eSports

[Maestro]

On 21/05/2018 at 18:44, maxjam said:

Just gonna leave this here;

https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/epic-games-will-provide-100-000-000-for-fortnite-esports-tournament

I had to check the prize pool twice to see if I'd read it correctly ?

I am unsure as to what their strategy is with this. I run the only UK based Fortnite community that has access to custom matchmaking so I hope to see some of this prize pool for the tournaments I run!

eSports has grown so much from when I used to play competitive online games back in the early to mid noughties to the point that people nowadays have no concept of grassroots eSports. Everytime I run a tournament, I get the same question "is there a prize?". No one seems to want to compete for the S&Gs anymore, it's all about the money. Teenagers these days don't look up to sports personalities like CR7, Anthony Joshua, Lewis Hamilton, and try and emulate them in their specific sports field. They look at online personalities like Ninja, DrDisrespect, Myth and try and emulate them instead.

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

I am going to this over the weekend...

http://www.esl-one.com/dota2/birmingham-2018/

The game is DOTA 2 and the prize pool is over a million dollars. The Barclaycard Arena is sold out which is quite impressive really. Looking forward to it.

[Stive Pesley]

I have to admit to not having touched a games console in about 5 years, but surely no matter how good you are at the game, you are ultimately bound by the reponsiveness of the controller and the limits of what you can achieve within the coding of the game?

Which to me means it's not an actual sport it's just "competitive gaming"

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

9 minutes ago, StivePesley said:

I have to admit to not having touched a games console in about 5 years, but surely no matter how good you are at the game, you are ultimately bound by the reponsiveness of the controller and the limits of what you can achieve within the coding of the game?

Which to me means it's not an actual sport it's just "competitive gaming"

It depends on the game. With a game like DOTA 2 the easiest way to describe it is a 5v5 game which takes place on the same map (pitch if you want to map it to sports).

You are only limited by the game in the same way you are limited by the rules in a football match. Decision making, reaction times, concentration are all variables that are present regardless of the game mechanics.

I am not saying it's a sport as such, that's more of a semantic debate in my opinion but it carries a level of competitiveness and pressure that is definitely comparable to traditional sports.

[maxjam]

4 minutes ago, StivePesley said:

I have to admit to not having touched a games console in about 5 years, but surely no matter how good you are at the game, you are ultimately bound by the reponsiveness of the controller and the limits of what you can achieve within the coding of the game?

Which to me means it's not an actual sport it's just "competitive gaming"

Surely you could apply all of that to FI racing? 

Also if the coding of the game (or rules) are the same for everyone and they all use their own preferred equipment - which would be no different to tennis players or golfers using their own preferred equipment then what is the difference really?  Its actually more of a level playing field for computer games imo as most tennis players for example now-a-days have to be well over 6ft to take advantage of their serve, us normal folk are at a natural disadvantage before we start!

I think that given gamings continued push to become more mainstream and the amount of money thats there to be made in advertising and sponsorship etc, combined with the younger gamer generation maturing, the professional gaming leagues that are springing up around the world now-a-days will become more widespread.

[David]

What would eSports gain by dropping the e and being classed as a Sport?

Sounds like it’s just looking for some kind of acceptance which would allow it to be seen as a genuine career path for younger players, they can turn around to their parents and say I want to be the next Messi, Nadal and Nadeshot.

eSports should be proud of what they have achieved and not look to try and blend in with traditional sports. The money which is floating around will gain acceptance as it’s being publiscised more. 

Fully expect to see a Sky eSports channel which will be free to air over the coming years, if not months which will give it even more exposure.

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

To be honest I am not sure they are trying to blend in. The biggest problem I see facing eSports is that where money flows in to a relatively new thing the sharks will follow. eSports is dominated by young lads who can be open to exploitation from people posing as managers, agents and the like.

[Stive Pesley]

1 hour ago, maxjam said:

Surely you could apply all of that to FI racing? 

Also if the coding of the game (or rules) are the same for everyone and they all use their own preferred equipment - which would be no different to tennis players or golfers using their own preferred equipment then what is the difference really?  Its actually more of a level playing field for computer games imo as most tennis players for example now-a-days have to be well over 6ft to take advantage of their serve, us normal folk are at a natural disadvantage before we start!

I think that given gamings continued push to become more mainstream and the amount of money thats there to be made in advertising and sponsorship etc, combined with the younger gamer generation maturing, the professional gaming leagues that are springing up around the world now-a-days will become more widespread.

Kind of, but I guess what I'm saying is that in real sports, there is a physical element where if you train hard enough you can run faster, jump higher, kick harder etc. In gaming you can only perform the feats that are encoding into the game. You are essentially controlling an avatar and the only skill is in manual dexterity on the pad and reaction times. Yes gaming levels the playing field in that respect, but for me that makes it more dull

Take chess as an example. Is that a sport or a game? The debate has raged a long time. We've been playing electronic chess for decades and it's absolutely no different to real chess in practical terms. You use the same skills, and the same outcomes. The sort of games we're talking about are totally different - a pro footballer isn't automatically good at FIFA, and a spotty nerd gamer is unlikely to be competing as a pro footballer anytime

So I conclude - gaming is not a sport and should never be classed as one. It's just fancy snakes and ladders. Parlour games. If you get really good at it, you should probably go out more

[maxjam]

6 minutes ago, StivePesley said:

Kind of, but I guess what I'm saying is that in real sports, there is a physical element where if you train hard enough you can run faster, jump higher, kick harder etc. In gaming you can only perform the feats that are encoding into the game. You are essentially controlling an avatar and the only skill is in manual dexterity on the pad and reaction times. Yes gaming levels the playing field in that respect, but for me that makes it more dull

Kinda, but the pro players can train all day everyday tuning their mind, hand-eye coordination and muscle memory - there is a physical element to all of that.  I do get what you're saying though, its like comparing snooker or darts to football or rugby but I'd also argue there is more to competitive gaming than snakes and ladders or chess. I guess its up to the individual were they draw the lines.

Whatever, it doesn't effect me anyway -  I'll take my single Fortnite Battle Royale win and my gold Overwatch ranking and sit over there with all the other noobs.  Now, if they gave prize money away for designing a reasonably cool looking park in Planet Coaster, we'd be in business ?

Anyway, interesting article here; https://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/31/sport/esports-is-professional-gaming-a-sport/index.html