Esports are the Future, but are they REAL Sports?
There is no doubting the growing popularity of esports. Esports events are selling out arenas and stadiums around the world, with attendance records being broken year after year. According to market research firm Newzoo, this year the esports economy will be worth £660m, and should be worth over £1bn by 2020. Worldwide, 380 million people will watch esports in 2018, online or in stadiums.
There is a possibility that esports tournament will be added to the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Olympic organizers are currently in discussion with the International Esports Federation and it seems likely that esports will be included as a demonstration sport. Last October, the IOC conceded that esports could be considered a sporting activity, though IOC president Thomas Bach has since expressed wariness at gaming’s often-violent narrative as being “contrary to our values and our principles.” Esports have already been added to the 2022 Asian Games as a full medal event.
There are many who seem to be scornful of the idea that esports can be considered “real sports” because they lack traditional sports’ physicality. This deserves some rethinking.
A study by the German Sports University in Cologne found that esports participants undergo physical strains similar to those of normal athletes and require a level of hand-eye coordination that surpasses levels found in table tennis. They found the amount of stress hormone cortisol to be similar to that found in racing drivers. This is combined with a high pulse rate, around 160–180 beats per minute, equivalent to that of a runner. In addition to this is the high level of motor skills and tactical understanding required by players.
Around the launch of its esports section, ESPN had League of Legends player, Eugene ‘Pobelter’ Park, take the Wonderlic test (a test which assesses NFL draft prospects’ cognitive ability to solve problems under pressure). Park was not warned about the test, and unlike the other participants was given no chance to prepare. He outscored every other quarterback in the draft with a score of 41/50.
It could be argued that the competitive nature of esport is what makes it a “real sport”. Pro players train upwards of 10 hours a day, seven days a week dedicated to becoming the best. Perhaps belatedly, in addition to practicing by playing games teams are starting to focus on physical training and nutrition.
The huge audiences and popularity of competitive esports among spectators show that the world is starting to realize that esports players are athletes, just as in any other sport. Prizes for esports tournaments also continue to rise relative to traditional sports. The Dota2:The International 2017 prize pool exceeded that of Tour de France, Cricket World Cup and The Open combined.
Last year, League of Legends developer Riot Games released a video titled “Our Game” to challenge those who believe that esports are a joke and not a real sport. Clips from major TV networks making fun of esports are mixed with clips from the 2017 League of Legend World Championship. It makes the disconnect between what some TV personalities and the reality of the situation pretty clear.
So, are esports really sport? In fact, according to the Nielsen Esports Playbook (US, UK, FR, DE), only 53% of fans think so. And just 28% of esports fans think it should be an Olympic sport. While some seek Olympic recognition as a way for public demonstration to the world and a means for widespread acceptance of the sport, many enjoy that it is not part of traditional sports and that it is in some ways an alternative to the mainstream.
Regardless of its classification as a sport, the media attention surrounding esports will ensure its continued growth and acceptance. 2018 has already been a big year for esports and as more and more organizations, companies and brands get involved, we can only see a bright future for the industry.
Esports Interactive Platform is developing a global platform to enable direct interaction between brands, teams and audiences within the esports community. We strongly believe that we can help make a difference to the future growth of this exciting industry.
Please find more information about EIP and our roadmap on the EIPlatform website
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