A decade or two ago, the idea of playing video games professionally would have been somewhat laughable, but given how much money is involved and how countries and universities are recognizing the value of professional gamers, safe to say that we have come a very long way.
However are video games that big to the point where they should be introduced in the Olympics? We suppose that is up for debate, but in the meantime former Blizzard executive Rob Pardo seems to think so. Speaking to BBC during their Let’s Talk About Tech podcast, Pardo mentioned that video games are primed to be a spectator sport, claiming that gamers need to be just as agile as traditional sports players due to the need for quick reaction times and decision-making skills.
However getting video games into the Olympics is going to be a tough battle. The game of chess has yet to be successful as it has been argued that the game is only a mind sport, as opposed to one that relies on the physical attributes of the player. Of course there are some, such as ESPN’s president, who doesn’t think that eSports is considered a sport at all.
Blizzard themselves are also trying to get more involved in the eSports scene and have mentioned a couple of months ago the idea of World of Warcraft being considered an eSport, such as the game’s PVP Arena feature where spectators could watch players play out matches live. In the meantime what do you guys think? Should video games make it into the Olympics?
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