In the past playing video games all day was typically frowned upon. To a certain extent that is still true today, but nowadays one can argue that playing games all day could potentially land them a chance at a scholarship to the university of their choice, earn big bucks, or possibly bring honor to your country by representing them in global sporting events.The latter is especially true as it has been announced and confirmed that come the 2019 SEA Games, eSports has been officially added as a medal sport. What this means is that gaming teams representing their countries have a chance to bring home medals similar to the other more traditional sports.
This was confirmed by the Foreign Affairs Secretary and Philippines South East Asian Games Organizing Committee (PhilSGOC) Chairman Emeritus Alan Peter Cayetano during a press conference held on Wednesday. According to Cayetano, “We are very thrilled, excited, and honored to have esports in the SEA Games with Razer as a partner. Gamers are an important part of our community.”
This is a huge step towards getting eSports recognized by more traditional sporting bodies and organizations. Previously the Olympic Committee had acknowledged eSports as a sporting activity and there were talks about how future Olympic events could have eSports.