I think I would say that I'm a pretty big fan of competitive games. I'm certainly someone who enjoys playing them, regardless of how good I actually am at them. I always find it interesting to talk with different people about what games they consider valid eSports. Ironically enough, the discussion tends to get tricky when it comes to whether or not sports games can be eSports. I tend to fall in with the more traditionalist camp, but I can certainly understand why some people think otherwise. That being said, I think everyone can agree that watching people play games competitively is an increasingly popular activity. Similar to watching sports, people are now more and more watching people compete in their favorite video game. It's a fascinating trend to observe.
Why are people so into this? Will it stop being stigmatized? Should we consider them real athletes? Are they real sports? There are a lot of questions swirling around right now and very few answers to be had. Personally I think it will be difficult to consider competitive video games a true sport in the traditional sense. That being said, I do think they share many qualities with traditional sports. The time, skill, and mental challenges are all there. I think esports in many ways are comparable to other competitive activities like chess or go. While these people are not considered athletes because of the lack of physical exertion, players spend much of their time practicing and strategizing for games just like traditional athletes do.
I think a good way to view the difficulties surrounding eSports breaking through into the mainstream can be summed up by two recent events. The first is the news that the PAC12 eSports league is now dead. The other is that esports are being considered for future Olympic Games. The latter is significant because it shows what video games are currently aspiring to be while the former shows how far games still have to go. For every stadium filled with eager gamers watching the very best compete there is a group of Fox News pundits brushing them off as crazy nerds and potential mass shooters. But some of that may be changing lately. More and more brands are realizing the untapped value of the demographic that watches esports and is desperately trying to capitalize
While I think its pretty clear where I stand on the whole esports legitimacy issue I wanted to take a closer look at the games themselves. Lately there has been a lot of pushback from people who feel like game developers have abandoned them in the push for competitive viability. People may not acknowledge this, but games like League of Legends used to be a much friendlier and care-free place back in the day. Part of this has to do with feature creep, as simpler champions were pushed aside in favor of more "interesting" and complex champions. In general, games like Hearthstone and League of Legends, which depend on a constant drip of new content, face issues in maintaining balance. It's surprisingly hard to keep interactions balanced when new variables are constantly being added to the mix, who knew?
I think that going forward it's going to be a difficult challenge for game developers to balance the competitive needs of the professional scene with the fun factor of its larger, and considerably more casual, player base.
Why are people so into this? Will it stop being stigmatized? Should we consider them real athletes? Are they real sports? There are a lot of questions swirling around right now and very few answers to be had. Personally I think it will be difficult to consider competitive video games a true sport in the traditional sense. That being said, I do think they share many qualities with traditional sports. The time, skill, and mental challenges are all there. I think esports in many ways are comparable to other competitive activities like chess or go. While these people are not considered athletes because of the lack of physical exertion, players spend much of their time practicing and strategizing for games just like traditional athletes do.
I think a good way to view the difficulties surrounding eSports breaking through into the mainstream can be summed up by two recent events. The first is the news that the PAC12 eSports league is now dead. The other is that esports are being considered for future Olympic Games. The latter is significant because it shows what video games are currently aspiring to be while the former shows how far games still have to go. For every stadium filled with eager gamers watching the very best compete there is a group of Fox News pundits brushing them off as crazy nerds and potential mass shooters. But some of that may be changing lately. More and more brands are realizing the untapped value of the demographic that watches esports and is desperately trying to capitalize
While I think its pretty clear where I stand on the whole esports legitimacy issue I wanted to take a closer look at the games themselves. Lately there has been a lot of pushback from people who feel like game developers have abandoned them in the push for competitive viability. People may not acknowledge this, but games like League of Legends used to be a much friendlier and care-free place back in the day. Part of this has to do with feature creep, as simpler champions were pushed aside in favor of more "interesting" and complex champions. In general, games like Hearthstone and League of Legends, which depend on a constant drip of new content, face issues in maintaining balance. It's surprisingly hard to keep interactions balanced when new variables are constantly being added to the mix, who knew?
I think that going forward it's going to be a difficult challenge for game developers to balance the competitive needs of the professional scene with the fun factor of its larger, and considerably more casual, player base.
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