Video games a sport?!?

If you think sports can't have an element of luck, you've never played a sport competitively before. Show me one definition of sport that excludes activities with elements of randomness. You won't find one, because it's bullshit.

You are absolutely right, a lot of sports have element of luck to them.
However, you seriously need to learn to read what people write before you go on ragging attack.
here is the definition:The sport should not rely on any element of “luck”specifically integrated into the sport.

And school = sport? What? A sport is an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc. (Source).

Definition of sport by Sport Accord international organisation:

The sport proposed should include an element of competition.
The sport should not rely on any element of “luck” specifically integrated into the sport.
The sport should not be judged to pose an undue risk to the health and safety of its athletes or participants.
The sport proposed should in no way be harmful to any living creature.
The sport should not rely on equipment that is provided by a single supplier.

SportAccord uses five categories for its member federations' sports, many of which fall into more than one category:

Primarily physical (e.g. rugby or athletics)
Primarily mind (e.g. chess or go)
Primarily motorised (e.g. Formula One or powerboating)
Primarily coordination (e.g. billiards)
Primarily animal-supported (e.g. equestrianism)

Just because a term has ambiguous bounds doesn't mean anything can be applied to that term. I don't think the title of competitive gaming is important. It doesn't matter if you call it a sport, or esports, or whatever else you want to call it. It just matters that it's a legitimate competition with a level of difficulty comparable to traditional competitive activities, many of which are traditionally classified as sports.

So yeah, you can successfully argue that school is sport, since it ticks all categories and you can also successfully argue that Baseball is not a sport since tree has been killed to make a bat or that football is not a sport since it posses threat to health and safety of participants and a lot of living creatures have been killed to make a stadium.

As I said, it is a can of worms since no one can be definitively proven wrong or right on claiming something is a sport. Definition of sport is just to broad and unspecific

P.S. I have played competitive sports, and I have medals to prove it to.....

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Again: it is not the IOC that determines whether a game is a sport. They merely assess the feasability and the international character of a sport, in order to label it as an Olympic event. Surely anyone can think of locally known sports that lack international competition and will most likely never be an Olympic sport.

As for video gaming, it is highly likely that it will be internationally accepted as a sport in the near future as the non-physical aspect can be removed by adding all sorts of combinations of technology and the human body.

You wont need to wait a lot for e-sports get over usual sports, it is growing really hard, about 300% (2011).
I see no reason to not promote e-sports players as athletes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz--Ct0ltSA

You wont need to wait a lot for e-sports get over usual sports, it is growing really hard, about 300% (2011).
I see no reason to not promote e-sports players as athletes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz--Ct0ltSA

Internet porn is ridiculously popular and could possibly make someone sweat, but that doesn't make it a sport. Half the earths population can play video games competitively but that doesn't mean they can call it whatever they want and everyone else should acknowledge it. Birdkiller was right, this is just so people can validate spending half their life playing games on a screen. If the next SOCOM game became extremely popular and everyone that played it started going around calling themselves Navy SEALs they would just look like fucking morons, having a majority doesn't mean you can define something whatever you want to. This is just the result of a worldwide politically correct society trying to sugar coat things so everyone can feel good about themselves.

Internet porn is ridiculously popular and could possibly make someone sweat, but that doesn't make it a sport. Half the earths population can play video games competitively but that doesn't mean they can call it whatever they want and everyone else should acknowledge it. Birdkiller was right, this is just so people can validate spending half their life playing games on a screen. If the next SOCOM game became extremely popular and everyone that played it started going around calling themselves Navy SEALs they would just look like fucking morons, having a majority doesn't mean you can define something whatever you want to. This is just the result of a worldwide politically correct society trying to sugar coat things so everyone can feel good about themselves.

Most(if not all) pro-gamers get a salary because IT IS BECOMING a job. You cant really compare porn to this, you would be surprised how serious this is in other countries like Korea or China, they do this for a living (playing 8+ hours a day seriously) and spend all their time training hard and working so they can be on the top level.

Those players don't play for fun anymore, they play to win and they train to win as individual and as teams. Yes the muscular effort may apparently seem a bit lower than for a javelin thrower... but in fact the discipline required along both training and competition is as drastic as for any athletes.
When you say that half of earths population can play video games competitively, it makes no sense,it is the same thing as football or tennis, many people try, however there are some that just have an easier and stronger concentration over others.This is what makes a game competitive.
For those reasons, many streaming services like Twitch, Azubu, Hashd are starting to become serious business, since they promote a lot of games, and get a lot of income with global tournaments in major games.

Example of living together and working as a team.You can clearly see that the money behind this is not in any way low.

Many people just sit on the past and don't let the truth even get into your ears.
Please take some time to read this website (LINK) and tell me that E-Sports it is not becoming a serious thing)

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I'm not denying that it is becoming very popular and I'm not upset people are making lots of money winning video games. I'm just saying that is a game not a sport. Its like WSoP, they are competitors/entertainers not athletes.

I didn't start this thread to say "huehuehue look at them nerds taking video games so seriously" because obviously almost everyone here takes video games more seriously than the average person. When I'm playing a multiplayer game, I'm usually playing to win. I'm glad competitive gaming is becoming increasingly popular, but I don't like the fact that there are lots of 16-25yo neckbeard virgins out there saying gaming is a sport because it makes competitive gaming in general seem even nerdier. Those guys are alienating the more well rounded gamers out there that weren't put on earth for the sole purpose of playing video games for money. I've played sports, I get outside, and I have other hobbies- I don't need gaming to be reclassified as something it definitely isn't so that I can feel better about myself, that is ridiculous.

At a related point, you can improve your performance in e-sports by exercising. Chess players work out as well to get better stamina.

The fact that your physical condition impacts on your game play more than indicates to me that games can be/are spors.

Putting computer gaming tweens in the same arena as professional athletes is an insult to athletes.

I'm not denying that it is becoming very popular and I'm not upset people are making lots of money winning video games. I'm just saying that is a game not a sport. Its like WSoP, they are competitors/entertainers not athletes.

I didn't start this thread to say "huehuehue look at them nerds taking video games so seriously" because obviously almost everyone here takes video games more seriously than the average person. When I'm playing a multiplayer game, I'm usually playing to win. I'm glad competitive gaming is becoming increasingly popular, but I don't like the fact that there are lots of 16-25yo neckbeard virgins out there saying gaming is a sport because it makes competitive gaming in general seem even nerdier. Those guys are alienating the more well rounded gamers out there that weren't put on earth for the sole purpose of playing video games for money. I've played sports, I get outside, and I have other hobbies- I don't need gaming to be reclassified as something it definitely isn't so that I can feel better about myself, that is ridiculous.

You are saying it like if people consider it as a sport is a bad thing.... For some its a legitimate sport where they are "athletes" and they get paid to play and win.
That doesn`t mean it applies to every gamer who plays games. Football is a sport, but we don`t call everyone an athlete just because his hobby is playing football.
If you have a problem that some virgin kids call themselves gaming athletes, then its entirely your opinion.

At a related point, you can improve your performance in e-sports by exercising. Chess players work out as well to get better stamina.

The fact that your physical condition impacts on your game play more than indicates to me that games can be/are spors.

Exercise might build mental toughness and relieve stress, but has absolutely no impact on the physical activity involved in gaming. Lifting weights does not make it easier to slide a mouse around on a mousepad and mash some keys, sorry. Also exercising makes it easier to climb stairs and carry heavy objects but those aren't sports either.

Exercise might build mental toughness and relieve stress, but has absolutely no impact on the physical activity involved in gaming. Lifting weights does not make it easier to slide a mouse around on a mousepad and mash some keys, sorry. Also exercising makes it easier to climb stairs and carry heavy objects but those aren't sports either.

He has a point, physical exercise and mental performance are related, if only broadly. I don't think he was implying that physical exercise will speed up a players mouse clicks.

Exercise might build mental toughness and relieve stress, but has absolutely no impact on the physical activity involved in gaming. Lifting weights does not make it easier to slide a mouse around on a mousepad and mash some keys, sorry. Also exercising makes it easier to climb stairs and carry heavy objects but those aren't sports either.

Actually exercising physically has an impact on the mentality and the brain functionality of a person. =)
Its a proven fact.

Putting computer gaming tweens in the same arena as professional athletes is an insult to athletes.

+1

We all love videogames, but I think that giving them more prestige than deserved only makes people who doesn't play to laugh at us.

E-sports is a good game, in between a game and an actual sport. Is a kind of electronic competition where people competes with their strategy, knowledge of the game and skill.
I'm not for giving them more credit than deserved.

Putting computer gaming tweens in the same arena as professional athletes is an insult to athletes.

So driving a Skoda to work is also an insult to Sebastian Vettel?

+1

We all love videogames, but I think that giving them more prestige than deserved only makes people who doesn't play to laugh at us.

E-sports is a good game, in between a game and an actual sport. Is a kind of electronic competition where people competes with their strategy, knowledge of the game and skill.
I'm not for giving them more credit than deserved.

You have to admire their dedication to the game tho, I know from personal experience how much people sacrifice to be "pro"

You have to admire their dedication to the game tho, I know from personal experience how much people sacrifice to be "pro"

Yes, and I admire them. Only that I don't consider them athletes.
They are people who invest a lot of time to be good at something, that's worthy of praise. The same that a good writer, singer or craftsman.

But all their suffering is in a whole distinct level than someone who runs a marathon or wins a cycling race. That has physical pain and a lot of suffering involved.

as the riddler mentioned, getting professional gamers recognised as athletes in america was because it was easier for Riot to get visas and work permits for the players who are in their LCS.

As for the topic at hand. Would I like that competitive gaming was more socially accepted in the world? I definitely do, I enjoy playing video games and I have enjoyed organising events for the games I like playing.

Does it need to be considered a sport to validate its existence? It doesn't, competitive gaming is it's own thing and it has it's own merits.

As for the topic at hand. Would I like that competitive gaming was more socially accepted in the world? I definitely do, I enjoy playing video games and I have enjoyed organising events for the games I like playing.

Does it need to be considered a sport to validate its existence? It doesn't, competitive gaming is it's own thing and it has it's own merits.

+1

Actually exercising physically has an impact on the mentality and the brain functionality of a person. =)
Its a proven fact.

Agreed, that is what I said. A gamer that exercises and/or goes to the gym almost daily likely has more mental capacity than the insecure 280lb pale faced kid with man boobs. But having bigger muscles isn't going to make a bit of difference when it comes to the actual gameplay, probably 95% of the players Hans has beaten can attest to that.

probably 95% of the players Hans has beaten can attest to that.

I see what you did there