ESports has long been criticized and dismissed as “not a real sport,” but now competitive gamers are dismissing an Olympic-organized event as not real eSports. Many supporters of high-stakes digital competitions, which are slowly gaining recognition at the elite level, are perplexed by the choice of games for the inaugural Olympic Esports Week in Singapore.
Instead of established gaming titles, the event will feature 10 simulated sports, including archery, baseball, chess, and taekwondo. Fans of eSports are concerned that virtual sports, which are digital recreations of real-world events, are being prioritized over true eSports, which involve video games played at a highly competitive level.
eSports has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, with popular games like Counter-Strike and DOTA 2 becoming cultural phenomena and attracting millions of online viewers. However, Matthew Woods from the eSports marketing agency AFK expressed disappointment over the games chosen for the Olympics Esports Week, stating that they were not considered true eSports by industry insiders.
Malaysian professional eSports coach Khairul Azman Mohamad Sharif echoed this sentiment, finding the selection of sports games baffling. He believed that top eSports games should have been highlighted instead, arguing that these sports games are already contested physically.
The only silver lining for some is that the shooting event will involve the widely popular game Fortnite, albeit in a modified version without its violent Battle Royale mode. This modification is due to the International Olympic Council’s adherence to Olympic values, which exclude games with excessive violence.
The IOC officially recognized eSports as a sport in 2017 and has been in discussions with industry players about its inclusion in the Olympic Games. While changes in the Olympic program typically happen gradually, the IOC has recently introduced new sports like skateboarding and breakdancing. ESports will make its debut as a medal sport at the upcoming Asian Games.
Chester King, vice-president of the Global Esports Federation and CEO of British Esports, described the list of games for the Singapore event as a “very sensible first approach.” He believes that this event will be a positive step towards eventually including popular video games in the Olympic roster.
Bryan Tan, a partner at law firm Reed Smith specializing in eSports and media, sees the Singapore event as a testing ground for bringing eSports to the Olympic level and working out any challenges. Kit McConnell, the IOC sports director, explained that the focus on virtual and simulated sports games was to support the development of these genres. The selected games had to be inclusive, with no technical barriers and gender equality, an aspect that is often lacking in competitive gaming.
If popular video games do make it to the Olympic level with top players, the Games have the potential to attract millions of new viewers. However, one major challenge will be navigating the relationships with game publishers, who have significant influence over event hosting and organization due to owning the intellectual property of their games.
Although there are no concrete plans to include eSports as medal events in the Olympics at the moment, the Singapore event will be closely observed to gauge its reception. Woods believes that the altered format of the games will play a significant role in how they are received.
(Includes syndicated content from NDTV. This story has been written without any editing by NDTV staff.)
Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
Alex Smith is a writer and editor with over 10 years of experience. He has written extensively on a variety of topics, including technology, business, and personal finance. His work has been published in a number of magazines and newspapers, and he is also the author of two books. Alex is passionate about helping people learn and grow, and he believes that writing is a powerful tool for communication and understanding.
