In 30 years time, would E-sports be able to overcome traditional sports?

[kyrax12]

As technology advances and the newer technology oriented generation comes about.

I mean you can consider E-sports to be big now and it is rapidly growing from what I have gathered.

What do you guys think?

E-sports are destined to grow as technology grows.

 

[SAWYER]

Lol

 

[DrPizza]

Lol

At first, I was also thinking LOL. But, then I realized that there's an entire generation of kids growing up who spend more time playing xbox, playstation, etc., than they've ever spent outdoors. Hell, for some kids, the only time they're outdoors is walking out to the bus to go to school, walking from the bus into the school, walking out of the school back to the bus, and... running from the bus into their house so they can get in enough levels on some game before their mom makes them stop to eat dinner.

 

[bbhaag]

It could happen. My kids don't watch traditional television. They just have no interest in it. For them it's sites like youtube and twitch.
We always used to bunker down in front of the tv on a Saturday morning to watch cartoons. Now they don't even have cartoons on Saturday mornings. So who's to say the same thing won't happen to traditional sports.

 

[Nograts]

Buddy of mine showed me some starcraft tournament thing in Korea on twitch and I pretty much gave up on humanity after that.

Well that's not entirely true I had given up way before then, but still.

 

[CPA]

Last year, it was soccer will over come football in the US in 10 years time, now they're trotting out e-sports taking over all sports in 15 years time. Let me throw something at you:

2015 Super Bowl viewership - US ONLY: 114 Million (which was a record)
2014 Dota2 viewership - WORLDWIDE: 20 Million (and this was for the tournament, not concurrently)

e-sports has a loooooong way to go. Football is the US's sport. PERIOD!

 

[Schmide]

Honestly it's come a long way. The production value it through the roof.

The fact that me, 46 year old man can name off most of the LOL shoutcasters and analysts says a lot. When I take breaks from working I often watch.

I still watch a lot of regular sports, but I'm way more entertained by some of the things these dudes (one dudette) say. The hardest thing is the games evolve rather quickly and keeping up with the rules and such does take some brain matter and time.

 

[SAWYER]

At first, I was also thinking LOL. But, then I realized that there's an entire generation of kids growing up who spend more time playing xbox, playstation, etc., than they've ever spent outdoors. Hell, for some kids, the only time they're outdoors is walking out to the bus to go to school, walking from the bus into the school, walking out of the school back to the bus, and... running from the bus into their house so they can get in enough levels on some game before their mom makes them stop to eat dinner.

 

[purbeast0]

while i enjoy watching e-sports (fighting game tourneys) it's no where close to even putting a dent in anything. it hasn't even made it on tv yet and is a long way off of that.

 

[smackababy]

while i enjoy watching e-sports (fighting game tourneys) it's no where close to even putting a dent in anything. it hasn't even made it on tv yet and is a long way off of that.

That is not true! ESPN2 broadcast some Heroes of the Storm tourney a few weeks ago. I believe that was the first in the US, to my knowledge.

With that said, certainly not. The big sports are simply not going to go away. For every kid playing playstation or xbox all day there are 4 others watching their dad, mother, brother, sister, uncle, etc yelling at the sports game every week.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

E sports will never be bigger than traditional sports because as fans age, the real world has a greater impact on their lives and their interests reflect that.

 

[Azeroth101]

E sports will never be bigger than traditional sports because as fans age, the real world has a greater impact on their lives and their interests reflect that.

This probably doesn't mean much because my age is relatively young, but I think you're wrong. I find that people who are passionate about things don't let them go by the wayside, especially something as passive as a sport that you watch. It's just another form of entertainment. Watching a sport on a TV involves just a much of the "real world" as watching an E-sports team. It's not as if the players are not real, just the field they play on isn't.

That being said, everyone else is right, it's a long way off and doesn't have the mass appeal that a game like football does. Perhaps it's too specialized, but honestly a game like Counter-Strike is really easy to consume. The rules are very easy to explain and it can be fun and exciting to watch even if you have no idea how to play the game. Games like Dota and the like are a little difficult to grasp the concept of while watching because so much is going at the same time.

 

[OverVolt]

Nah, fundamentally all e-sports gamers peak at age 24-26.

From 18 to 24 they don't make enough to compensate for the practice it takes to play e-sports. You end up in your 30's with no skills and no life.

The real money is actually in being an ex-gamer and commentating.

Part of the allure of sports is that the players are legends. Its tough to get into a sport you know is probably ruining their lives. They are more like e-gladiators, hopelessly enslaved to videogames in a battle to the death for their 15 minutes of fame. The problem is not the sport/games, but the players. e-sports burns through talent too fast to really develop a household name. Who are the latest and greatest? I have no idea honestly.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Just wait until we have a fully functional holodeck. Then you can have a combination of the two.

 

[pcgeek11]

At first, I was also thinking LOL. But, then I realized that there's an entire generation of kids growing up who spend more time playing xbox, playstation, etc., than they've ever spent outdoors. Hell, for some kids, the only time they're outdoors is walking out to the bus to go to school, walking from the bus into the school, walking out of the school back to the bus, and... running from the bus into their house so they can get in enough levels on some game before their mom makes them stop to eat dinner.

And that in my opinion is one of the largest problems with Americas younger generations. I really feel sorry for them. My son would have done the same IF I had allowed it, but we spend tons of time outdoors fishing, hiking, baseball and the like. Computer / Gaming time was severely limited.

I had never heard of E Sports until I read this post...

 

[Jaepheth]

I would hope reality lies somewhere in between.

Where robots take over traditional sports and the teams compete to draft top engineering talent from the nation's universities; backed by contractors looking to use their robotic design and performance prowess to secure private and public contracts for their companies whose manufacturing and support base are housed in the team's home city.

 

[purbeast0]

That is not true! ESPN2 broadcast some Heroes of the Storm tourney a few weeks ago. I believe that was the first in the US, to my knowledge.

With that said, certainly not. The big sports are simply not going to go away. For every kid playing playstation or xbox all day there are 4 others watching their dad, mother, brother, sister, uncle, etc yelling at the sports game every week.

oh damn didnt know that.

also, the term "e-sports" is retarded as shit. by definition playing video games is not a sport.

 

[Lonyo]

oh damn didnt know that.

also, the term "e-sports" is retarded as shit. by definition playing video games is not a sport.

There are lots of "sports" people would consider games more than sports.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

no.

 

[edro]

No.

Sports are sexy.
Video games never have been and never will be sexy.

 

[z1ggy]

At first, I was also thinking LOL. But, then I realized that there's an entire generation of kids growing up who spend more time playing xbox, playstation, etc., than they've ever spent outdoors. Hell, for some kids, the only time they're outdoors is walking out to the bus to go to school, walking from the bus into the school, walking out of the school back to the bus, and... running from the bus into their house so they can get in enough levels on some game before their mom makes them stop to eat dinner.

I'm making damn sure my kids join Boy Scouts, and I'm taking them hiking/shooting/fishing all the time. I will not raise some fat little 'tard who can only communicate via text message and who has no real life skills.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Last year, it was soccer will over come football in the US in 10 years time, now they're trotting out e-sports taking over all sports in 15 years time. Let me throw something at you:

2015 Super Bowl viewership - US ONLY: 114 Million (which was a record)
2014 Dota2 viewership - WORLDWIDE: 20 Million (and this was for the tournament, not concurrently)

e-sports has a loooooong way to go. Football is the US's sport. PERIOD!

lolsoccer. I have been hearing about how soccer will be the top US sport "in 10 years" for nearly 40 years now. It will not happen in our lifetimes, if ever. Actually, when I was in grad school in the 90s, a couple of my lab coworkers were insistent it would happen within 10 years so I bet them $100 it wouldn't - when I emailed to collect 10 years later, they were oddly silent. :awe:

People point to the increasing Hispanic population in the US as one factor in the growth of soccer. While that is no doubt true, they're overlooking many factors, one of which is that the NFL is making great strides in capturing these fans and from my own anecdotal experience, it is working very well.

Anyway, about e-sports -- I can see it being huge when virtual reality explodes or something akin to holodecks happens, but I don't think sitting around and watching people play conventional video games is ever going to threaten the traditional sports.

 

[gorcorps]

Honestly it's come a long way. The production value it through the roof.

The fact that me, 46 year old man can name off most of the LOL shoutcasters and analysts says a lot. When I take breaks from working I often watch.

I still watch a lot of regular sports, but I'm way more entertained by some of the things these dudes (one dudette) say. The hardest thing is the games evolve rather quickly and keeping up with the rules and such does take some brain matter and time.

I think that says more about you than it does about e-sports :awe:

 

[Majes]

The problem that e-sports currently has is that the games keep changing. While football, baseball, hockey, basketball, and soccer all make changes to their sports they generally stay the same.

Over my lifetime I've seen a number of different FPS games in the spotlight. I've seen 3 competitive RTS games. Even the MOBA scene has at least 3 completely different games that have millions invested in tournaments. That's a lot for a fan to figure out.

It also doesn't help that they haven't really figured out how to cover and market their players. E-Sports coverage MUST have up to date accurate brackets. I cannot tell you how many Starcraft tournaments I've followed that just kind of ignored the brackets. These tournaments also need to figure out how to market their players. Starcraft 2 does a decent job of this. LoL and Dota have a harder time.

 

[DrunkenSano]

It'll be regional, I doubt games will over come actual sports in the US anytime soon. Football will still be king here in 30 years. However, in other parts of the world, like Korea, I wouldn't be surprised if games like Starcraft have already overtaken whatever traditional sport they have over there, if they had a 'traditional' sport.