Alright folks, this week’s major article concerns eSports and the future of gaming as a profession. In this nifty CNN article below, we talk about pro gaming with a focus in Starcraft 2. The article (and its predecessors) follow the story of both MKP and MVP from what I remember in the earlier articles, and mostly discuss addiction and how eSports shouldn’t be considered sports. From the growing eSports scene and my own personal viewpoints, I’ve decided that this is a topic worth discussing in general with the fan base here on Banana Scoop, or at least the video game fan base here on Banana Scoop. Anyway, hopefully you’ll check out my little blurb about this below and consider what I have to say. Now to get down to the gritty portion of this article. The source I have linked at the bottom asks the very recent but incredibly potent question about whether or not eSports professional gamers should be considered athletes. While comparing them to Olympians seems a little extreme, I can understand the point they were trying to make. A lot of this opinion dwells on the age of the demographic being questioned, as well as the opinions of the media, which, as we know, has a lot of sway. While retelling the story of MarineKing in the earlier CNN article (which is included in the source), they talk about the more negative side of the eSports world in a generally slanted viewpoint. When the CNN author or journalist decided to write that post, they wanted people to look at eSports professionals as addicts or the like. They then renege on said opinion and instead post a more favorable article concerning them being labeled as athletes. While this may or may not gain them more readers, it certainly shows the moral fiber and well being of the current media and news outlets.
We discuss the training regimens of many top players in Korea as we’re given a tour of MKP’s gaming house in Korea, where he shared a room with other top names in the SC2 scene, as well as a coach. We get an interview from the coach that tells us exactly what these players need to do to maintain themselves and keep in prime condition for their upcoming tournaments. While not as extreme as being an Olympian, I can see the merit in eSports being considered an actual offshoot of sports. While it may not involve a lot of physical action, it’s just as much if not more tasking than playing a Chess game or professional poker, and we have a lot of coverage about those. What irked me the most, however, is when I read about people dismissing it just as they would professional gambling, because that’s where I draw the line.
eSports gamers are known for their ability to play a game. They do not rely on a random assortment of numbers and luck (depending on the game), and will generally be competing with other gamers with their knowledge of the game and their speed and prowess in playing it. This is no different from an Olympic swimmer using his body advantage and pressing it against someone slower than him, or a basketball star using his height. While the physical differences don’t matter in the eSports world, their skill in playing a game does. This is where I believe the term eSports can be applied as more of a sport than any other ‘real’ sport that we have. Since not everybody has the same ability to grow a certain way or achieve a certain height, there will always be that one person who is better than them at their sport. This does not apply to gaming. A gamer can win a championship whether he’s 10 and stands at four and a half feet or twenty and roughly two feet taller. The physical lines are blurred in gaming, and everyone essentially starts at the same level. I believe that on some level, every person has the same ability to learn as another. Whether or not they choose to utilize that ability is another story.
To me, Gaming is a sport, plain and simple. I won’t begrudge you for thinking differently, but I’d ask you to explain why you think otherwise in contrast to why it could be considered a sport. A lot of the comments are littered with love/hate and a lot of fluff. It’s easy for a gamer to accept this idea without thinking about it because he plays games, and because he plays games he wants it to happen. Conversely, it’s also easy for a non-gamer to reject the idea because all they’re doing is ‘playing games’. To the latter I ask what all sports are then, if not competitions or games. Just because a game is played differently than we’re used to, does not make grounds to refute the concept of it being a sport. Alas, while I don’t see ESPN creating a gaming network any time soon, I do urge anyone reading to merely consider the idea. While it may not be as solid a career as any other athlete, the people who get there and make their salaries do so with just as much vigor, determination and effort as any of the world’s best ‘real’ athletes.
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