Esports is massive... and growing

[Leesin]

First of all, gaming obviously requires very good motor skills, and second of all there are tons of questionable sports, for some of which you can easily be a fat blob. Darts, cue sports, chess, motorized sports, shooting, fishing, curling, sailing and so on.

 I couldn't care less what people call a sport to be honest, there are plenty of sports I think are a bigger joke than e-gaming, but I didn't expect you to be the one to bite  . Though I disagree that you need "very good motor skills" because that is entirely dependent on what game you're playing, certain games use just a few hotkeys with a bunch of mouse clicks and it's all just down to the most basic of muscle memory that even the most uncoordinated lard arse would pick up within thousands of hours of playtime just like all the other competitive gamers.

E-sports in the big games consist of A LOT of players nowadays and the majority of them are the tryhards that rage hard over mic or public chat when someone on their team makes a small mistake or something that happens that they think is lame, the guys you see boasting over chat in games about their competitive play like they actually think its some kind of life achievement. The minority of them are the ones that are actually naturally really good at the games they play and don't feel the need to shit their pants and spit all over their monitor when they lose even if they do get pissed off. Each to their own but I think it's a joke to call it a real sport lol.

[Casimir]

Do you move your mouse with your mind?

If you find it a physical effort to move a mouse or operate a keyboard you are either physically or mentally handicapped.  It's a physical action, the same as blinking or breathing but it isnt exactly a strain is it.  On that note I don't believe stuff like darts, snooker or chess are sports either, but that is just my opinion.

[Vibe]

Wow Esports, so impressive, such a display of physical skill and control.

Brb gonna go fuck my Egirlfriend, need tissues to clean the disk tray after

Your point being?

I always wondered what is up with the blind hate like this. Is it that people simply can't comprehend esports, or is it that people earning money with playing games is somehow upsetting them? Is it that they're projecting their own life on it, being jealous because some people earn good money doing things they like, and they don't?

[Vibe]

Blind hate? Who's blind hating? Being a competent computer game athlete is an admirable and impressive physical feat, kinda like all that totally real sex i'm having with my computer whilst reading that Full Metal Alchemist porn manga for the 20th time (you know the one I mean)

You talk as if anyone was calling esports an admirable or impressive physical feat, did you even read the thread?

[Vibe]

It's just a fancy name for playing games, gaming, being a gamer. The term 'Esport' sounds too self-glorifying.

But I retract my bit about the FMA porn manga, crazy coincidence that I posted this *before* I saw your post about that freaky Chimera dog. I cant argue with a FMA Brother.

It's just a fucking name, nobody is calling it an actual sport, thus e-sport, the e in front is the key. It determines the 'sport' is being executed online by fingers and hands and sitting behind a computer. In every other aspect it is pretty much the same as normal sports. It's not 'just playing games' when you get fucking payed for it.

[Casimir]

I class it the same as youtubers who make money playing minecraft for 10 year old kids, it confuses me more than anything.  I don't dislike the people who do it (I have a very limited knowledge of them) I just don't see the appeal of it myself, but then again I don't play any of the popular streaming / esports games so that might have something to do with it.

[Vibe]

I class it the same as youtubers who make money playing minecraft for 10 year old kids, it confuses me more than anything.  I don't dislike the people who do it (I have a very limited knowledge of them) I just don't see the appeal of it myself, but then again I don't play any of the popular streaming / esports games so that might have something to do with it.

Surprisingly, neither do I. But world has evolved like this, there's an immense amount of interest in video games and it shows on youtube as well, obviously (and one of the charts in the article). However I don't class it the same as esports, I believe that people going for esports/professional gaming take far greater risks, and that it takes a lot more effort and talent. Needless to say that you also need some talent to be entertaining and attract a large crowd on youtube as well. None of this is to be looked over.

[Oberyn]

There's a difference between playing games because you enjoy them, and playing games to the point you can make a legitimate living off of it. There's no "self-glorifying" aspect that applies to gamers as a whole with the term e-sport, I think most people realize video games are largely nothing more than an escapist waste of time, although tbf a much more mentally active one than passive TV watching. Still, some person can make money off of their hobby? Good for them, they can call it virtual gladiatorial conquests of e-strength for all I give a shit.

Should be interesting going forward as video games become more and more realistic. I mean, if you could watch a bunch of 50 tall mechs battle each other and destroy an average sized city and it looks realistic and it carries the same competitive edge, personalities, tribal team feeling, all the little elements that play part in every "sport", wouldn't that be a lot more engaging and exciting than mere meatspace reality? It's a bit reductionist to say gaming is nothing more than muscle memory incidentally. The meta mind games alone are a huge part of gaming, without even bringing into it the obvious tactical and strategic planning most competitive games require.

[Gravoth_iii]

Im still surprised how gamers can be so hateful towards e-sports. Is it because it sounds silly earning money from playing competatively in video games? Because im sure before football and sports like that started earning people money, they were simply played for the joy of it.

In the end its us getting entertainment from things people put a ton of effort into, and them getting money out of it. As far as physical strain goes, i doubt its a walk in the park being a professional esports gamer, maybe it doesnt strain your body directly, but you will get exhausted having to constantly scrim and practice for what, 8 hours a day?

[LordBerenger]

Might take ''skills'' to get at that level, but it sure as hell isn't a sport.

[Leshma]

Im still surprised how gamers can be so hateful towards e-sports.

In the same way people who like to play football with friends hate professional football, money laundering, criminals, corruption and everything that goes with it. There are many people who like many aspects of sport, but aren't into overly competitive and highly beneficial nature popularity brings to some sports. Making a sport your job is wrong imho and I equally dislike professional footballers and their way of earning for life just like I dislike these e-sport  pro-gamers.

Was a huge fan of chadz and cmp as modders too, they were great at it. Can't say the same for chadz/cmp as professional software developers. Innocence and goodwill is important for some people.

[Gravoth_iii]

In the same way people who like to play football with friends hate professional football, money laundering, criminals, corruption and everything that goes with it. There are many people who like many aspects of sport, but aren't into overly competitive and highly beneficial nature popularity brings to some sports. Making a sport your job is wrong imho and I equally dislike professional footballers and their way of earning for life just like I dislike these e-sport  pro-gamers.

Was a huge fan of chadz and cmp as modders too, they were great at it. Can't say the same for chadz/cmp as professional software developers. Innocence and goodwill is important for some people.

Why do you think its wrong to work with sports?

Might take ''skills'' to get at that level, but it sure as hell isn't a sport.

No, its an E-sport.

[Falka]

Babbling over nothing.

The World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) is a quadrennial multi-sport event created by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as a "stepping stone on the path of introducing a third kind of Olympic Games (after the Summer and the Winter Olympics)".[1] The Games are considered to be very prestigious and are the equivalent of the Olympics for Bridge, Chess, Go, and Draughts.

Five mind sports participated in the first Games: bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), go (weiqi), and xiangqi (Chinese chess).

If there're mind sports, then there can be e-sports, but the name changes nothing, you can call it however you want, what's the difference.

[Oberyn]

They should def call it something else than e-sport tbh. I just like disagreeing with Heskey because I'm a professional contrarian, but there's something to the word sport "glorifying" professional gaming as something it is not. Not sure why the label e-sport should stick,  it's not a very accurate one, except for the e part. No one calls chess a "mind sport" in common parlance. Professional gaming sounds good enough to me. E-sport sounds like the brainchild of some marketing department team.

[jtobiasm]

Forgot who posted it but people see E-Sports more than just a hobby, look at Ex pro players, they're now going into coaching or becoming analysts for a lot of money.
E-sports isn't just about sitting at a computer and playing, there's a lot now to do with sponsors and PR.