Are eSports a legit sport now?

It's not a sport it's a competitive games kinda like chess and other board games.

Yea, I think they are but I can't watch for too long. I was watching these dudes play Streed Fighter V in a tournament like last week and I just kept yelling at the guy that was losing lol

Not really going to argue semantics about the "sport" aspect but yeah I think that it's a legitimate thing. I love watching fighting games like EVO myself.

For those to whom it matters, its a sport and for those who don't care, its irrelevant what their opinions are.

Personally i dont watch them but seems like a lot of people enjoy it and I prefer a gaming scene where such things exist rather than not.

lol eSports.

Yea I guess they are legit. I mean Poker is considered a legit sport to those that watch it.

I don't consider the people that play them as "athletes" though.

You understand how difficult it is to do that? You it's just about turning a wheel left, hitting the gas and brake occasionally? You also realize how dangerous it is right? It's a bad example you just used

Not athletes so no not a sport in the true sense of the word.

Skill yes, athleticism no.

Yea was quite good. Didn't get that invested, but it certainty had it's moments.

It's only a sport to fat virgin neckbeards. Wonder why?

@foxhound_fox: I guess it requires some form of physical fitness. No wonder it made it to the olympics :D

Yes.

I understand how people are hesitant to call it a sport but they are slowly becoming the minority. Competition, an audience and money essentially will determine what a sport is nowadays and eSports have all of that.

You can fight the legitimacy all you want but it's growing and growing fast. Venues that were once empty are now starting to be packed. Successful business individuals are now pouring money into eSports gaming (Jeff Wilpon, Robert Kraft). Lastly, People are going to start fine-tuning their craft more and more to make a competitive team in an established league because of all the money that is now involved.

@SolidGame_basic: It can't be called a sport until someone loses an eye, or a limb. I don't think that has happened in "esports". At least not yet :P

@appariti0n:

Somebody lost an eye playing Killer Instinct once if that counts.

You can't tear an ACL sitting in a chair, so no. (Also, for anyone saying that golf isn't a sport, please look up Tiger Woods' career post the 2008 US Open.)

I am kind of amazed at its popularity though, because for most of my life playing games was considered a loser's hobby, and now I'm seeing this stuff air on ESPN2.

Its a perfect example. Most are ill informed about racing just like they are about gaming,

It requires the ability to walk and swing a club. Yes, competitive golf requires serious commitment on behalf of the players and dedication to the game... but it's not exactly a physically stressful activity. Many people play it to relax.

I'm still on the side of "sport" as something that is competitive, not necessarily physically strenuous. Which is why I left my post rather vague. If golf can be considered a sport, than so can playing video games.

Bowling still has it beat as a sport

I'm not fussed by the term eSports. Teams/individuals still train, exercise and eat right to get the best out of their body (well, most of them, actually, some...I think?)

I hope I'm dead by the time esports becomes accepted in the olympics or something stupid like that.

I don't really care if people coming Sider it a real sport or not, as long g as it keeps getting more and more popular it really doesn't matter.

lol esports.

Beer pong is more of a sport then esports.

Esport is not a sport, it´s a legitimate entertainment event nothing else.

No idea why people keep thinking they can alter the definition of a sport just because a event has loads of kids watchings.

Not quite the same , Golf has physical element, and Chess while sure today it would not be considered a sport, there is actually a story behind why Chess got to be a "sport" , also it's not every country that recognizes it as such.

The only thing "esports" has in common with sport is the money.

Video games and chess are not sports.

Is it a legit sport? Sure I guess. But honestly I have no desire to watch some. There is just something about the competitive scene of video games that don't really compel me like watch football or other sports. I think it is the fact that unlike those sports I have a chance to be up to their level if I practiced and really learned the mechanics of the game being played. Where as something like a baseball or football requires more effort because of the actual health level requirements along with said practice.

Are you so sure? I've seen some championships and the level of some of those players is just too high. Also, I've heard that some of the professional players basically train as much as in other disciplines. It can also have health issues if you don't take care because of the amount of time you spend on it. Also being healthy improves reflexes, mind control, endurance, etc. One particular area of e-sports, speed gaming, these people spend thousands of hours perfecting a game for years sometimes, also even doing technical analysis of the games and dissecting the source code. Sure, if you had enough time you could probably do the same but the same could be said for any sport if you practice enough.

If baseball is then I don't see why video games can't be

As A Sport; Bachi Ball > VG. lol :P

@pinkanimal: Honestly yeah. A lot of it is just time, practice and patience. I remember during college there was a point I could play to competition style street fighter granted it was low level but it is possible. The thing about gaming as a sport is those people treat it like a job than just a hobby. Hence they are will to dump hours into just playing their game of competition. Why do you think in fighting games every once in a blue moon you see a low teir character player make top eight? You practice enough and you can get there.

Well but that's the same with anything in life. If you practice enough of a sport or any discipline you can get on the top positions. I also played football in college and were in championships but to get from there to Barcelona FC is quite a way. The same with VG, only a handful of guys will achieve the competitive level to get to the end of events such as EVO or a world Counter Strike tournament and many of them will dedicate themselves as much time as a professional footballer would, in then end they can make a bunch of money. By the way, one of the main e-sports associations in the world (SKGaming) was founded by a couple of professional football players from Germany, their experience in how to prepare teams, train them and manage them was taken pretty much from normal sports and it is equally serious in that respect.

Haha, no they aren't.

Just because it's getting more money involved doesn't make it a sport. Sure, it's a competition and a growing one. But a sport? Stop it.

This is just semantics. Can games be a sport? Yes, no. It doesn't matter. The only reason the word "sport" is used is to legitimize it's existence for "normies". And now the dictionary definition of the word sport might change just because of this. Semantics change all the time.

So this argument is just the typical shit of "It used to be like this and should stay like this" vs. "It will be like this in the future and I already accept it". i.e progressives vs. conservatives *YAWN* who cares

I've always had the perception that sports is all about physical fitness and competitiveness like tennis, football, basketball, rugby and so on. Sports channels in the UK broadcast F1 racing, darts, snooker and golf that are debatable "sports", but contain competitiveness. In that case, shouldn't eSports be broadcast on sports channels? (UPDATE: It does have a section on Sky Sports webpage lol.)

I am still uncertain whether eSports should be in the sports category. It doesn't require any physical fitness whatsoever, unless you include dancing, but does have the competitiveness aspect.

Race car driving is more of a physical activity than most other sports. Go go-karting (on actual racing karts) and tell me it's "debatable". Most race cars don't have synchros in the transmissions, or traction control or power steering.

No, that's why they call it eSports, and not "a sport".

lol

I rushed listing the other sports as I just copied them from a website. But yes, it is more physical than the other sports listed, probably most aggressive. My body was aching after a 30 minutes in my first go-karting session... which turned into a race.

At a certain point we really are just arguing petty and stupid semantics over a simple label. It's the same as when people don't pronounce GIF with a soft 'g' sound like the scummy Hitler worshipers that they are.

You probably couldn't even hit a teeball.

Yeah because he fell asleep, game's boring as hell

You just have no taste.

No, I just like to actually be entertained

I guess it's good if you want to take a 3 hour nap

The more research that comes out about head injuries, the more sports are going to have to change. I'm predicting eventually they'll outlaw pro fighting and wrestling, tackle football, rugby, etc. You have to think society will hit a point where they agree the entertainment isn't worth it for the athletes to have mental issues, suicides, and early deaths. That's tough to say because I really enjoy watching College Football and the NFL all weekend.

eSports aren't there quite yet, but they will likely be a legit sport 10 years from now or so.

It’s a form of entertainment. The term eSport works well as a buzz word so people have an idea of what you are talking about. Are we going to start calling competitive cooking shows CSports (I should probably google that in case it’s already a thing).

The above comment doesn’t take away from the fact that it takes a lot of time and dedication to be the best at any game. Teams for various leagues put in an insane amount of work. The payouts are just now starting to grow as the general fan base grows for these various games. The competitive gaming scene has always been there, people are just finally seeing the business side of it.

The only sport is between the executives that see how much ad revenue they can harvest from the zombies that watch it.

Sport An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

I said Go, not Golf. Go is an ancient Chinese/Japanese strategy board game, often compared to Chess.

As has already been pointed out, Chess has been internationally recognized as an Olympic sport. If Chess gets a pass, then there's no reason eSports shouldn't.