E-sports don’t need the Olympics, the Olympics need e-sports

Esports doesn’t have to be in the Olympics.

In fact, e-sports should never have been included in the Olympic roster. Every time this story is brought out, we are confused about the true meaning of esport, except for how the big boys think about us.

Last week, International Olympic Council President Thomas Bach told the South China Morning Post’s Sidney Leng that violent games do not belong in the Olympics, but esports is still being considered. In particular, Bach said that the IOC is more interested in real-life sports simulation games, games like Madden or FIFA, than with the “violent, explosive and killing” series.

According to Bach, the reason for the decision is that the IOC wants to “promote non-discrimination, non-violence and peace among all people in the world”, which Bach said is few current series can meet. can respond. He’s not wrong, in theory. The 3 most popular game series today are League of Legends, the game that congratulates you every time you kill 5 players on the opposing team with the words: “PENTA KILL!”, CS:GO, the game about terrorism. and counterterrorism forces kill each other over and over again within 2 minutes or some other games like Dota 2, so players with consecutive kills will hear the words “Wicked Sick”. ) and “Godlike”.

But the connection between violent games and violence in the outside world is quite fuzzy. There has been a lot of research on this topic over the past two decades, but none have confirmed a connection between these two worlds.

And even if they really weren’t, these games still wouldn’t have to be in the Olympics. The Olympics are about honoring the best athletes in the world, and they need something like esports to continue to exist. If they’re not ready to accept esports like they are now, we don’t need them either

There is an urge that we should have esports in the Olympics at all costs. After all, the Olympics are still the premier international sporting event, and almost everyone on earth knows about them. If esports shows up at a future Olympics event, it will be really easy for you to explain to your parents what you’re into or what industry you’re working in, or is this a color market? fat. The point is that recognition doesn’t mean endorsement, and having esports in the Olympics, in a way that only games recognized by the IOC can be played, cannot explain the esports scene either way.

The new IOC needs esports. Or at least, they feel they need esports. The number of people watching the Olympics is declining, and while people are still interested in traditional sports, fewer and fewer people are watching them on TV. Meanwhile, esports has the word “sports” in its name, and more and more people are paying attention to it. Capturing that audience and pulling them to the Olympics to increase their attendance is something the IOC should have thought about more.

The point is (just like on TV), having esports on the Olympics roster doesn’t mean esports has been successful. It’s a lagging organization that refuses to change over time. Instead, the IOC wants esports to change for the sake of the Olympics. No offense to professional Madden, FIFA, and NBA 2K players, but traditional sports simulations aren’t the most popular esports games. LoL, Dota 2 and CS:GO are the most popular esports. If the IOC wants to respect esports then they should bring out the best with the most esport related titles, not Bach’s statements that disdain esport games.

The IOC needs esports, to an extent, but esports doesn’t need an IOC. Esports has been hosting a wide variety of international competitions for international and national teams for a long time, from older events like World Electronic Sports Games and more recent events, like Overwatch World Cup. If that’s the kind of competition that esports fans love to come, esports organizations can make them a reality.

Although now, esports does not need to change to join the “conservative” organization, when those sports will not really attract a true esports audience.

In Bach’s claim that “violent games” are not welcome at the Olympics comes as no surprise, it’s an archaic statement. Controversy surrounding violent gaming ended more than a decade ago, and esports doesn’t aspire to be added to the sport’s roster. The IOC should be more worried about improving viewership through esports than preventing this extra revenue on its own.

Source: thescoreesports