Zach Aaron
11/6/15
Student Advisory Board Member
While I would not consider myself a video game nerd, I am certainly a video game enthusiast who enjoys spending some free time cooped up in front of the TV with a controller in my hands. But, for some people it is much more than just a simple hobby. It is actually more of a full-blown career path. However, I can’t imagine the idea of getting paid to play video games. Not just paid, but paid A LOT. In 2013, the prize pool money for a tournament in a game called Dota 2 totaled $25 million dollars. This is a trend that is occurring more and more often as E-Sports are really taking off in America and around the world. It is quite the interesting idea to get paid that much to play video games. Just last year, a video game championship tournament sold out Madison Square Garden. That’s about 20,000 people gathered in one place to watch other people play video games. On top of that, there were millions more watching the tournament live on their computers or smartphones around the world through an online streaming website. This topic begs the question to me: should E-Sports actually be considered a sport?
To me, the answer is no. I feel that sports involve physical activities and physical exertion. When you are playing E-Sports, you generally won’t be burning many calories, you do not need to exert any physical force except for in your fingers. The competitiveness aspect is the only thing that I think makes it classified as a sport.
So next time you are just sitting at home on the couch playing your favorite video game, be sure to try to play a little harder and a little more seriously. It may end up changing your life.
11/6/15
Student Advisory Board Member
While I would not consider myself a video game nerd, I am certainly a video game enthusiast who enjoys spending some free time cooped up in front of the TV with a controller in my hands. But, for some people it is much more than just a simple hobby. It is actually more of a full-blown career path. However, I can’t imagine the idea of getting paid to play video games. Not just paid, but paid A LOT. In 2013, the prize pool money for a tournament in a game called Dota 2 totaled $25 million dollars. This is a trend that is occurring more and more often as E-Sports are really taking off in America and around the world. It is quite the interesting idea to get paid that much to play video games. Just last year, a video game championship tournament sold out Madison Square Garden. That’s about 20,000 people gathered in one place to watch other people play video games. On top of that, there were millions more watching the tournament live on their computers or smartphones around the world through an online streaming website. This topic begs the question to me: should E-Sports actually be considered a sport?
To me, the answer is no. I feel that sports involve physical activities and physical exertion. When you are playing E-Sports, you generally won’t be burning many calories, you do not need to exert any physical force except for in your fingers. The competitiveness aspect is the only thing that I think makes it classified as a sport.
So next time you are just sitting at home on the couch playing your favorite video game, be sure to try to play a little harder and a little more seriously. It may end up changing your life.