[News] Marek - recent 1st round pick unlikely to play in NHL due to video game addiction

[Beninho]

https://youtu.be/4twVKW__XnM

Thought this would good for this thread. UFC middle weight Champion Robert Whittaker says he’s played thousands of hours of video games and uses it to relieve the stress of being a fighter and a pro athlete. Everyone is different and others are able to prioritize time and can play a lot video games while leading successful and happy lives. Thinking otherwise is just being an old grump.

Starts at 2:04

[Poe969]

Get off my elawn!

[Royle9]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

To be good enough at a video game to be professional level, you simply have to be playing a ridiculous amount of hours per day.
A lot of the top players have been quoted saying they play 12-15 hours/day.

To suggest these players are living otherwise normal lives, with normal human interaction (not in game) is actually impossible.

What a revelation!!!! To be good at ANYTHING you must train/practice/adjust your daily routine to allow yourself the best chance to succeed. You don't say?

This is grossly exaggerated *12-15 hours/day* is not required, I'd be curious to see where you've found said quotes, I'm sure there are some top players who claim to play this much but I can attest this is not the NORM.

Its no different than training for a marathon, training as a pro athlete or even making yourself a workout plan to lose weight. The more you do it and the more accurately you follow the plan the better results you will get.

Remember this is a job to these kids so its no different than you or I going to work for 8-10 hours a day, they get up like we do, they hit the gym first thing and then practice on and off during the day. Yes they get outside, Yes they interact with the general public and large groups of friends, yes they get out and do normal things like you or I during their off time. It really isn't even close to what some of you think it is.

There's dozens of youtube videos you can watch and see what a regular day is for a number of pro's playing a number of games "professionally" the only difference is their workplace is behind a computer screen/TV screen playing a game VS's downtown office slaving away for the man crunching numbers etc.

To think these kids do nothing but stay inside with each other and play games all day long, get up and repeat is absolutely insane, and couldn't be further from the actual truth.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Its no different than training for a marathon, training as a pro athlete or even making yourself a workout plan to lose weight.

Aside from the fact those other things make you physically healthy.

Originally Posted by Royle9

There's dozens of youtube videos you can watch and see what a regular day is for a number of pro's playing a number of games "professionally" the only difference is their workplace is behind a computer screen/TV screen playing a game VS's downtown office slaving away for the man crunching numbers etc.

To think these kids do nothing but stay inside with each other and play games all day long, get up and repeat is absolutely insane, and couldn't be further from the actual truth.

Except to get that level, these guys had to have spent huge amounts of time when they were kids and teenagers playing videogames, in addition to going to school. There are only so many hours in the day. A 15-year-old playing videogames 20+ hours a week (and I'd bet most pros played a lot more than that when they were 15) is going to be missing out on a lot of other important things in life.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I keep checking this continuous bumped thread for a confirmation on who's 1st round pick this is only to see a debate that's been going on for over 10 years

I genuinely never thought this topic would generate this much discussion.

But here we are.

[stone hands]

Did I miss the memo that playing video games for a living and going to the gym are mutually exclusive activities or something

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by stone hands

Did I miss the memo that playing video games for a living and going to the gym are mutually exclusive activities or something

To play videogames professionally you have to spend many, many hours playing videogames when you're 13-18. Playing many, many hours of video-games when you're 13-18, and doing a regular school day and homework, and getting regular exercise, and having an active social life seems extraordinarily difficult to pull off. There are only so many hours in the day.

[Pellanor]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

I had to Google lol esports. Spent 10 minutes on their website and still have no idea what it is.

LoL = League of Legends. It's a team based, 5v5 video game, and one of the more popular for esports. Here's an intro: https://www.riftherald.com/2016/9/29...tch-play-intro

LoL Esports is the professional scene for LoL. It's like NHL.com for hockey. I imagine NHL.com would be just as confusing if you'd never heard of hockey before.

If you're interested they have some games from the 2016 worlds with commentary aimed at people who have never played the game before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqmM6ZEOlo0

[GioforPM]

I'm pretty ambivalent on whether esports are sports or something else. Practicing a lot, getting paid, being widely viewed don't trigger "sports" for me - the same thing can be said for, say, musicians.

One thing I don't know, and someone can enlighten me - is the competition in esports pretty unstable because of changes of the games? I mean to say - hockey is hockey and the game has been around forever, albeit with rule and equipment changes. But in esports do the actual games change or go out of style quickly? Is whatever game is popular now different from what was being played three years ago, and what will be played in three years?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Aside from the fact those other things make you physically healthy.

There are a number of studies over the past several years which show how beneficial RPGs can be to boosting critical thinking skills and overall improved intellectual performance.

Except to get that level, these guys had to have spent huge amounts of time when they were kids and teenagers playing videogames, in addition to going to school. There are only so many hours in the day. A 15-year-old playing videogames 20+ hours a week (and I'd bet most pros played a lot more than that when they were 15) is going to be missing out on a lot of other important things in life.

But is this not true of virtually every young, aspiring professional athlete? Teenagers playing elite-level competitive sports are all missing out on the various aspects which contribute to a balanced adolescence. As I see it, video-gaming is not any more beneficial or detrimental in this regard from baseball, golf, hockey, or what have you—kids immersed in all of these at high levels are neglecting other important areas of life in order to achieve their long-term goals.

[Poster]

Originally Posted by Pellanor

LoL = League of Legends. It's a team based, 5v5 video game, and one of the more popular for esports. Here's an intro: https://www.riftherald.com/2016/9/29...tch-play-intro

LoL Esports is the professional scene for LoL. It's like NHL.com for hockey. I imagine NHL.com would be just as confusing if you'd never heard of hockey before.

If you're interested they have some games from the 2016 worlds with commentary aimed at people who have never played the game before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqmM6ZEOlo0

thanks for those links ... clearly lots of people enjoy this but man it was impossible to follow or really care about what was going on.

unlike live human played sports, i dont see how the emotional connection, the stories and the drama can be created with a game like that.

[icecube]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

There are a number of studies over the past several years which show how beneficial RPGs can be to boosting critical thinking skills and overall improved intellectual performance.


But is this not true of virtually every young, aspiring professional athlete? Teenagers playing elite-level competitive sports are all missing out on the various aspects which contribute to a balanced adolescence. As I see it, video-gaming is not any more beneficial or detrimental in this regard from baseball, golf, hockey, or what have you—kids immersed in all of these at high levels are neglecting other important areas of life in order to achieve their long-term goals.

Except the kids playing actual REAL sports are getting physical exercise. Which makes it far healthier. Video games are not a sport. Never have been. Never will be.

End.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

As I see it, video-gaming is not any more beneficial or detrimental in this regard from baseball, golf, hockey, or what have you—kids immersed in all of these at high levels are neglecting other important areas of life in order to achieve their long-term goals.

Except those kids are also getting all of the exercise and much of the socialization that healthy kids need. And I think a lot of kids today are too focused on the elite sports that they or their parents believe (mistakenly in almost all cases) that they're going to reach their long-term goal in. The fact some 14 year olds are way too focused on hockey or gymnastics doesn't mean it's cool if some kids are the same way with videogames.

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

I would put it in the category of TV poker, basically a time filler for the network when they have nothing else on. It will never get beyond that.

I would argue that it's already beyond that. Madison Square Garden never sold out for a poker tournament.

http://www.realclearlife.com/sports/...square-garden/

[stone hands]

Originally Posted by Poster

thanks for those links ... clearly lots of people enjoy this but man it was impossible to follow or really care about what was going on.

unlike live human played sports, i dont see how the emotional connection, the stories and the drama can be created with a game like that.

because if you never played it or grew up with it, you simply dont have that emotional connection. I'm sure the parents of the original batch of hockey players thought the exact same thing about their kids passtimes since they couldn't give a hoot about this strange new game the kids all started playing. i mean hell, i love sports but i couldn't give a damn about soccer

why do we watch hockey? to see people play a game that we really enjoy at the highest possible level, doing things you could never do

why do people watch esports? similarily, to watch people play a game they really enjoy at the highest possible level, doing things you could never do

[Beninho]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Except those kids are also getting all of the exercise and much of the socialization that healthy kids need. And I think a lot of kids today are too focused on the elite sports that they or their parents believe (mistakenly in almost all cases) that they're going to reach their long-term goal in. The fact some 14 year olds are way too focused on hockey or gymnastics doesn't mean it's cool if some kids are the same way with videogames.

I moved away after high school and use video games to socialize with my friends that live in another country. It’s very much a social activity. Now if someone is playing video games and getting zero exercise that’s entirely different, but video games can very well be a social hobby.

[Royle9]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Aside from the fact those other things make you physically healthy.



Except to get that level, these guys had to have spent huge amounts of time when they were kids and teenagers playing videogames, in addition to going to school. There are only so many hours in the day. A 15-year-old playing videogames 20+ hours a week (and I'd bet most pros played a lot more than that when they were 15) is going to be missing out on a lot of other important things in life.

Of course they do, but its still training.
You're assuming that kids who play video games = aren't getting any exercise outside of playing games. There's no doubt that LOTS of kids seemingly are allowed to play all day and don't see an ounce of sunlight on any given day, I wont argue against it.

However many of these "professionals" are the exact opposite, health and nutrition are a key ingredient of their new life styles, going to the gym, eating healthy they do it all.

Everyone no matter what they do will miss out on important things in life, decisions you make every day change the outcome of what life ultimately is. So to some extent yes they will miss out on opportunities to do things with friends or family because they are travelling or oversea's playing in a tournament, but lots of times their friends and or family become apart of their career so they travel with them to watch.

I played at the highest level internationally years ago, and I've NEVER played 10-15 hours a day at any point. Sure I put a LOT of time into the game, there's no denying that, yes I missed out on things in life (Friends/Family events etc) but you also gain a TON of life experience travelling the world making friends with hundreds of similar teams, kids, media gaining friendships no more different than meeting people outside of gaming.

I too cannot consider it = to playing a real sport, but its definitely a giant step ahead of a "casual" gamer just playing in their basement with their headset on yelling at kids in a video game.

[DionTheDman]

Originally Posted by icecube

Except the kids playing actual REAL sports are getting physical exercise. Which makes it far healthier. Video games are not a sport. Never have been. Never will be.

End.

Video games DO improve some physical skills, such as hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Then there's the social benefits to competition, just like any other sport -- teamwork, communication, leadership, etc.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by icecube

Except the kids playing actual REAL sports are getting physical exercise. Which makes it far healthier. Video games are not a sport. Never have been. Never will be.

End.

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Except those kids are also getting all of the exercise and much of the socialization that healthy kids need...

I agree that physical activity and exercise are very important, but I am not convinced that this translates so directly into a fixation on one of either physical sports or video gaming being a healthier choice. As I suggested above, I think both fixations are equally potentially detrimental. For example, while sports training is generally good exercise, the current trend among kids to hyper focus on exclusively one sport has a tendency to make them more prone to specific injuries.

And I think a lot of kids today are too focused on the elite sports that they or their parents believe (mistakenly in almost all cases) that they're going to reach their long-term goal in. The fact some 14 year olds are way too focused on hockey or gymnastics doesn't mean it's cool if some kids are the same way with videogames.

I completely agree with you, but by the same measure, the fact that 14 year olds are way too focused on hockey or gymnastics doesn't mean that this is a better fixation than hyper focus on video games. It is all bad.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by icecube

Except the kids playing actual REAL sports are getting physical exercise. Which makes it far healthier. Video games are not a sport. Never have been. Never will be.

End.

If they are not so already video games will come to be considered a sport so long as we start to think of them as such. I mentioned this a while ago, but words on their own do not contain inherent meanings, but rather are functional according to various usages. It seems almost certain that before too long the word "sport" will be redefined by everyone to include video gaming. So, it is not really up to any of us to determine what is or is not a "sport." The natural progression of culture and the evolution of language will make that decision for us.