League/esport and sport? Same difference

Can video game be considered sports?

Everyone has heard of video games. Most people classify it as a casual pastime or in most cases a great waste of time. Aside from fun, it’s got quite a few of negative connotations surrounding the phrase ‘video games’. Most people don’t even recognize that video games have genres. So, to even categorize video games as a sport may even seem absurd. But as of late, certain video games have been a considered a “sport” where paid “professionals” are paid to play. This has even been recognized not only by people within the fanfare of these video games but the government of of several countries including the United States. Some of these games include : League of legends, Dota, and Counter Strike global Offense. Lots of these game contain sports elements which is why many people consider these games to be considered sports.

Terminology First let’s talk about the shared terminology between both sports and video games that are considered sports. Some of the most prominent ones are team, game, competitive, social media, publicity, and money. Many of these terms are what define a sport other than physical activity involved in regular sports. In the oxford dictionary “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” is the official of “sport”. The most controversial part of the definition itself when defining something as a sport is physical exertion which usually refers to “Exertion is the use of physical or perceived energy. It normally connotes a strenuous or costly effort related to physical, muscular, philosophical actions and work” which basically use of energy and a set amount of effort on something that is not always physical which is what people limit their definitions of sports to. After nearly everything else is shared from teams and playing for entertainment or to entertain others. Professional or professionalism is something that is included in both. The fact that professionals exist within something that is so close to sport is important because everything without some sort of professional(s) is already considered invalid. Therefore most of these games have the qualifying terminology that is associated with sports to just be just as valid as a sport.

**The Professional ** An important aspect to these video games is the existence of “professional” gamers. What is a professional in general? Well a professional is someone engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime. Which in video games is a common thing. These professionals are not only paid but respected by a wide variety of people across the globe and is another similarity amongst professional gamer and professional sports players. Not only do these players have respect of many people but also get paid. “As of 2013, the 15 highest-paid professional gamers in the world earned between $226,776 and $454,544. Over the course of about two or three years, these pro gamers participated in an average of 30 tournaments around the world. The least active gamer competed in eight tournaments in that period compared to the 64 tournaments of the most active.” (Ketchum 1) Bu overall revenue is small for each particular game which is why “Pro’ games are required not to just be team participants in one game but multiple.

Publicity and Popularity Another huge important thing within a sport is publicity and popularity. Games like league of legends or Dota have huge popularity amongst gamers and even non gamers alike. The views of the league of legends world final tallied up 27 million people which is a lot because this game isn’t just popular in one country but popular globally. Not only are the events large in attendance and views online, but even has shoutcaster just like any other sports event which also attributes to the hype of many games. But the the prize pools are not something to scoff at either, the league of legends prize pool total to about $2,130,000, and the Dota prize pool at 18 million. Another commonly shared between both video games and sport that bring popular idols familiar to the audience such as they did in the league of legends world finals did with imagine dragons having them perform at the opening ceremony in korea.

League of legends finals video :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y3t52hWIas

Video games, previous noted as a great pastime or casual hobby is no longer limited to itself but it can now apply as a sport. It’s been legalized by the government of several countries. After a thorough comparison considering the the terminology that belongs within both categories it’s reasonable to accept video games as more than just a regular pastime or waste of time as noted by many parents but to something with a little credibility to the name then “video game” but sport. But in the end both are just games video or not, professional availability for both is what is important, that millions of people considered these games to be a sport. Just because these games do not require lot of physical strength does make them any easier and hard work which goes into a sport can just as well be put into video games which can also be considered a sport.

Work Cited

Shearer, Stew. The Escapist. Polygon, 13 July 2013. Web. 7 Dec. 2015

Ketchum, Dan. "Salaries of Pro Gamers." Work. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.