Gamers to get gold medals?
June 2, 2006 | 15:14
After reading bit-tech’s insight into the life of a pro-gamer, many of you will appreciate that gaming is getting more serious with each passing year. More money and bigger tournaments all require increased practice and dedication.
It is on this basis that the Global Gaming League have begun talks with Chinese government officials in a bid to get computer games involved with the 2008 Olympics.
Even in the unlikely event that the Olympic committee and Chinese government do give gaming the go ahead, it will only have a place as a demonstration sport - there will be no official competition. Ted Owen, co-founder of the GGL, insists that introducing gaming would be a positive move:
"People aren't watching [the Olympics] as much anymore. You need to bring younger viewers back if you want to keep making money. To do that, you need to embrace non-traditional sports. They did it with snowboarding - and look how the popularity of that has surged in the Games. Video games deserve to be seen as a non-traditional sport. ... They would bring something to the Games that [that age group] engages in and everyone understands."
Owen’s claim, made in an article over on CNN that the Olympics declining popularity is due to kids not being interested in traditional sports may be a bit too far fetched for the majority of people to swallow. However, there does indeed seem a case for gaming to be considered as a sport considering the amount of practice and hand-eye coordination required at the professional level.
At this moment in time the GGL has only held talks with the Chinese government but claims progress has been positive. Whether or not the IOC, which is currently supporting a campaign to get children away from computer terminals, will be quite as enthusiastic about the prospect of gold medals for gamers remains to be seen.
Would you support a move to get gaming into the Olympics? Can games ever be a sport? Discuss your philosophy on computer games and the Olympics over in the forums.
It is on this basis that the Global Gaming League have begun talks with Chinese government officials in a bid to get computer games involved with the 2008 Olympics.
Even in the unlikely event that the Olympic committee and Chinese government do give gaming the go ahead, it will only have a place as a demonstration sport - there will be no official competition. Ted Owen, co-founder of the GGL, insists that introducing gaming would be a positive move:
"People aren't watching [the Olympics] as much anymore. You need to bring younger viewers back if you want to keep making money. To do that, you need to embrace non-traditional sports. They did it with snowboarding - and look how the popularity of that has surged in the Games. Video games deserve to be seen as a non-traditional sport. ... They would bring something to the Games that [that age group] engages in and everyone understands."
Owen’s claim, made in an article over on CNN that the Olympics declining popularity is due to kids not being interested in traditional sports may be a bit too far fetched for the majority of people to swallow. However, there does indeed seem a case for gaming to be considered as a sport considering the amount of practice and hand-eye coordination required at the professional level.
At this moment in time the GGL has only held talks with the Chinese government but claims progress has been positive. Whether or not the IOC, which is currently supporting a campaign to get children away from computer terminals, will be quite as enthusiastic about the prospect of gold medals for gamers remains to be seen.
Would you support a move to get gaming into the Olympics? Can games ever be a sport? Discuss your philosophy on computer games and the Olympics over in the forums.
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