ill never consider video gaming a real sport, atleast not one to be compared with the likes of baseball, soccer, football ect. It does not require "atheletes" or training your physical condition or endurance to be best you can get it.
Ugh. Will smartphone swiping become one, too? The kids are into that, aren't they?
I never "took to" the label "esports." Video games have almost nothing in common with "real sports", where physical activity is more often involved. Sitting on one's ass clicking buttons is NOT a sport. It's a geeky, nerdy thing
Let the flaming begin
Esports take skill and anyone that doesn't recognize that is a hypocrite of sports in general. Sports has nothing to do with physical and everything to do about skill. The art of running and diving a one handed catch is a skill. It has nothing to do with physical activity and everything to do with that is way the game is played. The art of hitting sweet headshots in counterstrike consistently is a skill, the art of running anti strat plays to take out the opposition is a skill. Leave physical activity out of it, it has nothing to do with it.
Making a diving catch requires the physical ability to do so. There's skill, but also the muscles needed to place enough pressure on the ball at the right angle to halt its motion.
And that diving catch doesn't happen until the end of the route... And if the receiver, say, can't run any more than a 5.0 flat-40, not only would they never get the separation needed to make such a catch.... They wouldn't be on the field to begin with.
A running back uses the weight of their legs to remain upright when hit by a defender in their upper body. They use a vertical to leap over defenders that dive at their legs. Hell, some can even leap over a defender standing upright (indeed, multiple players have done just this).
So yeah, it does have to do with physical activity. It also has to do with skill. Sports generally require both. In fact "activity involving physical exertion and skill" is literally part of the definition of the word.
It takes a counter-strike player precise movement, hand eye coordination, the right amount of pressure and space tapping on the mouse to skillfully be effective. Hand eye coordination being the big one, not anyone can be a pro counter-strike player because it requires the talent and awareness. There are celebrity players in counter-strike and LoL much like any traditional sports player. Not anyone can just do it, much like not anyone can just dive catch a football one handed. If you want to say physical ability then I counter that with you need the ability to have godlike hand eye coordination, precise movement and multitasking in esports.
I'm not talking about the definition, the definition needs to change just like laws change over time to adapt to the current generation. Anything you can counter with for traditional sports there is an equal but opposite to the esports side.
So again tell me what's different other than "it's physical".
Why change it, when "game" is accurate? There's no reason to generalize a specific definition when we literally have an entire word dedicated to the general idea...
Being a running back requires hand-eye coordination, too. It also requires cardiovascular endurance, as well as anaerobic muscle strength and endurance far beyond what normal people maintain. It's not that sports require something altogether different, it's that the specific term sports has additional requirements to meet the definition. That definition, being put another way: "a game that requires skill and physical exertion."
That definition, being put another way, being: "a game that requires skill and [significant] physical exertion [beyond what is possessed by the average person]."
I think you need these qualifiers? Or something similar.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
That definition, being put another way, being: "a game that requires skill and [significant] physical exertion [beyond what is possessed by the average person]."
I think you need these qualifiers? Or something similar.
I wouldn't go that far. You can play the sport of football in your backyard with friends, and not be superhumanly athletic. However, what's important to note here, from my perspective, is that the very act of playing the sport physically exerts you to the point that your body's endurance and strength will increase if you engage in the sport (or practicing for the sport) consistently.
I can play video games 8 hours a day, and my overall body strength and endurance will only get worse.
That definition, being put another way, being: "a game that requires skill and [significant] physical exertion [beyond what is possessed by the average person]."
I think you need these qualifiers? Or something similar.
I wouldn't go that far. You can play the sport of football in your backyard with friends, and not be superhumanly athletic. However, what's important to note here, from my perspective, is that the very act of playing the sport physically exerts you to the point that your body's endurance and strength will increase if you engage in the sport (or practicing for the sport) consistently.
I can play video games 8 hours a day, and my overall body strength and endurance will only get worse.
I agree with this. Sports are designed to keep you healthy outside of injuries of course. But video games will make you fat like I am even though I lost a lot of weight in 2 years and put on some muscle, I am a long way away from being in shape to that level.
That definition, being put another way, being: "a game that requires skill and [significant] physical exertion [beyond what is possessed by the average person]."
I think you need these qualifiers? Or something similar.
I wouldn't go that far. You can play the sport of football in your backyard with friends, and not be superhumanly athletic. However, what's important to note here, from my perspective, is that the very act of playing the sport physically exerts you to the point that your body's endurance and strength will increase if you engage in the sport (or practicing for the sport) consistently.
I can play video games 8 hours a day, and my overall body strength and endurance will only get worse.
I agree with this. Sports are designed to keep you healthy outside of injuries of course. But video games will make you fat like I am even though I lost a lot of weight in 2 years and put on some muscle, I am a long way away from being in shape to that level.
Agreed, they're physical activities that have been specifically structured to make them enjoyable and competitive.
I can't reconcile the idea that playing video games is a physical activity. It's a very sedentary activity. Even race car drivers exert themselves physically, in spite of being seated; picture yourself holding a large sewer pipe valve in 120 degree temperatures, trying to make split-second turns and micro-adjustments on the valve wheel for four hours straight, and you start to get an idea of how much they exert themselves. Oh, and if you wanna really get into it, add in the caveat that if you make a bad adjustment or turn at the wrong time, you might die.
Ugh. Will smartphone swiping become one, too? The kids are into that, aren't they?
I never "took to" the label "esports." Video games have almost nothing in common with "real sports", where physical activity is more often involved. Sitting on one's ass clicking buttons is NOT a sport. It's a geeky, nerdy thing
Let the flaming begin
Esports take skill and anyone that doesn't recognize that is a hypocrite of sports in general. Sports has nothing to do with physical and everything to do about skill. The art of running and diving a one handed catch is a skill. It has nothing to do with physical activity and everything to do with that is way the game is played. The art of hitting sweet headshots in counterstrike consistently is a skill, the art of running anti strat plays to take out the opposition is a skill. Leave physical activity out of it, it has nothing to do with it.
Absolute bullshit. Are Egames and sports both competitive? Yes, does one require physical and mental exercise yes, sports do. Games are more of a mental thing. If clicking a mouse challenges you physically (persons with handicaps please disregard, this is not intended to insult you) I suggest you get off your ass and go participate in some sport.
Suggesting that there is the same level of physical skill involved in surfing and counterstrike is by far one of the most asinine assertions I have ever heard. Mental, you may have had a discussion point.
Both competition but only one is sport.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
I have to admit that although my knee jerk reaction to video games being called a sport is that it is complete bs, once you allow for darts to be a sport, it's not so far of a leap.
Naw, dart throwing isnt a sport.
Knife or axe throwing? Now we're talking "sports."
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Why are we even having a discussion about whether they are sports or not? What is wrong with Varsity Gaming? They cannot compete in a marathon but they are skilled players, why do they need to be more than that?
Yep, every time I've watched an esports event the competitors don't move a muscle. They just sit there expressionless, whilst using their telekinesis abilities to prevail.
If snooker/pool or darts can be labeled a sport, so can gaming.
A bit sarcastic, but at least pool players and dart throwers actually play the game. Esport players don't even fire a real rifle. They don't command a real unit like in the Starcraft game.
I admit these games take skill, as I would get beaten soundly by anyone if I attempted to compete. But there is a huge difference between pixels and real life. I wonder how many calories get burned by esports participants. Any esporter have a 3000 calorie breakfast like Michael Phelps does when he is in training?
But, like I said, I hope no one needs my approval. Call anything whatever you you want. I hope it makes you feel better.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
Ugh. Will smartphone swiping become one, too? The kids are into that, aren't they?
I never "took to" the label "esports." Video games have almost nothing in common with "real sports", where physical activity is more often involved. Sitting on one's ass clicking buttons is NOT a sport. It's a geeky, nerdy thing
Let the flaming begin
Esports take skill and anyone that doesn't recognize that is a hypocrite of sports in general. Sports has nothing to do with physical and everything to do about skill. The art of running and diving a one handed catch is a skill. It has nothing to do with physical activity and everything to do with that is way the game is played. The art of hitting sweet headshots in counterstrike consistently is a skill, the art of running anti strat plays to take out the opposition is a skill. Leave physical activity out of it, it has nothing to do with it.
Making a diving catch requires the physical ability to do so. There's skill, but also the muscles needed to place enough pressure on the ball at the right angle to halt its motion.
And that diving catch doesn't happen until the end of the route... And if the receiver, say, can't run any more than a 5.0 flat-40, not only would they never get the separation needed to make such a catch.... They wouldn't be on the field to begin with.
A running back uses the weight of their legs to remain upright when hit by a defender in their upper body. They use a vertical to leap over defenders that dive at their legs. Hell, some can even leap over a defender standing upright (indeed, multiple players have done just this).
So yeah, it does have to do with physical activity. It also has to do with skill. Sports generally require both. In fact "activity involving physical exertion and skill" is literally part of the definition of the word.
It takes a counter-strike player precise movement, hand eye coordination, the right amount of pressure and space tapping on the mouse to skillfully be effective. Hand eye coordination being the big one, not anyone can be a pro counter-strike player because it requires the talent and awareness. There are celebrity players in counter-strike and LoL much like any traditional sports player. Not anyone can just do it, much like not anyone can just dive catch a football one handed. If you want to say physical ability then I counter that with you need the ability to have godlike hand eye coordination, precise movement and multitasking in esports.
I'm not talking about the definition, the definition needs to change just like laws change over time to adapt to the current generation. Anything you can counter with for traditional sports there is an equal but opposite to the esports side.
So again tell me what's different other than "it's physical".
I missed this before.
So tell me, Mr. Ima Athlete, how much does your pixel gun weigh? What's the windage adjustment? How many rounds did YOU load into that clip? Oh! And best of all, do you use "aim adjust" like 95% of the other players? How far did YOU run to get to the action?
This is why I shudder at this nonsense. Game players thinking they're "all that and more" because they can hit buttons at the right time. Playing CoD does NOT make you a soldier. Nor does it qualify as "sports."
Do you realize that what you want to call a sport is not even real? It is light emitted on a screen, run by programs.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
Well, Americans also count pizza as a vegetable, so no surprise there. Money leads the way, and of course people will continue to say that eating vegetables and doing sports is good, but will just eat pizza and sit by the PC all day.
Ugh. Will smartphone swiping become one, too? The kids are into that, aren't they?
I never "took to" the label "esports." Video games have almost nothing in common with "real sports", where physical activity is more often involved. Sitting on one's ass clicking buttons is NOT a sport. It's a geeky, nerdy thing
Let the flaming begin
Esports take skill and anyone that doesn't recognize that is a hypocrite of sports in general. Sports has nothing to do with physical and everything to do about skill. The art of running and diving a one handed catch is a skill. It has nothing to do with physical activity and everything to do with that is way the game is played. The art of hitting sweet headshots in counterstrike consistently is a skill, the art of running anti strat plays to take out the opposition is a skill. Leave physical activity out of it, it has nothing to do with it.
So....
Is cooking a sport? sewing? wood whittling? model making? etc. etc. etc.
To be a sport, it has to have a significant physical component. What does that even mean?! It means that the physical component of the activity has to have a significant effect on the outcome.
with something like darts, sure, the physical component is "easy", you're not really exerting yourself much. But, the physical aspect has a massive impact on the outcome, with only a small amount being attributed to the mental part of calculating which numbers to hit.
chess has no physical component, only mental, which is why is has been excluded from the olympics.
gaming? the majority of games have no physical component at all. yes, technically, you move your hands and eyes, but how you move them doesn't effect the outcome. It's only when you get into twitch-style gaming that the physical component makes an appearance. Developing muscle-memory is indeed a physical challenge and practice will make you better. But, the physical component is still small, there is still very little exertion, but most importantly the outcome of a game will depend a lot more upon your mental abilities.
That will change in time as we develop proper VR with full body input devices!
This line of reasoning is why I assumed gaming took on the whole "esports" title. Electronic sports. It was never intended for us to be considered sports people, it was intended for us to control electronic sports people. The characters in the games are the ones engaging in a sporting competition, not us.
Finally, like others have said, I'm not trying to take anything away from esports. They still take high levels of skill, the top players are all very impressive. The competition is real and it can still be exciting to watch. It's just not sports, thats all.
To be a sport, it has to have a significant physical component.
I get you. But some people who have never played any real sport think that typing fast and staying up late amounts to "significant physical component."
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Ugh. Will smartphone swiping become one, too? The kids are into that, aren't they?
I never "took to" the label "esports." Video games have almost nothing in common with "real sports", where physical activity is more often involved. Sitting on one's ass clicking buttons is NOT a sport. It's a geeky, nerdy thing
Let the flaming begin
Esports take skill and anyone that doesn't recognize that is a hypocrite of sports in general. Sports has nothing to do with physical and everything to do about skill. The art of running and diving a one handed catch is a skill. It has nothing to do with physical activity and everything to do with that is way the game is played. The art of hitting sweet headshots in counterstrike consistently is a skill, the art of running anti strat plays to take out the opposition is a skill. Leave physical activity out of it, it has nothing to do with it.
Wow! This post could not be any more wrong.
Definition:
1.
an activity involving "physical exertion" and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
Anyone who has ever played any real sports knows the difference between that and sitting on their ass pushing buttons.
That definition, being put another way, being: "a game that requires skill and [significant] physical exertion [beyond what is possessed by the average person]."
I think you need these qualifiers? Or something similar.
I wouldn't go that far. You can play the sport of football in your backyard with friends, and not be superhumanly athletic. However, what's important to note here, from my perspective, is that the very act of playing the sport physically exerts you to the point that your body's endurance and strength will increase if you engage in the sport (or practicing for the sport) consistently.
I can play video games 8 hours a day, and my overall body strength and endurance will only get worse.
Indeed besides if we accept the asinine definition of "hand eye" coordination etc etc as being enough to qualify as the physical part in the definition talked about we could just boil it down to "I am breathing" therefore I am an athlete....
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
I see strategy games (actual strategy games, not easy mode autoplay garbage) the same way or close to how i see chess and other tabletop and board games that require your brain. Outside of that, i really can't consider any other video games the same way, much less as sports. Being good at shooting in a video game is like being good at a ring tossing contest at the fair. It doesn't make you an athlete.
Comments
Being a running back requires hand-eye coordination, too. It also requires cardiovascular endurance, as well as anaerobic muscle strength and endurance far beyond what normal people maintain. It's not that sports require something altogether different, it's that the specific term sports has additional requirements to meet the definition. That definition, being put another way: "a game that requires skill and physical exertion."
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
I can play video games 8 hours a day, and my overall body strength and endurance will only get worse.
I can't reconcile the idea that playing video games is a physical activity. It's a very sedentary activity. Even race car drivers exert themselves physically, in spite of being seated; picture yourself holding a large sewer pipe valve in 120 degree temperatures, trying to make split-second turns and micro-adjustments on the valve wheel for four hours straight, and you start to get an idea of how much they exert themselves. Oh, and if you wanna really get into it, add in the caveat that if you make a bad adjustment or turn at the wrong time, you might die.
Suggesting that there is the same level of physical skill involved in surfing and counterstrike is by far one of the most asinine assertions I have ever heard. Mental, you may have had a discussion point.
Both competition but only one is sport.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
Knife or axe throwing? Now we're talking "sports."
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I admit these games take skill, as I would get beaten soundly by anyone if I attempted to compete. But there is a huge difference between pixels and real life. I wonder how many calories get burned by esports participants. Any esporter have a 3000 calorie breakfast like Michael Phelps does when he is in training?
But, like I said, I hope no one needs my approval. Call anything whatever you you want. I hope it makes you feel better.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
So tell me, Mr. Ima Athlete, how much does your pixel gun weigh? What's the windage adjustment? How many rounds did YOU load into that clip? Oh! And best of all, do you use "aim adjust" like 95% of the other players? How far did YOU run to get to the action?
This is why I shudder at this nonsense. Game players thinking they're "all that and more" because they can hit buttons at the right time. Playing CoD does NOT make you a soldier. Nor does it qualify as "sports."
Do you realize that what you want to call a sport is not even real? It is light emitted on a screen, run by programs.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Is cooking a sport? sewing? wood whittling? model making? etc. etc. etc.
ps: almost everything we do requires skill
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Definition:
Anyone who has ever played any real sports knows the difference between that and sitting on their ass pushing buttons.
Seriously, skip a day of cash shop spending, get a gym membership, and earn it.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
Physical component as a requirement of 'sport' is nonsensical, it has nothing to do with it.
ps: almost everything we do requires physical activity