One of the most frequently asked questions about E-sports is whether or not it actually counts as real sports. The general definition of sports is that it’s a physical activity that requires skills and knowledge, in which one person or a team competes against each other for entertainment purposes. Hence, you could say that E-sports are, in fact, sports.
How is that possible when there is no physical exertion? Well, though the exertion isn’t the same as it would be for playing real sports, there is a fact that E-sports also fill arenas worldwide and people do actually earn money from it. To make things easier for you and to finally set the debate in question, here are some things that you should be aware of:
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1. E-sports do Require Some Physical Demands
As we mentioned, one of the arguments that a lot of people make is that E-sports cannot really be considered sports because there is no physical demand, however, this isn’t entirely true. According to various experts, all pro gamers experience high levels of physical strain while competing against other players. For instance, a recent study concluded that a gamer’s heart rate can reach 180 beats per minute, which is approximately the same as when running a marathon.
Additionally, the gamer’s cortisol levels – the stress hormone – also increase, which can be compared to formula 1 drivers. It’s also worth mentioning that some competitive video games require players to come up with different strategies that are quite complex, hence, they’ll be using several areas of the brain at once. Motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and interacting with the game are all elevated in E-sports, which suggests that it’s as complex as real sports.
2. Teamwork is Also Required
For example, if you opt for playing Destiny 2, you’ll need to work with a team of people, which means that you’ll have to learn how to work together. Hence, in order to beat your rivals in Destiny 2, you need to work with other people, just like you would in real sports. Additionally, there are various coaching and boosting services such as MMOBOOST.PRO, which means that competitive gamers could also have coaches!
3. Developing Skills is Needed
E-sports, as well as games from other categories, are proven to improve a wide range of skills including hand-eye coordination, multitasking, problem-solving, spatial recognition, as well as perception skills. But, besides this, they could also help individuals improve their cognitive flexibility. What does this mean? Well, it means that they’ll be able to respond to different obstacles and challenges by adapting to them and switching between different strategies that’ll help them solve the problem they have.
The same can be said for some sports, thus, video games can be considered as one too! It’s also worth mentioning that a lot of gamers are designed to increase the difficulty level as a player proceeds, hence, they’ll be faced with more enemies and puzzles, all of which can help them improve skills that they can apply in the real world as well, especially when it comes to adapting to different environments.
4. There Are Competitions
Did you know that there are competitions and tournaments for E-sports? Yup, these events are designed for gamers and fans that love this type of video game. This basically means that people choose to attend these events, just like they would attend a real football or basketball match! This being said means that a wide range of professionals and fans consider video games as sports, and, in a way, they truly are, especially since they attract a vast audience.
5. People Can Also Earn Money From E-sports
The competitions and tournaments we’ve mentioned don’t finish without a winner, and in most cases, the winner receives a cash prize, just like a professional athlete would. Before the prize funds weren’t much, however, over time and with the increase of competitive video games, the best players can now earn thousands of dollars for beating other individuals in live tournaments and matches!
However, you should also keep in mind that they can also obtain sponsors and advertisers during the competitions, which are, in most cases, game publishers and studios. Hence, the players can actually receive incentives, new video games to try, as well as professional equipment and tools that can help them improve their skills even further. Real athletes also have sponsors, hence, you can say that E-sports are, in fact, sports.
6. Some Real Sports Don’t Require Physical Exertion Either
Racing, golf, polo, horseback riding… these are only some sports that actually don’t require the athletes to be physically active. This means that their main goal isn’t actually a physical activity, instead, it’s a combination of knowledge, skills, as well as patience. This can also be said for playing competitive video games, especially since they also don’t require individuals to be active, instead, it requires them to use the skills they have.
So, is it a Sport?
To be completely honest, for me, E-sports is a sport. The answer you’ll come up with will, of course, depend entirely on you, nonetheless, you should take all of the things we’ve mentioned into account before making a final decision. Keep in mind, although playing competitive video games won’t require you to physically be active, they will require you to use your skills and knowledge, thus, you might end up feeling mentally strained after you’re done playing a few rounds.
Keep in mind, if you really want to get good at competitive video games, you should work on some of the skills we’ve mentioned previously, especially since they can enable you to participate in various tournaments and competitions, and by winning them, you could get a huge prize pool, as well as sponsorships that’ll provide you with a wide range of goodies such as equipment, new video games, and so on.
Conclusion
Although most people don’t consider E-sports real sports, they should, mostly because playing these competitive games does require physical exertion, specific skills, knowledge, and of course, teamwork. Thus, it’s pretty safe to say that they’re as challenging as real sports are.
Since you now know why should competitive games be considered a sport, you can stop feeling guilty about not being as physically active as before. Instead, you should open up your favorite competitive game, and from there, start working on your knowledge and skills so that you can play with the pros!
