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online gaming competition as a sport?

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rjiemamam

Member
Joined
May 15, 2001
I am writing a research paper on a subculture (online gamers) for my rhet class. I'm an avid online gamer, that is why I am intersted in this matter.

So to pose the questions. Can online gaming such as CS, UT2k3, StarCraft... be someday be consider a sport in the sense that basketball and baseball are a sport? how can we define sport? and to create some reasoning to my argument, so what if online gaming is a or will become a sport?

what do you guys think?
 
It's already happening. There is a professional gamers site with all sorts of tournaments scheduled with major sponsors and lots of prize money available.

Here's one that I know of: www.progameplayer.com

I'm sure that others here will offer you other links and resources covering on-line gaming tournaments and 'sporting' events.
 
look up info on Dennis Fong and the sites he has started/is running..

For those who don't know who Dennis Fong is, he went by the nick 'Thresh' when playing online games.. he's probably one of the first "professional gamers"..
 
Yup, they're a sport, seen many a online friendship made/die based on the outcome of these tournies.

Any time you pit two people against each other for gain (money, prize, or pride), no matter what the arena (online or stadium), it's a sport.
 
In Korea there are stadiums where huge amounts of people watch StarCraft progamers (that go there from around the world) go at it. I dunno if itll catch on here (in the US), but it definately will in countries like Japan, Korea, etc.
 
Thresh? Ha! That old dog. I remember him form the old Doom II circuit. (1st devision UK Doom II League Veteran here). As I understand he won a Ferrari, when he then proptly sold, for winning his first major tournament (Quake). Again, if memory serves me, never really made a succesful transition to other games. Quake was kinda his swansong.

As for the whole sport thing, I think it will be eventually, but it's going to take alot of time, work and technology. For starters it needs to more accessible to the mainstream. That means TV (or net-TV, if thats the future). As part of that gaming need to be more spectator friendly. Don't really know how to achieve this, but it needs to be done. A game needs to be developed specifically for this tournament, or at least the highest level. It would need to be designed to test a set of skills that are agreed before hand as being key to a great gamer. The game would most likely need to be distributed free - compare it to football (what you yanks would call soccer). You don't pay to use a local field (the game), you only buy your own ball (your pc).

Money needs to be involved, and lots of it. That means advertising and sponsorship. And that means getting as many people as possible to watch it.

But the most important thing of is people perception. Gaming needs a new image, to replace the stereotype of the pale spotty teenager sitting in a dark room, thinking up goverment conspiricies, with girlfriend and no life. Girls/Women need to be encouraged to play, and it needs to be marketed as a fast changing, highly skilled, modern activity. Events need to be played in public, and to begin with at least, players need to selected more on their presentability rather than their gaming skills (I know some people are going to see this as unfair and a form of rigging, but if you want it to become successful....) Also, to ensure that a personality can be consitantly be followed by the public/fans, the game that is chosen needs to reamain completly unchanged for an entire seasons, with only minor changes made to the existing game between seasons.

These things are going to require alot of dedication form talented people - and those people aren't going to be able to take part in the competitions. It's going to take a very long time, and it's unlikely to suceed first time around. But it could be a laugh.

Good luck on the paper, home my humble view helps. :)
 
metra said:
In Korea there are stadiums where huge amounts of people watch StarCraft progamers (that go there from around the world) go at it. I dunno if itll catch on here (in the US), but it definately will in countries like Japan, Korea, etc.

That's a great point, I had the priviledge to watch a VERY skilled Halo player... kept me interested for over an hour, JUST WATCHING him play! lol
 
Great take, Flex.

This isn't going to be a popular opinion around here, but here goes...computer gaming is not a sport. Sports involve a physical skill and gaming is a predominantly mental pursuit. I think sports also have to carry some measure of genuine risk for failure.

I've competed in some online racing leagues and had a great time. But there is a huge difference between racing online and racing on a real track. Ditto for any of the ball sports or combat.

Because its not a sport doesn't mean that it can't be fun to participate in or watch. Gaming is entertaining, and in the end it is entertainment.





BHD
 
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is ping pong a sport? if so, it's really all about hand-eye coordination b/c it's not like u'd need to seriously lift weights :rolleyes:
 
Sport

I don't think that online gaming will ever become a sport. The defination says so.

Acctually that definition doesn't exclude computer gaming as a sport.

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

There is physical exertion in computer gaming, it's just not a major part. Similar to golf in that respect. And anyone who says that gold isn't a sport is going to get alot of (IMHO sad) people that are going to disagree.

To me the important parts of that difinition are the skills, rules and customs part. Doesn't gaming have that?

1. Skills - obvious really
2. Rules - No team kills. No camping. No aim-bots. And many others that I'm sure you all can think of.
3. Customs - Kill the newbie. Give the HPB some slack. Hate and avoid the LPB (admitedly those last two are less relevent these days), Bad karma to kill someone who is typing a message.

As for the physical exertion, don't know about anyone else, but my wrist is often well pumped after a marathon Q3 session... (no dirty comments!)
 
flux said:


There is physical exertion in computer gaming, it's just not a major part. Similar to golf in that respect.

Flux, I'm sorry but you lost me, man. There is no way you can compare the exertion of tapping on a keyboard with walking five miles a day for four days straight and playing the game on top of that. In college golf and most amateur series you have to hump your own bag, too. How does anything in computer gaming compare to that?




BHD
 
I think the use of physical exertion is too broad to NOT include computer gaming... I think its intent is to maintain that some type of physical activity is involved in the sport... now, when we use nano-probes to direct our PCs and our PC gaming (by only using our minds), then maybe the definition will be moot and need revision... but for now, "exertion" merely means 'use of physical or mental energy; hard work. The connotion of 'strenuous effort' also fits because if you've ever gamed for more than a couple hours, you would know that your wrist and eyes become liquid jelly... I've played organized sports, and don't recall baseball EVER causing that much eye or wrist strain ;).
 
Flux, I'm sorry but you lost me, man. There is no way you can compare the exertion of tapping on a keyboard with walking five miles a day for four days straight and playing the game on top of that. In college golf and most amateur series you have to hump your own bag, too. How does anything in computer gaming compare to that?

What you've just described is a watered down version of hiking, with a game attached. As an experienced climbing I can assure you that a month of intense golfing doesn't compare to the physical exertion of draging a bag containing everything you need to survive up a cliff face.

As for my comment is was meant more as a joke. But now that you mention it, yes, I can compare. The carrying of the bags is similar to the shifting of your PC into a netmeet, setting it all up, then moving it again when a stage game is played. That IS hard work, considering the weight of some cases (mine is a full tower crammed full of stuff). Do that in a hot and stuffy room with loads of other people around and I'd call that physical exertion. As for the actual game playing, exertion is just about working hard for a short time. Endurance can play a large part in fatigue, and anyone not used to it will have a hard time using a mouse and keyboard that intensely for more than an hour. (even after all these years of practice my arm still aches after playing a good opponent).

I apologise for taking the mick out of golf - it was meant as an insulting comment , and I'm sorry for that. But the statement itself still stands.
 
I think we're comparing Sports and Athletics.

Don't ever tell me a guy clicking away at his keyboard is an athlete. (Unless of course, he's involved in some other physically demanding activity.) I've been to LAN parties. These are NOT athletes.

However, ComputerGaming can be loosely considered a sport. Admittedly it isn't the most physically demanding, but everything is pretty relative. Billiards isn't exactly the most physically grueling sport, but it is considered a sport. The same could be said of Bowling. Athletes? NO. Sportsman. Yes.
 
The carrying of the bags is similar to the shifting of your PC into a netmeet, setting it all up, then moving it again when a stage game is played. That IS hard work, considering the weight of some cases (mine is a full tower crammed full of stuff). Do that in a hot and stuffy room with loads of other people around and I'd call that physical exertion

In gaming tournaments they use computers already there.. in order to make it even.. obviously it would not be fair play to have someone with a monster computer that could turn up all graphics and features and maybe get an edge (including running some sort of cheating software) compared to some other dude with a p3 500 and a tnt2 or something.. :)

The "better" tournaments I've been at have had computers reserved for the players, and the only thing allowed there is their own config files .. so one could optimize them to the best use on the specific computers they played on.. :)
 
In gaming tournaments they use computers already there.. in order to make it even.. obviously it would not be fair play to have someone with a monster computer that could turn up all graphics and features and maybe get an edge (including running some sort of cheating software) compared to some other dude with a p3 500 and a tnt2 or something..
The "better" tournaments I've been at have had computers reserved for the players, and the only thing allowed there is their own config files .. so one could optimize them to the best use on the specific computers they played on..

Have to admit I was refering to the 'old days' there. There was a time when a net meet consisted of everyone clubing together what thay could to rent out a large space for a weekend (sometimes a whole week for anual meets) and simply run a load of power sockets about. Networked relied upon people bringing the equipment with them (fun with 10Base2 anyone - the networking at these things required a degree!) and setting it up as needed.

The comments about fairness and cheating are valid, but a similar situation is found in most other sports. Tennis players don't use rackets supplied at venue, they use their own. Perhaps a better analogy would F1 Racing. Different people have different ideas about what makes a better car. Each team has their own car, but they all conform to a common rule. Cheating is dealt with by checking the cars before each race. And I have to be honest I have never come across a form or cheating in games that can't be easily spotted by an admin observing - cheating is only useful if you don't get caught.

Those old netmeets were something else though. The bigger ones sometimes continued in some form or other for weeks afterwards. People just didn't leave sometimes, either to have a chance to play a legend, or cos they didn't want to leave their newfound sweetheart (believe it or not girls DID turn up, and were actually very good - lost my chance at a tournament title once cos of some dumb bird, grrrr). Some even came just to watch.

Time also evaporated. 24 hours a day there were people playing, tweaking, dancing (someone was always a DJ), sleeping (sleeping bag under your desk/other table-like device), drinking or just socialising. People only left to get more food or beer.

As the internet become more mainstream, and faster, the need for these netmeets to get to play other people dried up, and (in my experience) they are now far less communal afairs.

Please bear in mind this is all from a point of view of someone from the UK. I know most of this isn't relvent to the sports issue, but I just fancied a little nostalgic trip.....
 
Well the concept of sports is tied closely with war and violence and showcasing skills that could otherwise be used in combat. and most online games are involve a contest of skills in inflicting pain on others so You can say that online games or offline gaming can be considered a sport.
 
I don't think computer gaming can be compared to any sports. If anything, it's more like chess or monopoly and those are games, not sports. So computer games are well... games!
 
At the end of the day, does the technical specification of a sport matter? If computer gaming can become a commercial viable, widely enjoyed spectator activity, does it matter if it's a sport or not?
 
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