Gaming’s fight for respect
With all the reports (by myself and others) about gaming’s increasing societal acceptance, it begs the question of whether or not gaming can be taken seriously as an actual sport.
I would answer this question by saying that the idea of competitive gaming has already been realized, between teams such as the Frag Dolls and the PMS Clan, along with individual gamers like Johnathan Wendel. They have shown average players like myself that you CAN make a living defeating space aliens and solving puzzles.
An article written by the Christian Science Monitor examines the rise of competitive gaming, and questions whether or not it can be an actual sport. It can be read here; personally, I think that if marketed correctly, meaning an equal amount of time distributed between covering the action and the people behind the action, then it could be done. I mean, if NASCAR and poker can get coverage, why not gaming?
Speaking of video games earning respect, CNET’s Digital Home Blog has a great post that essentially expresses his displeasure with video games being blamed for society’s problems. This post comes on the tail of events in Thailand that caused GTA 4 to be pulled off the shelves. More information can be found here.
In CNET’s Digital Home Blog, its writer Don Reisinger, states similar premises to the cases that I make throughout my gaming life and in my blog and can be read here.
Also, for any aspiring doctors out there, you might consider picking up a Wii-mote along with your medical school books and tools if this article is to be believed.
As you mentioned, professional gaming should be considered a sport especially in light of the fact that some pretty silly things are already considered a sport.
Can it be considered a sport? Yes, of course, as we have seen in South Korea.
But, can it ever achieve the stature and professionalism that eSports has in South Korea? Tough to tell. Look at Soccer. THE WORLD’s most popular sport, yet in America it plays second fiddle. The United States is a different animal, and I think for gaming to achieve the professional status and mainstream media attention it easily deserves, it’s got to figure out it’s own angle of getting to that level. Maybe not as a sport but possibly as something else? Only time and continued growth will tell.