Why Are Video Games Considered A Sport?
ISSUE QUESTION: Are Video Games Considered a Sport?
CONTROVERSY SECTION: Although Sports have their origins all the way back to the ancient Greeks, it is only through the recent times that people have called into question whether there needs to be an expansion on what can be considered a sport. Traditionally, sports are defined as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.”. Yet within the recent decade, the rise of video games has brought on a new cultural following. Competitive video games, or Esports, have begun to evolve from a mere at-home leisure pass time to a professional competition. This has led to a debate of whether video games, in general, …show more content…
Esports are traditionally played through serious competitions or championships hosted by the company which produced said game. These can result in prizes of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the winning team, and can feature teams from around the world. These teams, as a result, practice numerous hours a day, five to seven days a week, with their schedule even more packed once their competition season rolls around. It has become a commitment that requires the same amount of devotion as a normal 9 to 5 job. With this evolution of video games, there has been a significant rise in their following, and the question following if these competitions can qualify video games to be considered an actual sport. However, following the traditional definition of sports, video games do not apply. There is no physical exercise required for most video games with the exception of upcoming virtual reality games, and those do not make up the majority of those offered. Individuals do not feel comfortable qualifying sitting on one’s phone or on the couch with a controller equivalent to a
CONTROVERSY SECTION: Although Sports have their origins all the way back to the ancient Greeks, it is only through the recent times that people have called into question whether there needs to be an expansion on what can be considered a sport. Traditionally, sports are defined as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.”. Yet within the recent decade, the rise of video games has brought on a new cultural following. Competitive video games, or Esports, have begun to evolve from a mere at-home leisure pass time to a professional competition. This has led to a debate of whether video games, in general, …show more content…
Esports are traditionally played through serious competitions or championships hosted by the company which produced said game. These can result in prizes of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the winning team, and can feature teams from around the world. These teams, as a result, practice numerous hours a day, five to seven days a week, with their schedule even more packed once their competition season rolls around. It has become a commitment that requires the same amount of devotion as a normal 9 to 5 job. With this evolution of video games, there has been a significant rise in their following, and the question following if these competitions can qualify video games to be considered an actual sport. However, following the traditional definition of sports, video games do not apply. There is no physical exercise required for most video games with the exception of upcoming virtual reality games, and those do not make up the majority of those offered. Individuals do not feel comfortable qualifying sitting on one’s phone or on the couch with a controller equivalent to a