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Old 03-05-2018, 11:15 AM   #1
OmegaV4
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In my opinion it's something that I would love to see become bigger in Canada.

Watched the CS:GO Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice this weekend, packed house, fantastic energy.

I'm thinking when the Flames get the new arena, we can re-purpose the Saddledome into a dedicated Esports Arena.

Thoughts?
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Old 03-05-2018, 11:18 AM   #2
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Lol, its not something that should be encouraged. Kids play too many video games.

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Old 03-05-2018, 11:26 AM   #3
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Personally, I don't have any interest in it. It doesn't drive me out of my chair to watch it.

I would bet that if you had one event a year at the Dome it might sell out the first time, but after that, the novelty would probably wear off. But who knows.

Going to watch people play video games seems silly, plus doesn't it usually come down to who can exploit better?
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Old 03-05-2018, 11:30 AM   #4
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I find it bizarre. I'm a big F1 fan and I love playing F1 video games but watching other people play video games is painfully boring. I'm shocked at how big a deal online racing is from a spectator POV. I even understand competing for the racers themselves. Sim racing gets pretty intense and some F1 teams have even reached out and given opportunities to the best racers.

But to actually sit and watch someone else do it? Beyond watching for a few minutes to see how crazy good they are, I just can't get into it.
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Old 03-05-2018, 11:34 AM   #5
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Someone mentioned that it will eventually overtake real sports.

At the risk of sounding like a dinosaur or a Blockbuster exec, I still can't see that happening.

As a casual viewer just watching a match to see what the hype was all about, I just couldn't get into it. With real sports, even if I don't follow football, basketball, hockey, etc, I can still appreciate a really great catch, a crazy lay up, or a spectacular save by a goalie. But with eSports, I have no idea what's going on, or what's happening. I think fighting games may be a bit more accessible to the casual view, but I'm totally lost watching an RTS match. It's just a bunch of stuff happening on screen that the commentator and the crowd are all super excited about, but just totally lost on me.
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Old 03-05-2018, 11:34 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamenspiel View Post
Lol, its not something that should not be encouraged. Kids play too many video games.
Why? These people make hundreds of thousands of dollars for being good at something. Millions find it entertaining to watch.

Why should that be discouraged?
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Old 03-05-2018, 11:35 AM   #7
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E-Sports is huge. Almost certain to be in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

a Canadian girl recently won a big Starcraft II event.
https://compete.kotaku.com/scarletts...uld-1822809807
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Old 03-05-2018, 11:40 AM   #8
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Huh, I'm surprised it's even being considered for the Olympics. To me, that's akin to having Rock'em Sock'em Robots, or Magic the Gathering as an Olympic sport.
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Old 03-05-2018, 11:42 AM   #9
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Why? These people make hundreds of thousands of dollars for being good at something. Millions find it entertaining to watch.

Why should that be discouraged?
Because it leads to school shootings!!
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:20 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GirlySports View Post
E-Sports is huge. Almost certain to be in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

a Canadian girl recently won a big Starcraft II event.
https://compete.kotaku.com/scarletts...uld-1822809807
What are they going to do, have them play Olympic Sports on the C-64 during the Olympics?

To me E-Sports will never be a sport.

But if a bunch of people want to sit in front of a computer and pretend to play a sport good on them, if they can make money, good on them. There's a games channel on Shaw that shows these competitions, and I find them tremendously boring.
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:23 PM   #11
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I can watch the Overwatch League in silky smooth 60 fps video at 1080p at a super high bitrate, but I struggle to get good quality video for the NHL online. Esports have a huge advantage already in the online streaming arena, and they're definitely capitalizing on it. There's a reason it's getting so big.

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Personally, I don't have any interest in it. It doesn't drive me out of my chair to watch it.

I would bet that if you had one event a year at the Dome it might sell out the first time, but after that, the novelty would probably wear off. But who knows.

Going to watch people play video games seems silly, plus doesn't it usually come down to who can exploit better?
It seems silly to you why? Have you watched the games? No one is exploiting in esports. It's all about skill and reaction times. I would imagine because it's not a physical sport you don't feel the same connection. They do practice and devote time and money into these esports as much as any other sport.

If Seattle and Vancouver can fill arenas for esports events repeatedly, then why wouldn't you want Calgary to get in on this?

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As a casual viewer just watching a match to see what the hype was all about, I just couldn't get into it. With real sports, even if I don't follow football, basketball, hockey, etc, I can still appreciate a really great catch, a crazy lay up, or a spectacular save by a goalie. But with eSports, I have no idea what's going on, or what's happening. I think fighting games may be a bit more accessible to the casual view, but I'm totally lost watching an RTS match. It's just a bunch of stuff happening on screen that the commentator and the crowd are all super excited about, but just totally lost on me.
I get why you have this attitude towards esports, but sports like football are games that have been around for a very long time, which means you understand the inner workings of the rules more even as a casual occasional viewer. If these esports games become even more popular, then the general rules become more understood by everyone, and therefore you will be able to appreciate them more. It'll just take time.

When I watch football, it's a bunch of guys running around in set plays and people getting excited for a tackle. When I watch Dota 2, it's a bunch of guys running routes and people getting excited for a surprise kill. These aren't very different at all. The main difference will be what I take the time to better understand.

Most people are just shrugging this off because "video games are bad for you", but they've been around for decades and we're not all maladjusted humans for playing them. The most marketable demographic in the world spends more time watching online video than TV, and a huge number of that same demographic watch people play video games. Rather than dismissing it as irrelevant, it would be better to understand why sites like Twitch are so incredibly popular.
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:29 PM   #12
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Yes, did watch coverage of a couple of events on the Games channel.

Maybe its a younger person thing, because I just didn't see the appeal in it.

Like I said, if they can make money at it, good for them.
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:31 PM   #13
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Breaking news from Calgarypuck: old guys don't understand eSports.
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:33 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GirlySports View Post
E-Sports is huge. Almost certain to be in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

a Canadian girl recently won a big Starcraft II event.
https://compete.kotaku.com/scarletts...uld-1822809807
I can't imagine esports makes it into the olypics in the next 25 years, let alone the next 10 years.

No matter how you look at it, esports aren't real sports. They are no different that poker. There is zero athleticism to it. There is no physical component for people to watch.

Maybe an esports olympics, not affiliated with the IOC, but actual esports in the real olympics where athletes compete? No chance.
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:36 PM   #15
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Yes, did watch coverage of a couple of events on the Games channel.

Maybe its a younger person thing, because I just didn't see the appeal in it.

Like I said, if they can make money at it, good for them.
All I'm trying to say is give this a couple years as it continues to grow and I bet you'll find yourself not only understanding the games more, but actively watching. I think the Overwatch League having teams located in cities like a traditional sports league will make that more apparent. That gives you more of a rooting interest in someone you don't otherwise care about.

Out of curiosity I checked the Twitch listings for Canada, and the top 10 games as of 12:35 PM today have 514,825 people currently watching. Not bad for a random Monday lunch hour.
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:57 PM   #16
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I think one of the problems with wide spread adoption of e-sports is the rapid pace of change in the game.

In mainstream sports the rules for the sports are relatively constant. Yes the playoff seeding or what is or isn't a catch might get tweaked on an annual basis but the sports in general are very similar to what they were years ago.

The problem with e-sports is that as computers advance the games can do more and more and character updates, balance changes etc have far more reaching changes than adding the shift or The PED era in baseball or protecting receivers in football.

Why is this an issue? Because when kids form bonds to sports or video games they bond for life so when they come back as adults and bring their kids into it it still the same sport. That multi-generational fandom drives sports

So will Dota and whatever FPS is popular look enough like the version today that the kid who played a bit growing up and was a casual fan be able to bring his kid to watch it without needing to relearn the game?
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:57 PM   #17
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I still don't see E-Sports being an olympic event, for me it'll never be considered a real sport.
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Old 03-05-2018, 01:02 PM   #18
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I will add that I don't like watching most eSports. The only one I find interesting is Rocket League, and that's because I play it a lot, but probably also partially because it 'looks' like a real sport. Players on teams trying to put a ball into a net -- it's visually simple and easy to understand, but there's a high degree of complexity and strategy into how to actually accomplish it. Like a real sport!
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Old 03-05-2018, 01:06 PM   #19
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We old guys understand E-Sports just fine. We just don't care about them.
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Old 03-05-2018, 01:12 PM   #20
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I will add that I don't like watching most eSports. The only one I find interesting is Rocket League, and that's because I play it a lot, but probably also partially because it 'looks' like a real sport. Players on teams trying to put a ball into a net -- it's visually simple and easy to understand, but there's a high degree of complexity and strategy into how to actually accomplish it. Like a real sport!
Just because it is like a real sport, doesn't mean it is a real sport.


As said earlier I rank it along with poker, bridge, etc.


Now, if you have these players having to ride bikes to power their computers I might change my mind.
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