Semi-OT: Kraft to own Boston ESports Team

[Sicilian]

Overwatch Makes A Huge Announcement About Competitive Gaming

Didn't see another thread on this, but it's entirely possible the board just doesn't care. Still, I think it's an interesting development, as there's been a fair amount of talk in recent years about the legitimacy of e-sports as competitive leagues. Blizzard Entertainment is establishing a professional league around their game Overwatch, and Bob Kraft is set to own the Boston based team.

I haven't completely decided where I stand on this kind of thing yet, but as an avid gamer myself I find it fascinating. On the one hand, it kind of blurs some lines when you start calling game leagues "sports", but watching some of the Korean teams and the coordination and training they have to put in to win their competitions, I don't think the idea that there is a physical component to these games is that outlandish. Aside from that, I participate in a charity event every fall that is a 24 hour game marathon, and I can tell you it takes a toll on you.

Calling them "athletes" would go too far, but I don't think these competitions and leagues are going to go away any time soon. I think down the road as the newer generations grow up with these in the mainstream and with greater technologies, that some of the traditional sports will be surpassed by e-sports in popularity.

What is everyone's thoughts?

 

[Froob]

To each their own I guess, but I don't understand why you'd pay to go watch people...play a game on their computer. It's bizarre to me.

 

[Observer]

My issue with e-sports is that there is no longevity to any game. How long will overwatch stay popular? Also, I think video games are simply not very good spectator sports for a casual viewer.

 

[Sicilian]

My issue with e-sports is that there is no longevity to any game. How long will overwatch stay popular? Also, I think video games are simply not very good spectator sports for a casual viewer.

You may be right. Though if you think about it, traditional sports have evolved as well. Football added the forward pass, basketball the three point line, etc. The fundamental goal was the same, but how that goal was achieved was completed changed, and new players had to adapt to it.

Games change, but the RTS genre will always have fundamental core gameplay, and shooters will always be shooters. So the good players and teams will migrate to the newer games or be left behind.

As for watching, I personally agree, that watching these matches isn't terribly interesting to me. But kids born today won't even know a world where these competitions don't exist. When you're raised on something, it is typically more interesting. If football were invented tomorrow, would it instantly have a following like it does now?

 

[Tunescribe]

But kids born today won't even know a world where these competitions don't exist.

They're idiots and so are their parents.

 

[FCB02062]

Is there a Chopper Command league I can join? How 'bout Pitfall? I kicked azz in Pitfall back in 1983

 

[RichardHead]

My son who just graduated college (with a Software Engineering degree) is a hardcore gamer and watches E-Sports. The prize pools for some of these tournaments are huge (over $10 million in some cases) so these gamers really have to be committed and spend alot of time practicing with their teammates. Some of the more popular tournaments are for DOTA, which is an older game, but updates are constantly being made with new characters etc, so much like football or baseball it has evolved over time so there is definitely a chance for longevity. I wouldn't dismiss E-Sports, while I don't see it replacing "real" sports, it definitely will be a economic force in the future, Kraft is wise to get involved.

 

[Joey007]

It's competition, and it's competitive and all, I get it. But I wish it wasn't referred to as a sport.

To me sports are activities that take at least some sort of significant physical effort from your body to accomplish.

Video games are like math quiz bowls. They're brain related activities, and are more about taking up your mental energy, rather than physical energy.

 

[Sicilian]

They're idiots and so are their parents.

I can only take offense to that myself. As a gamer, you must also think I'm an idiot.

 

[Sicilian]

It's competition, and it's competitive and all, I get it. But I wish it wasn't referred to as a sport.

To me sports are activities that take at least some sort of significant physical effort from your body to accomplish.

Video games are like math quiz bowls. They're brain related activities, and are more about taking up your mental energy, rather than physical energy.

I'll never claim that the physical toll is as much as a football player or anything like that, but I think you're underestimating what some of these players can do with their hands. They measure how many inputs per second they register in order to make things happen in some of the strategy games, and it's insane. That doesn't happen by training just mentally, because as any piano player could tell you, studying musical notes for a hundred years won't teach your fingers to hit the right keys.

 

[RichardHead]

I agree about the fine line of calling it a "sport", but if you ever watch a tournament and see the players hand/eye coordination while their fingers fly over the keyboard and use the mouse and the stress and tension that shows on their faces you'll see how much physical energy is involved. Again, I'm not equating it to an athletic endeavor, just pointing out it's not just people reclining on a couch eating doritos holding a game console. And here's a picture of what a tournament looks like in a stadium...the NBA would be proud.

 

[bbobbo]

My issue with e-sports is that there is no longevity to any game. How long will overwatch stay popular? Also, I think video games are simply not very good spectator sports for a casual viewer.

a lot of people like to watch other people play video games. twitch.tv is a site which basically allows you to do just that. back in 2014, amazon bought the site for $970m. as of 2016, they were reporting 8.5 million daily viewers.

here's an article from Slate at the time which tries to explain the appeal:

Slate: Why Would Anyone Watch Twitch?

here's an earlier (pre-amazon) article from Fast Company which describes the company:

Fast Company: How Twitch Hooked 45 Million Viewers To Watch 13 Billion Minutes Of Gaming A Month
.

 

[chasa]

To each their own I guess, but I don't understand why you'd pay to go watch people...play a game on their computer. It's bizarre to me.

You're watching a competition.

Why would you go to watch a baseball game, or a football game, or pay to go see a concert? You are going to watch two teams at the height of their field compete against each other. You're normally doing this with friends who are also into gaming, its a social experience where you get to watch people way better then you do something that you enjoy.

Personally I don't go to them live, But i was in discord with a group of friends and we watched the finals just like we would watch the superbowl. We understand the games so we watch these pros and do the same exact stuff we do with physical sports, we second guess the players, the playcalls, the choices and picks. we oooh and ahhh at good plays, and we laugh at bad ones.

 

[chasa]

They're idiots and so are their parents.

You're the one that's afraid of "the youtubes" right?

 

[Joey007]

I'll never claim that the physical toll is as much as a football player or anything like that, but I think you're underestimating what some of these players can do with their hands. They measure how many inputs per second they register in order to make things happen in some of the strategy games, and it's insane. That doesn't happen by training just mentally, because as any piano player could tell you, studying musical notes for a hundred years won't teach your fingers to hit the right keys.

Again, I'm not denying it takes an exceptional amount of skill, I'm just hesitant in calling it a sport. It's sort of it's own thing.

 

[Simpelton]

To each their own I guess, but I don't understand why you'd pay to go watch people...play a game on their computer. It's bizarre to me.

We pay to watch a level of skill and excellence we are not capable of doing. That is what professional sports is. Esports works the same way.

Calling Esports ''watching someone play games on the computer '' is like Calling pro baseball ''watching someone stand around swinging a stick''

 

[chasa]

Again, I'm not denying it takes an exceptional amount of skill, I'm just hesitant in calling it a sport. It's sort of it's own thing.

google defines sport as:

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Maintaining concentration and a physical 100+ APM for 30-40 minutes at a time, with short breaks in between 3-5 rounds, ultimately resulting in a 3+ hours per match of near nonstop physical and mental competition.

Seems to qualify imo.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

My kid, when he's not doing sports, eating, sleeping and gaming. Watches videos on these guys gaming so he can either be (1) entertained as some of them are funny or (2) learn more aboutr how to play the game better.

Not much of a stretch to watch the best players go at it in real time. Most of the competitive people are being sponsored (gaming hardware being the most obvious) and some can make a living off of playing (if not their youtube subscribers).

He likes that idea, but I tell him to have a backup plan as getting into that area (where he could earn a living) is (1) short in duration (2) more competitive that getting on to an Olympic team.

 

[Tunescribe]

You're the one that's afraid of "the youtubes" right?

What does this mean?

 

[jmt57]

I had to laugh at myself. On the right hand side of this page there is a constantly updated list of local media news headlines.

I had to scroll back up because at first glance I thought I saw "Robert Kraft is bringing escorts to Boston", rather than the actual "Robert Kraft is bringing esports team to Boston".