Esports is a multi-billion dollar industry with titans like League of Legends, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and DOTA commanding massive viewer counts and fanbases. These games are watched online by millions of people on Twitch and are even given their own prime time slots on network television in some cases. So what is the hoopla behind all the esports tournaments and organizations popping up? Is this really the future of sports entertainment? What kind of people play these games and why does the audience watch, in the masses? How are they different from regular sports? We will answer all of these questions now.
Video games have come a long way from their humble beginnings as experiments in computer labs in universities to being televised events that spawn cult like fandoms for their celebrities. Esports is a big part of the whole ecosystem. Esports are just like traditional sports in the sense that there is a competition between teams or individuals with a prize or title to be had at the end. The only difference is that the players are experts at video games rather than what you would call a traditional physical sport like soccer or basketball. They are both formalizations of the competition that arise from leisure play. They both have their origins in fun and the spirit of competitive play.
However, there are naysayers that disagree with the notion that esports are like traditional sports. They like to define sports as something that involves athleticism and physical ingenuity. To their point, esports does not involve any physical activity or athleticism in the old sense of the word but there is nonetheless a lot of training and practice that goes into being good at video games. Some think that esports training and practice is more demanding than traditional training for sports, ranked play is just as complex and deep as any other sport if not more.
In the end, it comes down to how you define sports for yourself. If you are a stickler for definitions then there is nothing anybody can do to change your mind. The gamers are here, they are having fun and they don’t care about anybody’s opinion anyway! There is a legitimate cultural significance for the esports as sports argument. Let us boil down the differences (and similarities) to a few bullet points.
The Players and Competition
While being a sports star means that you need to have a certain genetic physical advantage to dominate the field, the esports arena is much more forgiving and less demanding of factors that are out of your control. That is one reason that a lot of esports players find the sports appealing because they feel like they too have a chance. You of course need to put in the time and effort to train but it feels fairer than traditional sports where the odds are stacked for or against you by the lottery of birth or your genetic makeup.
The players of esports also have their own rigorous training schedules. They have their coaches, their strategies, their practice and everything you expect an athlete to go through. They even have their share of injuries associated with the craft as too much gaming can lead to eye fatigue and problems like carpal tunnel syndrome. It is necessary to maintain your health regardless of what sport you are playing once you have decided to dedicate your time and energy towards something.
The players of traditional sports and esports, though vastly different share these common qualities as they push themselves every day to do better at the thing they love.
The Arena and Stadiums
The arena in which the sport is played is a huge factor in how the sport is watched and enjoyed. In esports, the arena is all digital. The awesomeness of the action is happening in the player’s mind. Esports players live and thrive in the digital arena of fantastical lands and magical creatures. There is a distinct absence of physical tangible objects which may be too much for some people to digest but the current crop of the esports audience has spent countless hours playing those games and learning those map layouts.
While all you need for traditional sports is mostly an open area and some equipment, esports demands cutting edge hardware to get the full experience. You can say that the barrier to entry for esports is higher than enjoying traditional sports. At the same time, there is an argument to be made that while for a top of the line experience you need the latest hardware, since a lot of players are playing on their low end or mid range machines, all someone needs is a basic familiarity with the rules to enjoy regardless of the machine they are running. It can be even more inviting to the players who might for some reason be not able to play traditional sports due to disabilities. In that sense, esports may be considered as having an even lower barrier to entry to enjoy. That also means that the next dominating team can come from any corner of the world, it’s all fair game.
The Viewers and Audience
Esports attracts a very wide and varied fanbase. In contrast to some sports’ audiences that are localized, esports has viewers all around the world. The same game is being played on the servers in the US and Asia or any other part of the world. Video games hence bring together a global audience all of whom understand the rules of a common game.
The viewers are of all ages, races and genders. Video games bring people together in ways that traditional sports don’t. The audience usually watches the games on live streaming sites like Twitch or Youtube streaming. Esports is growing bigger in the sense that even TV networks are interested in getting a piece of the pie now, you might already know but EPSN considers esports to be a viable channel for their network.
It is only time until esports starts to get as much attention as the major leagues and events like the playoffs of basketball or even the Superbowl. The audience keeps on growing every single day. One problem is the wide variety of games and the constant updates that they get. Sports are numerous too but they have been played for hundreds of years. It takes time for new sports to be accepted and entrench themselves in the zeitgeist of the time. The constant updates mean that the game that this generation plays will be different than the game that the next generation plays. When this problem is solved, we will enter an age where multiple generations will come together at sporting events to celebrate.
In conclusion, the cultural and long term significance of esports is still to be examined and studied. We have not yet delved deep enough into the possibilities of this exciting new genre of entertainment. Sure there will be hiccups in the way but many are confident that the everlasting nature of video games will endure the test of time.
