E-Sports?

[peterhanneman]

Is anyone into E-Sports or commonly known as Electronic Sports? Basically, it's gaming but it's now considered a sport due to how popular it is. You can gamble on who you think will win and bet virtual items on games. I don't really watch it but I've heard all about it.

 

[Jakestar]

Used to be into it back in the Warcraft III and Counter Strike 1.6 days... now not so much. Just not into the newer games at all.

 

[peterhanneman]

Used to be into it back in the Warcraft III and Counter Strike 1.6 days... now not so much. Just not into the newer games at all.

Not into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive? That's really the only game I play and not that much. I occasionally watch a pro game if it's a major.

 

[Jakestar]

Not into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive? That's really the only game I play and not that much. I occasionally watch a pro game if it's a major.

Nah not global offensive, that's too new for me cs 1.6 based off half life from the 90's. Was popular between 1999 - 2006. But Warcraft 3 was my game back in the day.

 

[Simmo!]

I used to play a few of the FPS games and team gaming is become big business now but I struggle with the concept of this as a "sport". It's a hobby that you can potentially make a living from but a sport? As for gambling on it, the problem here is it's a hobby involving minors and that starts to bring up ethical questions.

 

[hedgehok]

Well if you watch for Starcraft 2, CS: GO, Dota2, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Heros of the Storm and so on there is actually a lot of "sports" concept. You can compare it with chess but it's usually more about huge APM and in some cases teamplay and a lot of practise. Games like Dota2 and LoL also need a lot of knowledge about items - a little bit like rock-paper-scissors.

I used to be a strong Brood War (Starcraft 1) player 10 years ago. I played a lot in leagues like Stammkneipe or BWCL (also some Warcraft III) and made it up to the B-national team for Germany. However it was very time-consuming hobby and back then a real niche-thing. I still enjoyed it a lot. It was a fairly small but lovely community. Now everybody streams at twich and shares videos on Youtube. It got much more accessibly. In my early days you read "battlereports" with screenshots (Xds~Grrr..., Maynard and the old lads back then).

In south korea there is already a very big community and it's acknowledged by the society as something "normal". In germany people still look flabbergasted when you talk about "e-sports" and stuff like that. I actually hope this is going to change because I still watch things like Dreamhack occasionally and enjoy it with my old Broodwar pals which are now all in their early to mid 30s with a cold beer in our hands.

 

[Simmo!]

Well if you watch for Starcraft 2, CS: GO, Dota2, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Heros of the Storm and so on there is actually a lot of "sports" concept. You can compare it with chess but it's usually more about huge APM and in some cases teamplay and a lot of practise. Games like Dota2 and LoL also need a lot of knowledge about items - a little bit like rock-paper-scissors.

I used to be a strong Brood War (Starcraft 1) player 10 years ago. I played a lot in leagues like Stammkneipe or BWCL (also some Warcraft III) and made it up to the B-national team for Germany. However it was very time-consuming hobby and back then a real niche-thing. I still enjoyed it a lot. It was a fairly small but lovely community. Now everybody streams at twich and shares videos on Youtube. It got much more accessibly. In my early days you read "battlereports" with screenshots (Xds~Grrr..., Maynard and the old lads back then).

In south korea there is already a very big community and it's acknowledged by the society as something "normal". In germany people still look flabbergasted when you talk about "e-sports" and stuff like that. I actually hope this is going to change because I still watch things like Dreamhack occasionally and enjoy it with my old Broodwar pals which are now all in their early to mid 30s with a cold beer in our hands.

Yeah it's huge in S. Korea and they even have groupies Plus the money coming in as sponsorship demonstrates that it is a popular pastime that obviously has a huge audience. And yes it is also fun to watch and take part in. If they want to call it a sport that's fine but I worry that that acceptance then means it could become eligible for funding and also even things like the Olympics.

The main problem here is that, as you point out, it is very time consuming and the teams and players spend 8-14 hours a day practising and playing. A lot of the teams even live together. These are kids who, as a consequence, are missing out on a lot of stuff that shape your personality and your life and which will be very important as they get older.

The balance is wrong - that's the problem. It's new, its exciting but there is pressure on kids to deliver and stay on the top of the game and they're burning out in their 20's. This pressure is coming from outside influences that are in it for the profitability and not the welfare of the participants. They will be having a whale of a time now and maybe making money but in years to come there may well be social consequences.

 

[peterhanneman]

Nah not global offensive, that's too new for me cs 1.6 based off half life from the 90's. Was popular between 1999 - 2006. But Warcraft 3 was my game back in the day.

I haven't played CS 1.6 but I heard that was one old school game which everyone used to love. From looking at videos, it does look like a pretty exciting game but the graphics aren't exactly amazing.

 

[peterhanneman]

Well if you watch for Starcraft 2, CS: GO, Dota2, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Heros of the Storm and so on there is actually a lot of "sports" concept. You can compare it with chess but it's usually more about huge APM and in some cases teamplay and a lot of practise. Games like Dota2 and LoL also need a lot of knowledge about items - a little bit like rock-paper-scissors.

I used to be a strong Brood War (Starcraft 1) player 10 years ago. I played a lot in leagues like Stammkneipe or BWCL (also some Warcraft III) and made it up to the B-national team for Germany. However it was very time-consuming hobby and back then a real niche-thing. I still enjoyed it a lot. It was a fairly small but lovely community. Now everybody streams at twich and shares videos on Youtube. It got much more accessibly. In my early days you read "battlereports" with screenshots (Xds~Grrr..., Maynard and the old lads back then).

In south korea there is already a very big community and it's acknowledged by the society as something "normal". In germany people still look flabbergasted when you talk about "e-sports" and stuff like that. I actually hope this is going to change because I still watch things like Dreamhack occasionally and enjoy it with my old Broodwar pals which are now all in their early to mid 30s with a cold beer in our hands.

I understand that yes, it has a sports concept but honestly, it's not like you're doing anything when it comes to physical activity and I think that's what a sport should be, not sat on a chair playing a game.