If we were to look back at the history of video games and how it has evolved, video games used to be seen as something that only “nerds” or “geeks” would do, and how it would always be two groups: the nerds and the jocks, where the latter did “real” sports such as basketball, football, and so on.However if we were to look at the landscape today, it is indeed very different where playing video games competitively can prove to be an extremely lucrative career, and where professional gamers are given scholarships to universities. In fact it seems that the rise in eSports has reached the point where the International Olympic Committee has acknowledged that it could be considered as a legitimate sporting activity.
During a recent Olympic Summit, members agreed that “competitive eSports could be considered as a sporting activity, and the players involved prepare and train with an intensity which may be comparable to athletes in traditional sports.” However it seems that despite the acknowledgement, it seems that in order to be fully recognized, the Committee does have certain rules and requirements that must be met.
“In order to be recognized by the IOC as a sport, the content of eSports must not infringe on the Olympic values. A further requirement for recognition by the IOC must be the existence of an organization guaranteeing compliance with the rules and regulations of the Olympic Movement (anti-doping, betting, manipulation, etc.).”
That being said as pointed out by the Inquirer, eSports will be added to the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China as a medal sport, which should help it along its way where who knows, perhaps in the future we could see eSports become an event at the Olympics.