport is exciting and jaw dropping achievement that pushes to the limit what mankind is capable of.


You are oversimplifying playing video games competitively. The people who play video games competitively practice as much as, if not more than Olympic athletes. I would even argue that being an esports player is more difficult than being an olympic athlete (although none are easy). Practising around 15 hours a day, and constantly keeping up with the current metagame and adapting your playstyle every few months is more difficult than you think. The determination and the effort that these players put into the game is almost inhuman. To say that it isn't on the same level as an olympic athlete just shows your ignorance.

People are more than willing to watch a bunch of sweaty men kick around a ball for an hour and a half who end up making hundreds of millions, but does it really seem so far fetched that people would pay to see people play video games?

That being said, I don't think it should be on the Olympics, however to say that esports are not on the same level as athletics in determination and effort is just stupid.
(edited 9 years ago)
It shouldn't.

That being said, professional gaming should be treated with more respect. Some of the responses in this thread are laughable and prove how some don't understand gaming. I'm sure the top tier guys put in as many hours of practice and training as world class athletes do.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by abbiemac
No, of course not.
Stick to different video game competitions.

The Olympics is about physical fitness. Anyone can sit on the floor and press some buttons (even if they're not very good at it.) Not everyone can run a marathon.


Anyone can throw sticks and rocks around (even if they are not very good at it). Not everyone can be rated among the top 0.1% of players in a video game.
Original post by Fango_Jett
Anyone can throw sticks and rocks around (even if they are not very good at it). Not everyone can be rated among the top 0.1% of players in a video game.


You actually can't compare those two. You're comparing the top percentile of a discipline to people who simply take part in another.

If I assume you mean the Javelin, then you should say 'Anyone can be in the top 0.1% of throwing the Javelin, but not everyone can be in the top 0.1% of players in a video game.' Which is of course, incorrect.
It's quite interesting really.

Something can be recognised as an "Olympic Sport" (for example, Chess is recognised as a sport) but they don't have Chess at the Olympics because it is largely "a mental sport."

But then again, if riding a horse at walking speed in a specific way is physical enough, why isn't professional gaming?

I guess the main problem would be which game, commercial bias would have to be avoided - which is nigh impossible when you are using commercial products.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Esports could do with better games than starcraft or dota. It would also need games which couldn't be frequently or silently changed or updated.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 50
Original post by TheNoobishKnight
What about chess?


Was not aware chess was an Olympic sport. If it is, I don't agree with it and this does not mean video gaming should be either.
Reply 51
I think most sports veiwers would prefer to watch fit athletic people like swimmers or runners rather than pasty pudgy gamers move their hands around a keyboard surrounded by week old take away cartons. If pasty and pudgy with added waste management viewing became more popular, I'm sure it would be considered.
(edited 9 years ago)
This thread lol.


No computer games go with chess and any other boardgames in that they are 'sports' but they are not primarily physical sports, which is what the Olympics is about. The Olympics committee in fact recognises chess officially as a sport, but it's not included because it's not physical enough, and the same concept can be applied to games.

/end thread
Original post by NJA
It is athletic enough?
e.g. compared to the least athletic alternatives (archery?)

If so, how do you decide which game?
How do you avoid commercial bias?

News report.


Well first things first, what makes you think that archery isn't deserving of a place in the olympics?

Yes it's not something which requires a high level of endurance as a lot of sports do however just like rifle shooting, both target & clay, it requires a very high degree of accuracy within your own movement and good strength in very specific muscle groups. Also if you speak to any top level archer you'll find that they're in the gym at least three times a week, eat a very controlled diet and genuinely do live their life the same way that any traditional athlete would.

Anyway, to answer your questions, no I do not think that it should be an olympic sport. I'm actually a bit e-sports fan, but there is no way in hell that it should be in the olympics. For a start, let's look at how many nations classify people entering the country for an e-sports tournament as athletes on their VISAs: The USA. That's it. Only one country in the entire world views people who enter the nation to compete within e-sports as athletes. It's simply a recreational activity, not a sport, as far as 99.9% of the world is concerned. It would be like saying that Paintball should be in the olympics, as that's another activity which is viewed by almost the entire world as a recreational activity and only officially recognised by a tiny number of nations as a sport. It's also a hell of a lot more deserving of an olympic place as by any measure it's far closer to a sport than e-sports are as it's a very physical game that requires a very high level of athletic ability to play it at the top level.
Original post by sean_james
No what planet are you on hahahaha and anyway archery requires physical strength and training to become the best at your game, video gaming does not...


Well physical training, no, general training, yes.

Any top level gamer will train as a full time job, they'll put in 60 hours a week at the very minimum on their game both training specific techniques and playing matches, so for professionals it is very much something which they have to train at constantly. You could even say that they have to train harder because they play in a field where what they are up against is constantly changing, as other players find new techniques, new players start to become known, and what they have to face is constantly evolving whereas for a traditional athlete while their opposition may improve their actual target is still the same, whether it's a long jumper knowing that he has to jump as far as he can, a javelin thrower knowing he needs to chuck the javelin as far as he can, a sprinter knowing he needs to improve his time as much as possible, whereas for an e-sports professional they are having to train in order to be able to cope with an ever changing opposition.
Original post by TorpidPhil
Competitive video game playing is a sport too, but that doesn't mean it should be part of the Olympics. Two totally separate topics.


How many nations officially recognise professional gaming as a sport? How many countries recognise people entering for the sole purpose of playing in a video game tournament as athletes?

I'll give you a hint, it's somewhere between zero and two.
Original post by mackemforever
How many nations officially recognise professional gaming as a sport? How many countries recognise people entering for the sole purpose of playing in a video game tournament as athletes?

I'll give you a hint, it's somewhere between zero and two.


Is that an argumentum ad populum and appeal to authority fallacy embroiled in one?

I'll give you a hint; yes it is!
Original post by TorpidPhil
Is that an argumentum ad populum and appeal to authority fallacy embroiled in one?

I'll give you a hint; yes it is!


No it's simply a statement to say that in order for an event to be included in the Olympics it must be recognised by the IOC as a sport, and the IOC will not view any event as a sport unless there are a sufficient number of nations in the world that recognise it as a sport, and given that gaming is only viewed as a sport by one nation there is no way in hell that the IOC will view it as eligible for inclusion in the Olympics now or in the near future. Maybe in a few decades, but sure as hell not any time soon.
Original post by mackemforever
No it's simply a statement to say that in order for an event to be included in the Olympics it must be recognised by the IOC as a sport, and the IOC will not view any event as a sport unless there are a sufficient number of nations in the world that recognise it as a sport, and given that gaming is only viewed as a sport by one nation there is no way in hell that the IOC will view it as eligible for inclusion in the Olympics now or in the near future. Maybe in a few decades, but sure as hell not any time soon.


Except I've already pointed out that nobody here thinks it should be an olympic sport and that is not a topic that any wants to even discuss :|
Original post by Maker
I think most sports veiwers would prefer to watch fit athletic people like swimmers or runners rather than pasty pudgy gamers move their hands around a keyboard surrounded by week old take away cartons. If pasty and pudgy with added waste management viewing became more popular, I'm sure it would be considered.


71 Million people were willing to watch people click at buttons last year. 32 Million of those watched LoL, and around 20M watched Dota's TI4. Not to mention that around 75% of Dota 2's 10 million dollar prize pool was funded by fans themselves, and was broadcast on ESPN as well. The teams who played have the sponsorship of some of the biggest companies in the world. Yeah, I would say quite a few people are willing to watch "pasty pudgy gamers move their hands around a keyboard). I'm willing to bet that more people watch MOBAs than some of the more unpopular olympic sports.

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