In a recent article at Joystiq where they talk about the topic of “how sporty are eSports”, the editors get into a detailed discussion about the subject of eSports, its merits and why its got creds enough to be titled a sport.
In the pilot episode of The Right Click by SMM PH featuring B2G’s own BossMac (that’s me) as host, we’ve also discussed eSports and Competitive Gaming and the collective opinion on the matter is it really depends on who you’re dealing with with regards to the usage of the term. My personal opinion though was it doesn’t matter what you use, its about having fun. Not all people feel that way though, most notably pros. Read this exchange from TechPorn as a good primer, the comments are rich with passion:
PRO-GAMER BLATANTLY DISPLAYS ATTITUDE TOWARDS UPCOMING TOURNAMENT
As pointed out by one Joystiq editor Jess Conditt, the definition of sports is evolving and video games are a part of that. Here’s an excerpt:
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That doesn’t mean eSports aren’t sports – competitions, tests of skill, talents that require practice, practice, practice. eSports are part of the evolution of the term “sports,” a definition that has been changing since the first, prehistoric foot race. As qualitative sociologist and MIT associate professor TL Taylor puts it in Raising the Stakes, a book that examines professional gaming:
“Only the most naive, and ahistorical, would suggest the coveted legitimacy of sport is bestowed objectively, outside of any deep cultural values of what constitutes meaningful human and social action.”
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The editors go on in length to discuss the topic but as with most talk about it , its the same discussion that you’ll see everywhere (they point out a comment discussion on the topic also): classic for it or against it.
On the SMM PH show, I wasn’t able to go into detail about my complete opinion on the matter and there has been little to no chance at all to voice out my thoughts so I’m taking this time to do so. While Joystiq’s Jess Condit parallelize games to sport, my views on the matter are completely different:
Like B2G’s catchprase says: gaming matters. The word game, gaming, video games itself is non-existent in eSports, that I am totally against using the term. And for the fact alone, I do not support the use of the term eSports. The term professional gamers already supports my claim very well, and it promotes the video game industry well than eSports.
I am not against eSports in general but as athletic sports fans disdain grouping their sports with video games, I feel the same way of not grouping video games together with those.
Chess is a recognized sport by the International Olympic Committee yet it fails to meet the widely-accepted description cited often by detractors of eSports yet there is a an ongoing debate itself over this claim and there is also a timeless debate that hunting and fishing are real sports and that what we call sports like basketball and football are only games.
Back2myopinion, don’t get it twisted. I’m all for the elevation of status of video gaming but eSports but in my opinion, it is too centric on the MOBA genre alone whereas fighting games, FPS, racing and RTS have predated MOBA, have had many tournaments and all of which did not use the term eSports.
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…defending it as a sport, is just like begging for acceptance
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When video games become video sports, use the term. As long as the base is still video games, then it is professional gaming for me. Let video games promote the industry with the term gaming itself. Forcing the term eSports, defending it as a sport, is just like begging for acceptance. So don’t ask me about how sporty are eSports, I don’t recognize eSports in general.
In a talk with Mineski’s “Rhom” Ronald Robinson Robin, he mentioned:
“If you want something… take it. Show them you deserve it and let them give that which you want.“
Now we may not share the same opinion regarding this post’s topic but those words reflect my view on professional gaming. Show the world that “professional gaming” deserves attention.
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Reaching out to a couple of friends in the media, here are what they have to say regarding the topic of “How sporty are eSports”:
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You mean sporty as in sports? If that’s the case then it’s not that sporty. I mean in general sports, they exert a tad amount of physical prowess, while eSports favors the player’s focus, or should I say mental fortitude. I mean you could play games without a buffed up body right? But, if you want to play soccer for example, you need the buff and mental fortitude too to last.
-Â Leo Bien Durana – Editor-in-Chief of Tech Porn
[/signoff] [signoff icon=”quote-circled”] eSports is just some term that some large organizers used to rename competitive gaming just to make it sound good, whatever words they try to change or invent, it’s still competitive gaming. There are many aspects of esports that cannot be considered as a sport, it’s just plain entertainment as it’s originally meant as. Sports is not about having the highest prize money, it’s all about honor and glory. Let’s not forced ourselves to make competitive gaming as a sport, instead, why not hardened the foundation of gaming and make it a highly respectable medium
- Chad Ramos - Editor-in-Chief of Reimaru Files [/signoff] [signoff icon=”quote-circled”]
eSports lacks the respect and feel that sports has. Grouping video games to sports is never good and its a total disregard of the rich history of sports
- Ramon Paulo Aunor – League of Legends, Hearthstone player [/signoff] [signoff icon=”quote-circled”]
its “sporty” not because its popular or it gives us amusement but the fact that E-Sports nowadays is so competitive that they train so hard to be on the top of their respective games
- Russel Cyril Guiao – Gamer [/signoff]
4 Comments
#BroJab
Very sporty? It’s almost like billiards. You don’t have sweaty guys running around but the mental concentration needed and general fitness level you need is pretty high to be competitive.
Exactly.
I prefer the word “gaming” because that’s what it is. You don’t change the definition of a term just to be politically correct, it will be labeled a sport once it gains acceptance, same as the others. You don’t have to force the change.
In all my years of gaming, I try to steer clear of the word eSports because it was a label used to promote a competition. It merely refers to a competition where the media used is video games. It’s like the “I” in iTunes or the “e” in email. But for it to be elevated into the pantheon alongside basketball, volleyball, chess, and billiards? Someday, maybe. But not today, not yet. Not because it doesn’t “deserve” it, but because it’s not needed yet.