Are Video Games Sports?
I was thinking about this subject, whether it makes sense to call video games competition
e-sports, while playing Fortnite's Horde Bash Mode. In this event, you must protect 4 forts against 10 waves of enemy husks, increasing in numbers upon each wave. I believe you only have 30 seconds between each wave to repair and build the forts, before you face these husks.
I only did a few lowest level 5 to 9 missions, and after the first 4 to 5 waves, without looking at the screen, I thought we were almost finished due to the exhaustion, but then upon checking, my heart sank when I found out that there was still 5 or 6 more waves to go.
At the end of each horde bash, I was sweating buckets, my heart was racing, and I was wiped out from the mental fatigue. It really felt like sprinting at full speed. After these experiences, I avoided Horde Bash matches like the plague.
Imagine doing this for hours, which e-sports professionals do on a daily basis. Further, the top professionals also exercise, eat healthy with good sleep hygiene to improve concentration and mental endurance. I wasn't surprised at all since I was only able to beat the Dark Souls 2 no death run twice after getting a good 8 hours of sleep, exercising, keeping hydrated, and eating tons of fruits and vegetables.
So my experience with Fortnite's Horde Bash led me to believe that video games at the competition level should be categorized as a sport. Looking up the definition, the first Google entry defines sports as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment".
No one will argue that video games at the competition level takes immense skill, and that individuals and/or teams compete against each other for entertainment, and it's very entertaining as evidenced by competitions being placed in stadiums due to demand.
The issue is with the physical exertion part, and playing video games on a casual basis isn't physically demanding, otherwise, the average person cannot play video games for more than an hour. But you can say the exact same thing about every single sport including what I consider one of the most physically demanding sports such as gymnastics.
Even I can do gymnastics, though very badly as I probably can't even walk on the balance beam, and the most I can do is hang from the double bars, but I'm still doing gymnastics, technically. An analogy is that anyone can sing, but not everyone can sing well. But performing gymnastics at a competent level, it's clearly a sport.
In other words, playing video games at the elite level is physically exhausting due to the mental efforts and this academic article notes that playing video games takes physical effort, as defined by basal metabolic rates, perceived exertion, and other measures.
This argument that video games should be considered a sport is further strengthened by the current classification of sports into "mind sports" which includes chess as an example. This makes it even more obvious that video games, played at the competitive level, is a sport.
Conclusion: Video games are a sport, and hopefully e-sports will be recognized by the Olympics and included in events.
Do you agree that video games are a sport, why or why not?
The How of Happiness Review
I was thinking about this subject, whether it makes sense to call video games competition
 |
| e-Sports Stadium |
I only did a few lowest level 5 to 9 missions, and after the first 4 to 5 waves, without looking at the screen, I thought we were almost finished due to the exhaustion, but then upon checking, my heart sank when I found out that there was still 5 or 6 more waves to go.
At the end of each horde bash, I was sweating buckets, my heart was racing, and I was wiped out from the mental fatigue. It really felt like sprinting at full speed. After these experiences, I avoided Horde Bash matches like the plague.
Imagine doing this for hours, which e-sports professionals do on a daily basis. Further, the top professionals also exercise, eat healthy with good sleep hygiene to improve concentration and mental endurance. I wasn't surprised at all since I was only able to beat the Dark Souls 2 no death run twice after getting a good 8 hours of sleep, exercising, keeping hydrated, and eating tons of fruits and vegetables.
So my experience with Fortnite's Horde Bash led me to believe that video games at the competition level should be categorized as a sport. Looking up the definition, the first Google entry defines sports as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment".
No one will argue that video games at the competition level takes immense skill, and that individuals and/or teams compete against each other for entertainment, and it's very entertaining as evidenced by competitions being placed in stadiums due to demand.
The issue is with the physical exertion part, and playing video games on a casual basis isn't physically demanding, otherwise, the average person cannot play video games for more than an hour. But you can say the exact same thing about every single sport including what I consider one of the most physically demanding sports such as gymnastics.
Even I can do gymnastics, though very badly as I probably can't even walk on the balance beam, and the most I can do is hang from the double bars, but I'm still doing gymnastics, technically. An analogy is that anyone can sing, but not everyone can sing well. But performing gymnastics at a competent level, it's clearly a sport.
In other words, playing video games at the elite level is physically exhausting due to the mental efforts and this academic article notes that playing video games takes physical effort, as defined by basal metabolic rates, perceived exertion, and other measures.
This argument that video games should be considered a sport is further strengthened by the current classification of sports into "mind sports" which includes chess as an example. This makes it even more obvious that video games, played at the competitive level, is a sport.
Conclusion: Video games are a sport, and hopefully e-sports will be recognized by the Olympics and included in events.
Do you agree that video games are a sport, why or why not?
The How of Happiness Review
absolutely agree that esports are sport, at the end of the day you watch League of Legends tournamens for the same reason you watch football. At it's heart it's about competition, and while I respect the argument that with it not being so much about anything physical, there is a skill cap on how good a performance can show. This is being proven where machines are developing AI's that can always win at checkers by just always choosing the right move. Games like this I feel are problematic, because eventually we might get to a point where a team or player just becomes perfect, and at that point whilst it is impressive, it certainly hurts competition because the then it comes down to which side of the grass is less slippery, which hoop has the dodgy screw so its at an angle, which controller port is a little slow. Due to the physical nature of regualar sports, they will never reach that point of perfection, however there are some esports that I'd argue can't either. Fighting games in particular are so heavily weighted around your dexterity and reflexes, that it's legitimately physically demanding in that same way. I have a few example matches, fairly short, but they really show why they are comparable to sports. It's a contest of people's bodies, about the dexterity and mental prowess they possess.
ReplyDeleteFirst is an older clip (shit quality, we were filming TV's back in those days) from Street Fighter ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS5peqApgUA ), very famous match due to the absolutely insane ending. It was a match where in the clutch moment at the very end, the winner kept his cool and reacted to a near unwinnable situation with a feat that floored his opponent.
Second, still an old game, but much more recent clip, much higher quality. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9icB4SocJaA ) This game was simply littered with moves and feats that just blow the mind, it's pure unadulterated skill and practice, and like traditional sports, it all comes down to that contest of who is the better player.
Hey Cheesus, yes, you're definitely preaching to the choir here, I completely agree with you. The physical and mental demands to perform at that elite level demonstrate that e-sports really is a sport. I think the issue here is the stigma that still exists with video games. It appears that elitists may be threatened as they feel that something as "insipid" as video games should never be considered as lofty as THEIR art or sports, even though video games fulfill criteria for both categories.
DeleteMy prediction lies in the tried and true method of "money talks". In the music world (art), orchestras are noting that performing sound tracks of huge franchises such as Legend of Zelda are outselling all other venues, so video games are gaining traction there.
In the sports world, as e-sports games fill up stadium after stadium, perhaps eclipsing the most popular sports, soccer (i.e. there are way more video game enthusiasts than soccer fans), TV executives will take note and become official sponsors of various e-sports.
So it's all down to snobbery, but viewpoints may change as money talks.
That stigma will disappear over time video games are a relatively new form of entertainment and every single new form of entertainment suffered through having that stigma before the new generation that actually enjoys it takes over
DeleteSuperb point there Omar and happy holidays. I forgot about that issue, indeed, TV was frowned upon as not art, but now it's widely considered an art form!
DeleteWell as someone who plays competitive pvp games on a regular basis am pretty sure that e-sports should be considered as a sport, the amount of dedication and skill needed is huge it is also quite physically and mentally demanding I for one get asked if I was playing football in my room when I come out all sweaty and shakky after a close competitive cs game.
ReplyDeleteHello Omar, I didn't know you play competitively! Which competitions do you compete in? A lot of people don't realize that coaches need to be involved, just like regular team sports, and you need to exercise, sleep well, and need the best nutrition (i.e. fruits, vegetables, whole grains) to even make it competitively!
DeleteHere you're preaching to the choir because I was sweating buckets and my heart was racing after Horde Bash, and that wasn't even close to competition level. In fact, I had to rest b/w the waves as opposed to helping my friends build/fortify the forts and such. So even with doing the bare minimum, I was wiped out!
Hi Alice,
ReplyDeleteI do agree entirely that competitive video games are indeed a sport. As people have mentioned previously, the hand eye coordination, mental awareness or agility involved can be extremely demanding and also rather physical. I look forward to a time when gaming really is accepted as a valid pastime, and also as a genuinely professional sport.
Regards Hilly_
Always so good to see you again Hilly_, sorry missed your streams lately. Agree completely! the precision and hand-eye coordination to play at competition level is stratospheric. I saw one competition where the team leader was milliseconds off, and lost the game. The good news is that money talks, so I predict that we'll see e-sports competitions on the major network channels and ESPN!
Delete