e-Games in the Olympics?

[Sir Rols 1893]

Video games should be in Olympics, says Warcraft maker

Competitive video gaming - known as e-sports - should be included in the Olympic Games, the creator of World of Warcraft has told the BBC.

Rob Pardo, who until July was chief creative officer at Blizzard Entertainment, said "sport" now had a broad definition.

"Video games are well positioned to be a spectator sport," he told Afternoon Edition on BBC 5live.

Professional e-sports events currently attract audiences of millions.

A recent major final held in Seoul, South Korea, filled a stadium of 40,000 people - with many more watching either online or at meet-ups around the world.

"There's a very good argument for e-sports being in the Olympics," said Mr Pardo, who was also lead designer on Starcraft: Brood War, a game often credited with kickstarting the e-sports phenomenon.

"I think the way that you look at e-sports is that it's a very competitive skillset and you look at these professional gamers and the reflexes are lightning quick and they're having to make very quick decisions on the fly.

"When you look at their 'actions per minute', they're clearing over 300."

However, he conceded that video gaming faced a cultural battle to win over those who followed more physical sports.

"That starts getting into how you define sport," he said.

"If you want to define sport as something that takes a lot of physical exertion, then it's hard to argue that video games should be a sport, but at the same time, when I'm looking at things that are already in the Olympics, I start questioning the definition."

'Mind sport'

Having new sports admitted into the Olympic roster is a long-winded process and, since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) capped the number of sports allowed in the Games, has become increasingly difficult.

Even if e-sports were to be recognised as an Olympic sport, that does not mean they would be included in the Games - it merely means a case can be presented to the IOC.

Take chess, for instance. Supporters of the game have long called for its inclusion the Games, but the IOC has been reluctant, considering it a "mind sport" and therefore not welcome in the Games.

Video games face the same hurdle, but have done their best to at least act like a sport, by adding measures such as an anti-doping programme.

Mr Pardo argues that e-sports could be visually appealing to a broad audience.

"You can do whatever you want with the graphics, you can make it be really exciting and competitive," he said.

BBC

[baron-pierreIV 1681]

Wouldn't mind if they made T&F an entirely virtual reality event.

[Rob. 2035]

Only if they're on the Wii

[Fox334 93]

So, beyond how ridiculous the notion sounds lets list some actual problems:

• The popular eSports change pretty quickly. StarCraft: Brood Wars had a very long life for an eSport and it's time as a major pro eSport lasted just over ten years.
• League of Legends and StarCraft II are both dominated by South Korea. And by dominated I mean the top 30 players are probably all Koreans. Dota 2, to a lesser extend, is dominated by China.
• Female competitions are basically non-existent, as are female competitors.
• The IeSF (the group pushing this) has virtually no sway in the eSport world. Their tournaments have very little prestige and are generally not all that well organized.
• People within the eSports industry don't seem too interested in getting into the Olympics.
• There are also a bunch of copyright issues.

I guess if the IOC ever decided to create an Olympic games for mind sports they might want to make this happen, but I just don't see it working out.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Fox334

[woohooitsme83 297]

No nope no no no. If I wanted to watch a LoL competition, I would hop on twitch or something. Just like some sports may not appeal to some people, I don't think e-sports should shove into the already-limited Olympics. The competitors would seem... out of place. Don't get me wrong, e-sports can be very demanding however shoving e-sports into an event full of fit people competing in 'physically' demanding events seems odd. Especially if that group of people compete in an air conditioned arena, sitting in chairs.

[mr.bernham 383]

No nope no no no. If I wanted to watch a LoL competition, I would hop on twitch or something. Just like some sports may not appeal to some people, I don't think e-sports should shove into the already-limited Olympics. The competitors would seem... out of place. Don't get me wrong, e-sports can be very demanding however shoving e-sports into an event full of fit people competing in 'physically' demanding events seems odd. Especially if that group of people compete in an air conditioned arena, sitting in chairs.

Would they even give the people arenas? I have this strange image of a gamecon like set-up.

Still, I don't think that video games should be in the Olympics.

[zekekelso 794]

No

[Fox334 93]

Would they even give the people arenas? I have this strange image of a gamecon like set-up.

Still, I don't think that video games should be in the Olympics.

Would depend on where it's held. But generally e-sports competitions work well in convention centres or a concert hall. You can also hold them in unconventional venues like airport hangars, beaches or war memorials.

[Alexjc 354]

Oh well since we are adding unusual sports that could be hosted in a single hall here on GB...what about Darts????

[Rob. 2035]

Oh well since we are adding unusual sports that could be hosted in a single hall here on GB...what about Darts????

Some of those guys have thighs comparable in size to Chris Hoy's so from the waist down they're Olympic pedigree. But, I'm not sure the image of men with huge beer bellies would sit that well in the Olympic roster.

In all seriousness, I'd quite like snooker as an Olympic sport though, but the issue with one nation dominating would be hard to overcome. That said, if it ever does become an Olympic sport it'll be China, not the UK, that will be the biggest factor in its inclusion.

[LatinXTC 269]

Some of those guys have thighs comparable in size to Chris Hoy's so from the waist down they're Olympic pedigree. But, I'm not sure the image of men with huge beer bellies would sit that well in the Olympic roster.

They make exceptions for curling, skeet shooting, and more than likely now golf. Maybe they're not that fat, but have you seen some curling and skeet shooting "athletes" in the Olympics? Some of them are far from healthy looking.

[woohooitsme83 297]

In terms of e-sports, I've seen some e-sport matches. The competitors aren't terribly "unfit". Maybe on the skinny side but still not really the definition an Olympic athlete IMO

[zekekelso 794]

. But, I'm not sure the image of men with huge beer bellies would sit that well in the Olympic roster.

[baron-pierreIV 1681]

What a disgusting picture of you, zeke. (Yeah, I know who that really is, you idiot.)

[eternalcobi 5]

WATTA?!

That's a flipbird in the charter!

[bg0296 1]

There's an anti-doping program for e-sports? OK, I've seen everything now. LOL.

[LatinXTC 269]

There's an anti-doping program for e-sports? OK, I've seen everything now. LOL.

Yea probably Adderall is banned. It does increase your focus. As well as weed too lol

[zekekelso 794]

Yea probably Adderall is banned. It does increase your focus. As well as weed too lol

Woah! Adderall allows you to increase the size of your stash. Who knew?

[Hartsarts 0]

Eh, I'd rather not see E-Sports at the Olympics. But if they did introduce them, they should also bring back the art competitions what featured in the Pre World War 2 Olympic Games

[Rob. 2035]

I'm not ashamed to say I'm loving the BBC's relaunch of Robot Wars as much as I loved the original show when I was a teenager.

So Robot Wars in the Olympics please. Robots can't get Zika and neither can the contestants as they never venture beyond their attics, so it's already better than golf.

3-2-1 ACTIVATE!

[Shadowriver 10]

Theres few issues

1.Aside of FIFA, LoL, Starcraft and maybe also Street Fighter and MvC (which consitly is in EVO) games don't have long life time

2.Lack of unified international federations to uniformly regulate the "discipline"

3.Lack of national diversity in popular games, they usally donated by Koreans and Japanese

4.Most impotent issue is fact that games are not product of free ideas as traditional sport, but products of commercial company and  lot depends on them. The problem is computer games can't go to public sector as traditional sport as they are tied by there private makers

If any game has chance to go to Olympics it is FIFA, as it only game series that have esport scene backing of international sport federation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Interactive_World_Cup

[Sir Rols 1893]

Considering the current debate about esports in the LA topic, thought I’d jump-start this thread again.

To start, relating to Shadowriver’s post above, the games on the roster for Jakarta 2018 are:

 League of Legends , Hearthstone , Starcraft II , Pro Evolution Soccer, Clash Royale , and Arena of Valor.

https://esportsobserver.com/asian-games-2018-esports/

Definitely chosen for regional interest. Interestingly, no Overwatch, which has made much of the news in the west in the past few months from the growth of its league.

Regarding the Overwatch League, the Grand Final was just this past week. Won by the London Spitfire team, whose team roster is entirely Korean.

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-london-spitfire-win-the-overwatch-league-inaugural-grand-finals/

[Rob. 2035]

OK, I thought when they were talking about e-games at the Olympics they meant virtual versions of real Olympic sports, or close enough to that. I didn't think we were talking about just normal games. I wasn't that much in favour when I thought it was Olympic sports video games, I'm definitely against normal gaming being part of the Olympics. I don't see how it has any relation to what the Olympics are about.

This is the kind of thing I thought they were talking about e.g. F1's e-sports series - https://f1esports.com/ - which is now under the official F1 umbrella:

 

[Rob. 2035]

The O2 here in London (i.e. where the gymnastics/basketball was in 2012) has been hosting the 2018 FIFA e World Cup. $250,000 prize money. Kind of crazy! It's being broadcast on Sky Sports so I watched some. Kind of fun as a novelty, but still not sure about it being a good fit for the Olympics...

Also, just reading eSports has already had doping scandals...

Quote

Everything in eSports happens at an accelerated pace - even the scandals, which have already included players imprisoned for match-fixing and banned for doping. In pursuit of a competitive advantage, gamers have used banned substances like Adderall to improve their concentration. The Fifa game itself has avoided such disrepute - largely because, until recently, the stakes were too small. But this year there will be drugs testing and monitoring of betting markets for suspicious patterns during the eWorld Cup. “It adds more legitimacy to the tournaments,” says Ealing. “You don’t want anyone winning an event or taking someone’s spot at a tournament if they have to find an unfair advantage.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2018/08/01/twenty-million-players-250k-prize-drugs-testing-fifa-eworld/

 

[Sir Rols 1893]

I was just looking yesterday for some footage of the Overwatch Grand Final to give an idea of the formats. Not a lot of the venue here, though it shows you really only need a stage and a few desks or console pods. Sorta like any TV panel show studio.