E-sports is a form of sport competition using video games. E-sports often take the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although organized competitions have long been a part of video game culture, these were largely between amateurs until the late 2000s.
When participation by professional gamers and spectatorship in these events through live streaming saw a large surge in popularity. By the 2010s, e-sports was a significant factor in the video game industry, with many game developers actively designing and providing funding for tournaments and other events.
The most common video game genres associated with e-sports are multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), first-person shooter (FPS), fighting, card, battle royal, and real-time strategy (RTS) games. Popular e-sport franchises include League of Legends, Dota, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros., and StarCraft, among many others.
History and Current Story
The earliest known video game competition took place on 19 October 1972 at Stanford University for the game Spacewar.
The fighting game Street Fighter II (1991) popularized the concept of direct, tournament-level competition between two players. Previously, video games most often relied on high scores to determine the best player, but this changed with Street Fighter II, where players would instead challenge each other directly, "Face-to-face," to determine the best player, paving the way for the competitive multiplayer and deathmatch modes found in modern action games.
During the 2010s, e-sports grew tremendously, incurring a large increase in both viewership and prize money. Although large tournaments were founded before the 21st century, the number and scope of tournaments have increased significantly, going from about 10 tournaments in 2000 to about 260 in 2010.
By the late 2010s, it was estimated that the total audience of esports would grow to 454 million viewers, with revenue increasing to over US$1 billion. The increasing availability of online streaming media platforms, particularly YouTube and Twitch, have become central to the growth and promotion of esports competitions.
E-sports and Olympics
China was one of the first countries to recognize e-sports as a real sport in 2003, despite concerns at the time that video games were addicting. But even now, labeling video games as sports is a controversial topic.
Proponents argue that e-sport is a fast-growing "Non-traditional sport" which requires "Careful planning, precise timing, and skillful execution." Detractors claim that sports involve physical fitness and physical training, and prefer to classify e-sports as a mind sport.
Over time, however, the recognition of e-sports has only increased. In 2013, Canadian League of Legends player Danny Le became the first pro gamer to receive an American P-1A visa, a category designated for "Internationally Recognized Athletes".
In 2016, the French government started working on a project to regulate and recognize e-sports. Moreover, the Asian Games, which is the Asian top-level multi-sport competition, will also include e-sports as a medal event at the 2022 edition; e-sports around games such as Hearthstone, Starcraft II, and League of Legends were presented as an exhibition event at the 2018 Asian Games as a lead-in to the 2022 games.
The Olympic Games are also seen as a potential method to legitimize e-sports. A summit held by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in October 2017 acknowledged the growing popularity of e-sports, concluding that "Competitive 'e-sports' could be considered as a sporting activity.
And that the players involved prepare and train with an intensity which may be comparable to athletes in traditional sports "But would require any games used for the Olympics fitting "with the rules and regulations of the Olympic movement".
The organizing committee for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris was in discussions with the IOC and the various professional e-sport organizations to consider e-sports for the event, citing the need to include these elements to keep the Olympics relevant to younger generations. Ultimately, the organization committee determined e-sports were premature to bring to the 2024 Games as medal events, but have not ruled out other activities related to e-sports during the Games.
Predictions for Future
E-sports is a rapidly growing genre within sports and gaming and is forecast to be a $2.5 billion industry by 2022. It's even taking over audiences and share from traditional sports; by 2021, e-sports is slated to be second in popularity to the NFL, ahead of Major League Baseball
Written By - Joshua
Edited By - Dana Asnan
Social