eSports news is increasingly dominating sports news channels, leading many to wonder, "can eSports be classified as a sport?" At first glance, electronic sports or eSports are activities that do not require physical action of great magnitude as we are used to understanding sport from its physical aspect. The question “are eSports a sport?” is part of the current debates related to sport and its interaction with new technologies.
What is considered a sport?
The sport is physical activity, a game or competition, the practice of which involves training and compliance with regulations"; while the second meaning says that sport is "recreation, pastime, pleasure, fun or physical exercise, usually outdoors."
The definition of sport has been related to all forms of light, moderate, vigorous casual, or organised physical activity with rules, which require motor actions in which one competes and in all cases, there are winners and losers.
What are eSports?
The term electronic sports or eSports refers to video game competitions in which human players (human vs. human, non-human vs. artificial intelligence) face each other using an electronic platform, and whose outcome depends on the skill of the players rather than chance. It is worth clarifying that not all video games are eSports since, to enter this category, the video game requires a structure that offers players a classification system and competitions that are monitored by regulatory entities.
Differences and similarities: metal sport
From a global perspective of the sector, eSports are a reality of competition, performance, entertainment, social, economic, and labor (DEV, 2018; Hamari and Sjöblom, 2017; Stanton, 2015). Specifically, eSports are defined as the organized competitive game of video games. That is, a gamer (professional eSports player) competes individually or in teams against another/s, depending on the video game, sitting in front of a computer screen, mobile phone, or console monitor (eg, Play Station). These competitions are played face-to-face (at a common venue) or remotely (each from their venue), and are broadcast through online platforms such as Twitch (Gerber, 2017).
eSports are indeed activities that do not require physical action of great magnitude. Perhaps it is this aspect that generates the most debate, and the most complicated to correspond from eSports. However, in the first instance, the physical exercise involved in sports such as football or tennis seems different due to the energy expenditure they require. The similarities of eSports with other sports are closer to those of a more mental nature, such as chess and Olympic shooting, which require physical preparation and are found in High-Performance Centres.
From this point of view, the physical preparation necessary for eSports has similarities with mental sports given the necessary resistance of professional players to withstand the rhythm and duration of competitions, both physically (eg, physical and mental exhaustion) and mental (eg, staying focused and coping with the stress of competition).After all, eSports also contain elements common to traditional sports (such as football, hockey, and chess) from the mental aspect, traits that are relevant to applied psychology and its study.
Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk.