Is online gaming a sport? revisited

Chubby

Sliotar sums up the differences between a game and a sport quite well.

Events like the CPL is an event like the olympics. Gaming categories like FPS or RTS are the equivalent of categories like track and fields etc. The different games are individual sporting events. The problem is, the individual games/events change too often so there're no set rules or standards which makes it hard for outsiders to follow.

The actual game used will change when better hardware becomes available and programmers write better and more realistic physics engines to make use of the hardware or even develope different kinds of games. This constant change makes it hard I think for people to accept gaming as sports. Also, the sort lifespan of a game means the career of pro gamers are short and they'd have to constantly move to other games and adjust to new physics engines and weapons. And when games like FPS and RTS are no longer popular, then they're really in trouble.



[This message has been edited by Chubby (edited 18-07-2001).]

cueball

Hmmmmmmmmm thinking about it, they are both. But .... makes you wonder, i suppose its a game cause we play it to have a laugh and take some fun out of it, as does a kick about on the park, but say you play CS in the world finals where the new speccy mode is, on a full screen with people cheering you on and watching then it could be classed as a sport.
Games are better off left as games, doesnt playing them competitivly take the fun out? Playing to win all the time........ but isnt that was sports are about?

the fnj

Is someone playing a sports simulator a sportsman?

Example: Am I a footballer because I play Fifa?

Games are trying to recreate an environment on a virtual platform.

How is someone pretending virtually to be a counter terrorist an athlete?


In every sport the competitor is directly taking part, he is in contact with the playing environment, he is physically using the objects required to win.

In a computer game you are only in contact with the mouse and keyboard. The playing environment is virtual. You click you mouse to fire a shot you have not really fired anything.

Xterminator

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The FANJ:

In every sport the competitor is directly taking part, he is in contact with the playing environment, he is physically using the objects required to win.

In a computer game you are only in contact with the mouse and keyboard. The playing environment is virtual. You click you mouse to fire a shot you have not really fired anything.</font>

Fanj, youre logic does not hold up.

Most people would consider shooting to be a sport. It's an olympic event.
You pull the trigger and point the gun , but by your logic, you dont actually do anything, except exercise your finger and brain (same as a computer game). The gun actually does the shooting.

The sport is the taking part and the competing. Therefore it's a sport.

Sliotar

i think i'd rather games to stay as just that; games.

but it would be kinda cool to see a quake deathmatch on sky sports. it could be pretty entertaining too, with some clever camera work. it could take off in the same way as the WWF or something. it would all be kinda fake in a way, but it could be presented really well. they would have real ppl playing, but it would be in a virtual enviroment, where they can do pretty much anything. for instance, they might never show the actual person playing the game, but instead he would have his own custom skin/model and would be known only by his nick. it would'nt be long before you see this guy on t-shirts in his virtual form the player not think much of this, but it could work. it could be the next big thing if its done right

but they really gotta stop callin themselves cyber-athletes, it sounds really bad .

amp

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The FANJ:
Games are trying to recreate an environment on a virtual platform.
</font>

So what happens when you can't tell the difference between a virtual platform and a real one? At some stage technology will allow that. Besides how you view or interact with the game or sport is irrelevant. Your eyes and ears still take in information, your brain still processes it and directs your limbs accordingly.

You also seem to stress the physical nature of sport as making it different from electronic games. As has been pointed out before, physical exertion is not always required in a sport for it to be defined as such.

Hmmm... this is the most serious discussion here since mmmm.. the last time we discussed this.

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BlitzKrieg

I wouldnt be a expert and i know there is a flaw in here BUT.

-When you take a offical sport i.e soccer, you can go over the world and look at every country playing soccer. Now wha u notice of all the games u have witnessed THERE IS THE SAME BASIC LEVEL/rules/conditions etc. Sure there are little changes in some countries but in the end all sports which are different from each other are put into catagories (field sports track sports etc) and then sub divided more to soccer hurling 100 metres etc. But each one is considered a sport on their own.


That is the flaw to your whole topic

your question is "Is gaming a sport" That would be asking "Is having a ball and a field a sport" you cant answer because take 10 different people and you wuld prob get 10 different games and rules, though 1 will be the most popular their are too many results to the task to even find a equal level.

Now there is your problem, there are too many different games which have nothing in common.

If u asked "Is Online Fps shooters a sport" u have narrowed it down to a level where the question can be tackled yet again therer are no set rules no set tools or anything. You can never get it set down tha 1 game can be played by all the gamers and be placed as the game to represent the whole community (even though cs is damn close to doing this)


We have a whole community existing after 1 set of rules and design which is the beutifull game it is the beutifull game because it has been tweaked to a level everyone can play it easily yet there is life in it to bring joy for years and it is the same all over. Games on the other hand u have it ripped up so much that people will continuosly jump from one to the other and never settle on 1 definition on rules and objectives Because every game is different. If we did settle on 1 set then we will lose wha made games so great the freshness of each one and their new ideas. So games will never be a sport for they are EVER CHANGING


-If u had asked "Is Counterstrike a sport" i would reply like slioter Yes if u are dedicated no if uer casual.


But just asking games the answer is defitnally NO!


CS is like football, we have rules we have a way of playing we have the same level all over the world.

and like football u have kids and friends saying "wanna game"
and u have captains and managers saying "We will win this match"

keywords: Game and Match.


end result to make gaming (even just online) a sport would destroy the gaming world and we would get very p1ssed off at u and beat u senseless.

-God i sound like Washu

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