Should Competitive Video Games Be Classified as A Sport

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Should Competitive Video Games Be Classified as A Sport?

Sports have become the way of life to many in the current century, and a large number of people have accepted the challenge indulging in various sporting activities in the world such as athletics, soccer and even basketball. However, with the introduction as well as the sophistication of technology, there has been the development of online gaming within the realm of technology with the examples of FIFA for soccer, racing and other arcade games. Heated debate as to whether competitive video gaming should be classified as sports have been aroused, sparkling different opinions from the people involved. According to the Oxford dictionary, sports have been defined as an activity that involves physical exertion as well as skills to which an individual or a team competes against the other for the purposes of entertainment. Through this definition, the same debate continues to intrigue more controversies in that others say sport is demanding physical activity and at the same time it is all about entertainment. Various reasons can be taken to the support of the competitive video games being regarded as sports.

The competitive video games require a lot of coordination and training (Casper & Storz, 2017). Just like any sporting activity, training is the basic point that a sportsman is expected to complete so that they become experienced in the type of sports that they wish to indulge. For example, in soccer, there is a tight schedule for the players to train within the period of the next match and this gives them ample time for preparation. Similar, video games require a lot of training so that you can play smoothly with your opponent for better results; you have to work hard to put your opponent down. Lack of good coordination in sports in all games whether individual or multiplayer can lead to the failure of the team. In video games as well, poor coordination will make your opponent humiliate you, and therefore a lot of coordination as well is required to make better results. Apart from coordination and training, sports are very taxing on the mind, and the same is evident for video games as they require all your efforts to successfully complete a single level or to win against your opponent.

Another point in support of video games as sports is that they require attention, focus and above all, very fast reflexes are demanded when playing the competitive video games (Huang et al. 2017). Sports are very demanding, and since they are all competitions with the mentality to win a match, they require a person to have a lot of attention and focus and above all be able to make fast reflexes to counter your opponent. The reflexes are essential as they help the players to make decisions in fractions of seconds, knowing what to do next and what to avoid. The same case does apply to the competitive video games that require a person to learn the tricks involved in the game and be able to outsmart your opponent so that you are able to win. Attention and focus are as well key in video gaming as you can’t play without paying attention and neither can you win without focus. Sports involve a lot of physical activity for example in soccer, running and dribbling of the ball is the basic concept in that sport. In video gaming, although it is not a physical activity, the electronic games require to allot of energy to play for example an Xbox pad needs a lot of energy to control when playing the video games. Therefore, there are no much differences between sports and video gaming as they all require energy to play.

Sports are basically competitive, and individuals engage in sporting so that they can out-do their opponent. It is due to this that entertainment do result, as competing against one another makes it fun as long as there is no one being hurt. The same case applies to the video games as playing involves winning against the opponent (Chapman, 2015). Positive energy is needed to outdo your opponent and competing with another person is what brings about the competition issue. Video games are sometimes more completive especially for the racing games as every person wants to take the first position, and it is through this that makes happiness to the competitors. Sports have a global acceptance for example soccer, video games on the other side as well have won the hearts of many, being accepted globally with various types of games being played. Being globally spread is an indication that people have accepted that video gaming is a sporting activity, similar to other kinds of sports.

Sports requires a lot of time, efforts and as well as a set of essential skills that make an individual a professional sportsman. Soccer, for example, requires one to have a well build body, physical fitness and the ability to dribble the ball past your opponents. Being able to score as a striker requires striking skills and not every person can be able to achieve the player’s success with a lot of efforts. To gain the necessary skills, a lot of time is needed for training and efforts need to be put in place. Similarly, to become a professional gamer, a lot of time, efforts and sets of skills are needed (Paaßen et al. 2017). Without such skills, one cannot do it, and as well not everybody can make a professional gamer. Therefore, professional video gaming is no different from professional sports as they involve skills and requires a lot of time and efforts to become a professional.

In sports, competitive activity is defined by strict rules, and this is evident in most of the sporting activities such as rugby and soccer. Offenses are subject to penalties and may cost the players. Similarly, video game competition has strict rules which are enforced by the live referees just like in sports (Jones, 2018). There are rules that a person has to bind to so that they can compete smoothly and in the case that the players don’t play with the rules they are either disqualified or even get injured in the game. Sports such as soccer have the same rules, playing against the rules may earn a player a red card being expelled from the field. Sports requires strategy, tactics, as well as fast response time and a similar reaction, is needed in competitive gaming. Failure to respond in a fast way will lead to defeat both in sports and video gaming.

Controversies have resulted to the argument that competitive video games cannot be classified as sports and the reasons for the arguments is that if the video games need to be classified as sports, then other games such as chess need to be classified the same (Nielsen & Kardefelt-Winther, 2018). Due to this, the video games, therefore, are termed as just being mere games. Another reason against video games being classified as sports is that the critics argue that video games are not physical sports and therefore cannot be classified as sports. Sports involve a lot of physical activity, and according to the critics, video games are played while an individual is seated and they don’t have to move, making it not to be physically demanding.

The argument still intensifies with the claim that if seating down and playing the video games can be regarded as engaging in sports, then other activities that are similar such as eating should as well be regarded as sports. The critics also claim that in sports there are clear rules, the players are well regulated, and offenses are punishable instantly at the time of the offense. They argue that in video gaming there are no clear rules and therefore, the video games are not clearly regulated, and this qualifies the video gaming not to be classified as a sport (Jenny et al. 2017).

However, despite the critics, I am of the opinion that competitive video gaming should be classified as sports as there are many reasons for the support of video games as sports. I do agree that to be a professional gamer; a person needs to have an essential set of skills to which they have dedicated a lot of time and efforts to acquire, which is similar to a professional sportsman equipped with the necessary skills to play a sport of his career. Deep coordination, training, focus, its competitive nature, tactics, and strategies as well as the energy required are all the qualifications that a competitive video game can be classified as sports (Bediou et al. 2018).

The argument that video gaming is not physically demanding is vague, and the perspective that eating as well can be classified as sports is baseless. The reason is that, a lot of energy is required when playing video games especially for the electronic games and at the same time attention and coordination are a requirement during the play which is similar to playing sports. Eating, on the other hand, does not need concentration and neither does it require focus or strategy and tactics meaning that eating cannot be at any time be compared to playing video games. Sports and video games are all professional, having a global acceptance, people get paid by playing the competitive video games the same way people in sports are paid and therefore competitive video gaming completely qualifies to be classified as a sport.

References

Bediou, B., Adams, D. M., Mayer, R. E., Tipton, E., Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2018). Meta-analysis of action video game impact on perceptual, attentional, and cognitive skills. Psychological bulletin, 144(1), 77.

Casper, S., & Storz, C. (2017). Bounded careers in creative industries: Surprising patterns in video games. Industry and Innovation, 24(3), 213-248.

Chapman, S. (2015). Militarization And Modern Gaming: An Analysis Of The Relationship Of The Military And The Video Game Industry.

Huang, J., Yan, E., Cheung, G., Nagappan, N., & Zimmermann, T. (2017). Master maker: Understanding gaming skill through practice and habit from gameplay behavior. Topics in cognitive science, 9(2), 437-466.

Jenny, S. E., Manning, R. D., Keiper, M. C., & Olrich, T. W. (2017). Virtual (ly) athletes: Where eSports fit within the definition of “sport”. Quest, 69(1), 1-18.

Jones, I. B. (2018). Do (n’t) hold your breath: rules, trust, and the human at the keyboard. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 16(2), 162-183.

Nielsen, R. K., & Kardefelt-Winther, D. (2018). Helping parents make sense of video game addiction. In Video Game Influences on Aggression, Cognition, and Attention (pp. 59-69). Springer, Cham.

Paaßen, B., Morgenroth, T., & Stratemeyer, M. (2017). What is a true gamer? The male gamer stereotype and the marginalization of women in video game culture. Sex Roles, 76(7-8), 421-435.