Originally Posted by FireWaterBurn

I am satisfied with the level to which I've read this thread.

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

As for me, my inbox is as of yet testicle-free, and hopefully remains that way. Don't the rest of you get any ideas.

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I'll have you know, my ancestors were Kings of Wicklow! We're as Irish as losing a three-nil lead in a must-win fixture!

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

Which is to say that you haven't. Nice job being ignorant bro.

Originally Posted by FireWaterBurn

I've browsed sufficiently. I wonder if posting questions a third time would be a charm and get a response. Probably not.

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

As for me, my inbox is as of yet testicle-free, and hopefully remains that way. Don't the rest of you get any ideas.

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I'll have you know, my ancestors were Kings of Wicklow! We're as Irish as losing a three-nil lead in a must-win fixture!

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

Your response is in the thread. The one you haven't read. The one you really should read before you try and rehash the argument that everyone else already put forward and that I responded to multiple times.

Originally Posted by FireWaterBurn

I am satisfied with the level to which I've read this thread.

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

Regardless, competitive gaming does carry similar random elements and risks of injury. IMMvP is currently competing in the GSL with wrist injuries. BoxeR has had to take a sabbatical and forfeit his Code A matches because of a growing pain in his shoulder. Flash, the famous Broodwar progamer has had similar wrist issues and is still suffering the after effects.

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

K, so here's the deal.

Right now, I think eSports, videogames played for money on a professional basis, are legitimately sports.

Others, who shall remain nameless unless they want to join in, believe not.

Arguments For eSports being legitimate sports:

1 - Pros in the most popular games practice 14 hour days to be at the top of their fields.
2 - The most popular games have professional teams who manage and run contracts for their major players.
3 - Sponsorship exists, and on a very wide scale. Evil Geniuses, a single team, for example, are sponsored by Intel, SteelSeries, Monster Energy, Kingston Technology, InWin, Beyond Gaming, Sapphire Technology, Six Pool Gaming, Bigfoot Networks, Intel Extreme Team, GUNNAR Optiks, SLAPPA, and SPLIT REASON.
4 - The top players are as much celebrities within their scenes as in most other sports. I'm not talking like Soccer or Baseball, which are culturally huge, but any smaller sport like Snooker or Curling or whatever, they have their own stars that are respected, and so does eSports.
5 - They have a spectator audience of people who DON'T play the game themselves. Barcrafts are a global thing and they're frequented by plenty of people who don't play and can't play, but who love to watch.
6 - There is real depth to the games that attain status as eSports. Starcraft Broodwar, for example, is still developing as players discover new strategies and tactics to this day, 10 years after its release and 2 years after the release of its sequel (Which is currently exploding in popularity)



Arguments against -

1 - They're not an activity defined by serious physical exertion.

Thats just some arguments off the top of my head, with the Con argument being one I've heard multiple times before.


I will say that personally, I don't think the con argument I've listed holds water. Starcraft at a high level, with up to 800 actions per minute being input by keyboard and mouse, is many times more physically demanding than, for example, darts or snooker, both of which are recognised sports.


So whats everyone's view? Are eSports legitimately sports in their own right, or are they not?

If not, why not? I'll admit to some personal bias here - So far, nobody has been able to provide me with a solid argument as to why apart from the physical exertion element, which has, to my mind, been rendered inoperable as a debating point by the existence of many other sports with low physical requirements but high dexterity requirements.

Originally Posted by Salami

I'm personally very strongly against the idea that eSports are sports.
I haven't read through the thread, but I have no doubt that some people have made the point that there's no kind of physical activity involved in eSports, yet I really think that this defines the issue for me. The benefits of taking part in sports are clear, development of physiology, increasing stamina and generally making you a healthier person.

I'm one of those people who does many sports but is only ever about average at them - I've been selected to represent Manchester in the national cross country county championships (ask me if you're interested!), but yet finished third last in the finals. I managed to get on my local first team seven's rugby, but only because there were only two people competing for each space on the team.

But, at the end of the day, after the training, I've oxygenated my blood, I've increased my stamina and cleared my arteries from the fat from my diet. I'm in a good mood.

Sadly after a hard day of playing Anime, GuitarBizzare will be no healthier, no fitter and probably have got far less from it.

I know it's a matter of preference, but I'd far rather have my precious medals from races I've run in than anything electronic that very few people can relate to and no health benefits.

For these reasons, I cannot possibly consider eSports in any way "sports".

I'm not saying I have anything against them, I just don't want them to be grouped with the entirely different term "sport" in general.

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

As for me, my inbox is as of yet testicle-free, and hopefully remains that way. Don't the rest of you get any ideas.

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I'll have you know, my ancestors were Kings of Wicklow! We're as Irish as losing a three-nil lead in a must-win fixture!