...or at least that's how I'm taking the announcement that esports will feature in the Olympics in 2025! 😆
There's no word on the featured games so far, but they have said that shooters will not be included.
What's your initial reaction to the Olympic Esports Games announcement? Will this be a welcome addition or are the audiences for the Olympics and esports just too different?
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Whilst harmless competitive fun, It's definitely NOT sports (otherwise they'd be including it in the actual Olympics rather than it's own event wouldn't ya think?), since you don't have to go through years of grueling physical training to get into esports, not in the same way that athletes do at least.
I might give exceptions for games that require physical activity, like driving and racing games using racing rigs, those can be pretty tough and do require some skill to be competitive. But still, it's also nice esports gets some sorta official recognition.
I was trying to check their sources, but they mostly crosslinked and quoted themselves, nice.
What about 2023?
As much as I love watching competitive fighting games and the FGC: I've concluded that eSports are not traditional sports.
Although ESPN can showcase poker from time to time, the big uproar was when it was showing the eSport Heroes of the Storm as this whole debate was inflamed. Sports do require physical prowess, reflexes, and some mental skill - all are also required of eSports but I think there is a physicality in sports that is missing from eSports.
In eSports you're controlling an avatar so the 1:1 physicality of you pressing a button to your character doing a roundhouse kick isn't equal. i.e. its easier to press a button than to actually perform the move whilst in sports its entirely 1:1. Your performance is limited to your skill and body.
I think if eSports are to scale to a legitimate degree then it will have to a separate but parallel category to sports
Tricky one this. I think if I was a professional athlete busting my butt 6 days a week and fighting tooth and nail to get funding for professional status, I would be rather miffed that someone playing EAFC or DOTA 2 was considered to be an 'athlete' enough to be in the Olympics too 😂
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