Great Debate: Are eSports sports?

Urban Hat€monger ? · 05-20-2012, 05:02 AM

No my point was is that a character on a screen does everything and can only do the things within the parameters of the game. Which is why I don't consider it a sport.

The day that someone in Soul Caliber pulls up with a hamstring from landing awkwardly in a fight is the day I consider it a real sport. Not because of the physical aspect but because until the games start to use ALL the real attributes of the person playing it in the game (all rather than just a few) I don't consider it to be a true sport.

GuitarBizarre · 05-20-2012, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger

No my point was is that a character on a screen does everything and can only do the things within the parameters of the game. Which is why I don't consider it a sport.

The day that someone in Soul Caliber pulls up with a hamstring from landing awkwardly in a fight is the day I consider it a real sport. Not because of the physical aspect but because until the games start to use ALL the real attributes of the person playing it in the game (all rather than just a few) I don't consider it to be a true sport.

Thats...an unbelievably arbitrary and personal distinction. You can't seriously be suggesting that your personal bias is a valid rationale for describing things as sport?

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.

Just because the game is immutable doesn't mean there is no such element, and even if it did, it seems completely ridiculous to me that you're trying to define sports in a way that literally has nothing to do with what makes a sport a sport.

Urban Hat€monger ? · 05-20-2012, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuitarBizarre

Just because the game is immutable doesn't mean there is no such element, and even if it did, it seems completely ridiculous to me that you're trying to define sports in a way that literally has nothing to do with what makes a sport a sport.

No i'm not, I'm simply suggesting that until video games focus on all the attributes of the person playing them I don't consider them a sport.

If you want to play a game that uses physical prowess in the gameplay of the game I don't see why it's so unreasonable to expect the player to have it too. That seems perfectly reasonable to me.

GuitarBizarre · 05-20-2012, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger

No i'm not, I'm simply suggesting that until video games focus on all the attributes of the person playing them I don't consider them a sport.

If you want to play a game that uses physical prowess in the gameplay of the game I don't see why it's so unreasonable to expect the player to have it too. That seems perfectly reasonable to me.

You're missing the point. This is just your personal preference on what sports you want to watch. What you're saying has sweet fanny adams to do with whether something is a sport or not. I don't see how you can logically apply anything you're saying in a way that becomes a functional method to say "This is a sport, this is not a sport".

~~FireWaterBurn~~ · 05-23-2012, 12:22 AM

Quote:

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.

Please let us note that those injuries come from long hours of gaming, and not the activity itself (unlike real sports). If you do anything 14 hours a day, you're bound to get an injury or be sore.

Guybrush · 05-20-2012, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger

No my point was is that a character on a screen does everything and can only do the things within the parameters of the game. Which is why I don't consider it a sport.

A character in a video game generally does nothing if there's no player to tell it what to do. The characters in StarCraft are the units by which the game is won. It's comparable to a pool cue, discus, pole for pole vaulting or a golf club. These things do nothing without a player, but they are things you use to win the game, just like video game characters like StarCraft units.

You're comparing the video game character to the athlete which I think is wrong.

05-20-2012, 05:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,626	No my point was is that a character on a screen does everything and can only do the things within the parameters of the game. Which is why I don't consider it a sport. The day that someone in Soul Caliber pulls up with a hamstring from landing awkwardly in a fight is the day I consider it a real sport. Not because of the physical aspect but because until the games start to use ALL the real attributes of the person playing it in the game (all rather than just a few) I don't consider it to be a true sport. __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.