What's Your Current Take on the eSports Scene?

Hi guys, I'm new here and this is my first topic ever. And since I'm a bit of a fan of how gamers are now recognized globally through eSports and competitive gaming, this is a topic that I have thought of.

So.... what do you think about the current eSports competitions? Do you feel they are beneficial for the gaming industry overall? Or is it only promoting a small niche of the gaming industry? :)

Woeful, and the commentators are cringe worthy. I don't believe they add anything to gaming, in fact I think they make gamers look lazy as there are young people skipping school, giving up working to chase fools gold thinking they can turn this into a career while the rest of society thinks they're just lazy, and turn their noses down at gaming.

Depends on the game. I'm a fan of dota and its pro scene. The game is extremely complex and justifiably deserves a position as an esport. You can pour 30 thousand hours and still learn more. The Dota 2 competitive scene has been growing substantially for years. Matches are exciting, commentators are excellent, and lots of strategy involved.

NBA 2K is also technically an esport but I have no idea how. The game is as deep as a puddle and the competitions don't demand to be respected/taken seriously.

Despite its detractors, esports growth seems inevitable. The industry has been blowing up far faster than any other sport at an equivalent point in their lifetime (granted, globalization and the internet played a big role in that). The physical limitations attached to sports is something I can see disappearing in the future. I just hope that games like dota/starcraft/fighters come to the forefront to represent esports instead of overwatch or NBA 2K.

It of course adds to the gaming industry because it expands what gaming has to offer. Twitch is enormous and the biggest esports tournaments are being covered across many media outlets and boast huge view counts. It's definitely not niche.

It does nothing special for the industry except bring top class players together and people to watch them. It's not a bad thing, it just exists. Maybe the only negative is that it is another form of gambling and that ruins people that have no control.

Check out this amazing documentary regarding the smash brothers Esport community.

I'm sure my opinion is deeply unpopular, but I just think people could spend that time learning real life skills.

I'd rather train in a real MA than be the best in the world at a Street Fighter game, as much as I love them.

Just my opinion though. I enjoy gaming, but it's a lot of hours to put into a non transferable skill imo. Or at least there are healthier non transferable things to become skillful at like an outdoor sport or an instrument.

Sure, each to their own, I'm just personally not in favour of it.

I have nothing against it, but don't really care about it.

Well at least being Street Fighter Pro is healthier than MA pro(both mentally and physically it seems)

I never watch eSports.

Welcome to our little toxic community :)

@angelsemaj:

I hate real sports and e sports is no exception. It's stupid and destroys the entire point of what a sport is meant to be. I think videogames have no fundamental basis to be considered a sport. It's literally something that almost anyone in the world can get good at and requires no actual skill or talent. Just pure reflexes.

Don't understand why people call it eSports. It's technically not a sport. You sit down, tap buttons and stare at the screen for X amount hours.

I don't hate or love eSports. It's a growing industry and Football teams have their own eSports team. Take Paris Saint Germain (PSG) for example.

I like it myself. I’ll watch some Halo and Gears of War events but mainly I watch the fighting game ones like EVO.

Needs work. Only fighting games and MOBAs have made for compelling competitive content. I do think there is a bit too much imitation occurring and broadcasters are looking to pattern themselves after other broadcast events, which takes away from the uniqueness of what gaming offers.

Games, meanwhile, have their own struggles keeping the content interesting. How many hours of competition are worth watching when all the movements and combos are fixed? It becomes stale very quickly if the viability of characters and playstyles isn’t diverse.

Same as any other sport, if you enjoy watching the top-end players compete then its a form of entertainment.... it's that simple.

I don't give a shit if a footballer is fitter for playing his game.... it means nothing to me, just that he puts on an impressive/good show of competition.

Any of the underlying bullshit :

• "Buh buh its not a sport" - no shit sherlock, that's why its called an E-Sport ... they are different, MIND BLOWING.
• "It's a waste of time compared to other hobbies" - oh f*ck off.... they are doing exactly what you are doing, only far better, it provides entertainment, its their passion, it adds value to the industry.
• "It's not a transferable skill" - Specialists often get pigeon holed, that's the whole point of specialising.

are just opinionated guff.

Its a way to make unemployed young men living in their parents house to get "jobs"

Also, females with social media "jobs" like "Instagram models"

I couldn't possibly care less about it.

Nothing against it, just not for me.

I don't have many fucks to give for eSports. I would rather spend my time playing games than watching others play them. It's sad how kids these days spend more time watching others play games than playing themselves. I am impressed how big the whole scene has become, but I find the whole thing ridiculous... especially attending a live event. People actually pay money to watch people play a game in front of a screen. I don't get it. When I watch a real sport, there are athletes physically moving around and the stadium/arena itself is the play area. A live eSport event is the equivalent of watching a game with fans in a pub. There is no real live action to watch in front of you.

The physical and logistical aspect of it all is just silly. What is the purpose of the players being in the same physical space together? They are not physically passing a ball around. They all just sit around each other and talk on headsets anyway. The exact same thing they can do remotely over the internet. Why are there teams for different cities? There is no reason to gather in a specific city to watch a team play. I get the spectator part of eSports when watched online, but the physical attendance part is ridiculous for both the players and the fans.

I don't follow that stuff, but cool if people can make money doing what they love.

My thoughts are, Lol at esports.

It doesn't appeal to me at all.

I saw an Overwatch or Rocket League tournament on TV, like Channel 5.

I don't really care, I just wished I had these options as a kid, cause back then it was a pipe dream to get paid to play games. Just feel its too late for me and don't fit in with the esports world, like I barely even watching fighting game kind, so damn sure not watching shit on fps games.

Possibly with the UFC stuff, but there's so much more to training in a MA than being in an 'Octagon'. Also there's more to competition than just that too, such as the type you may see at the Olympics.

I do a really fun MA called Escrima, I'd recommend it to all. :-)

Very little interest in anything outside of Evo.

Mainly because

1) I know the game mechanics

2) The matches are short and easy to follow

3) It's intimate 1/1

4.) They typically announce something new

5) It gets you in the mood to play again

6) Seeing how well new characters do

7) There is a sense of community and camaraderie, especially in the lower ranks where they know they have 0 change of winning but do it for fun

8) Seeing families faces up's and downs and new faces

9) The commentators like James Chen who have a genuine passion for what they are doing, actively trying to welcome people in the fold

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I wouldn't watch a Counterstrike or Dota match, these people come across as toxic, disgusting rats.

I think it's absolutely fantastic for the people who enjoy it. I also think it's not as easy to watch as other sports in general. I think I haven't found the eSports yet that has the rhythm (downtime, excitement) I'd like, and that is still somewhat easy to follow.

Talk about double standards....

Zero lag environment. It's like you people are not even playing videogames.

Same.

Speed running & CS are my go to.

I tune into some HCS and Gears exports but for the most part I don’t care one way or the other.

@uninspiredcup: You're not wrong. The Dota 2 community is unbelievably toxic :P.

This isn't reflected at the esports level which is very professional though. Only in normal public matches.

@BassMan: Spectacle. They take place in big arenas where crowd reactions and community events can add spice/energize the experience. It's a much better environment both as an observer and as a player. It propels the significance of the tournament forward and also allows for more celebrations/events to go on outside of the matches.

Surely you wouldn't say that playing inside a room is equivalent to an arena with thousands of excited fans.

I personally don't care about it... not my thing.

I don't much care. eSports is fine to those with a casual, or even vested, interest, but it's not for me.

Wow. I guess I picked the right topic to start. Lots of differing opinions, all of them valid in their own perspectives. I guess I never thought of eSports and Sports as something as seriously as most of the players and competitors in it do.

For me at least, eSports and Sports is a form of entertainment. Of course its business, meant to make money for those who already have a lot of them.

But hey, I grew up in a society where a gamer = a person with no future. Now almost everyone and their grandma wants to be a gamer. (especially here in the Philippines where people in show business is trying to get into the gaming industry -and failing miserably

I think of them the same way I do about real sports. Tons of fun to play and boring as hell to watch. No thanks.

I see eSports for its entertainment value, but it does not appeal to me. I prefer other forms of entertainment, and not of the vulgar, low-brow kind.