Blog 14: Writer’s Choice 4 - ESports Debate
For my fourth and final writer’s choice blog, I have decided to give my two cents on the ESports debate, which is not only a hot topic of discussion in New Zealand, but the world. This question genuinely interests me because I myself played my fair share of video games as a kid. As my parents know, I was a big fan of the Call of Duty games, and played them religiously throughout childhood, and not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty damn good. Specifically, Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops 1 & 2 were my games. I digress. Even despite this I’m going to go ahead and say I don’t think they’re a sport and I’ll give my reasoning why later in this blog.
I can understand both sides to this argument and see both sides. On the side that I’ll call “pro-sport,” it’s undeniable how huge video games have become in today’s society, particularly competitive video games. They’re also a huge market and often draw just as many viewers as most sporting events. They also argue that ESports is largely a mental test rather than a physical test. (So by that logic does that make checkers a sport? Does that make blackjack a sport? Where is the line drawn that distinguishes a game and a sport? Is there even a line anymore?) When we were lectured at Sport New Zealand, our speaker said that the anti-sport people are probably going to be on the wrong side of history, specifically saying that “the market is the market.” I understand and agree with what he’s saying. I think ESports will soon be widely accepted as a sport, even though I think many people will never accept them as sport.
On the other hand, “anti-sport” arguers claim that there’s no innate ability to ESports, which I personally think is true. I think that if most people dedicate the time and energy into being good at video games or a particular video game, they can be, but most people, no matter how hard they try, simply are not capable of being an NBA athlete for example. I mean I’m sure a pro gamer would disagree with that, but I probably wouldn’t be persuaded by their arguments, which I believe is probably true for most people.
Essentially, I think this argument is centralized on how you define sport. If you define sport as simply, “a marketable, competition based activity,” then yes I think ESports qualify. However, I simply don’t think video games and athletics are one in the same. I think ESports are a hugely popular and profitable industry, and should be treated as such, but I don’t think they should be considered as much of a sport as basketball, football, soccer, etc.
I’ll end by asking a question... Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is one of the greatest video game players in the world and is probably the best Fortnite player. LeBron James is the GOAT and the best basketball player to ever step on the hardwood (sorry Mike but its true). Sure they’re both monumentally popular around the world and make insane amounts of money, but does that mean Ninja is a world class athlete like LeBron? Is Ninja one of the biggest sports stars in the world? Is his sporting achievement comparable to LeBron’s?
