<p>Whether these activities are sports or not, they too are hobbies that require many of the attributes sports require, except for the physical aspect: in some cases, that’s bad, and in others that’s good. In any case, one should balance exercise with non-exerting physical activities, but in-of-itself these multiplayer video-games can be as fun and helpful a hobby (as the law of diminishing return states, it’s probably not too fun after a while).</p>
<p>@saintfan </p>
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<p>Well, most online games I know about require you to work as a team. League of Legends (LoL) requires you to work together, all day, everyday, with your team, continuously getting better. The Korean teams (top teams in the world) literally practice for around 13 hours a day before a big tournament. </p>
<p>Counter Strike: Global Offensive, StarCraft II, DotA 2, A.V.A (which is dead now), and many more online games require you to have good team chemistry, fast reaction times, amazing hand-eye coordination (more so for the FPS games), quick and excellent decision making, and be on top of your game, as long as you play the game. </p>
<p>eSports is getting bigger and gaining more people every day, and you can’t stop it. :****)</p>
<p>This morning there was a report on the rise of e-sports on CBS. Thought it might be of interest to some people in this thread.</p>
<p><a href=“How video games became a spectator sport - YouTube”>How video games became a spectator sport - YouTube;
<p>If e-Sports makes someone happy, then it is their goal. Players like Nadeshot make over a lot of money a year and live happily while maintaining a healthy and social life. </p>
<p>To question the “work” put into e-Sports is ridiculous. Players who make youtube videos work hours with editing and recording on top of putting in 6-8 hours of practice time with the team, not to mention live-streaming. Why? Because e-Sports players like to inspire their fan base. To them, their lives have meaning. Try to gain some perspective. </p>
<p>It’s definitely a cultural thing. Some people who criticize the validity of these games as a healthy activity have children who pour the same amount of time and energy into music and choir.</p>
<p>The reality is that people who are proactive about health and fitness will do so regardless of their hobbies. People who have addictive personalities will need help regardless of their hobbies. Implying that video games are inherently unhealthy because it doesn’t involve working out is just as silly as saying that playing the violin is unhealthy because it doesn’t involve jogging or push-ups. A truly healthy lifestyle requires making time for wellness activities such as eating right and exercise; if someone allows one activity – whatever it is – to consume their lives then that monomania is the problem, not the specific activity. We shouldn’t lean on stereotypes to inform our worldview when we have access to actual information.</p>
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<p>You have never laned against a Diamond I Yasuo main, have you?</p>
<p>@PlzRito </p>
<p>OldSchoolGG’s blue card counters all.</p>
<p>@xenmas021,</p>
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<p>No, I haven’t. How is it similar to playing golf?</p>
<p>@Bay </p>
<p>Well, I’m going to assume that your initial comment was meant to trivialize video gaming. I’d argue that, say, League of Legends, is much more of a sport than golf is. They aren’t even really similar, and I think this is because of the immense cooperation LoL demands. Of course, golf is by no means some trivial activity.</p>
<p>Your initial comment totally could have been hostile to golf ("What? You can’t even compare video gaming and golf–golfing isn’t nearly as complex as a pro-league Starcraft 2 game is) OR could have been hostile to gaming ("Pfft, comparing gold to video gaming? Sitting in front of a laptop=/=the intricacies gold entails.)</p>
<p>I’m going to assume the former because it seems as if only a few teens here aren’t so biased against video games. Of course, having played League of Legends for over a year now, I’m biased myself. But I wouldn’t call it a sport, but I definitely would say it’s as demanding as any other sport.</p>
<p>Back to the point:</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems as if golf isn’t too hard to get the gist of. Fewest strokes as possible. BUT… that in itself brings the game to life (form, grip, which putter to choose for the job, hand-eye coordination, natural skill, etc)</p>
<p>Same with LoL. The objective is simple: break your opponents defenses. But that, like golf, gets really complicated.</p>
<p>Going back to laning against a Diamond I Yasuo main, the best example I can think of is choosing a club. In the same way that clubs have varied jobs, in-game items have varied jobs. I could bore you (I’m sure I already have…) with the finer details of it that you can really only learn with experience, but the game offers six slots for itemizing your in-game avatar. With over 150 items to choose from, you can see how players need to carefully pick which six items they choose. And each “item build” varies in its effectiveness depending on your opponent. This would remind me of a golfer contemplating which of his 14 allotted clubs to pick for a certain course.</p>
<p>Do people still play Yasuo? He seems to have fallen off considerably. </p>
<p>Yasuo makes me happy that I don’t main mid. </p>
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<p>You assumed wrong. I don’t have any problem with people video gaming. My comment was a response to the implication that golf is no more of a “sport” than video gaming is. The definition of a “sport” specifically includes physical activity. I’m sure there are some video games that involve physical activity, but not gaming in general, and certainly not to the extent that golf requires physical skill and exertion. For some bizarre reason people often claim that golf is not a “sport,” usually because they have never played it. </p>
<p>@Bay
Well, if we’re talking in terms of whether it requires physical movement, then both video games and golf would take physical movement…</p>
<p>But I think you’re talking about having to practice and learn muscle memory in the case of golf, repetitive physical movement that improves such skill. Here, the line starts to blur, for e-sports also requires investment in muscle memory/practice to get good at-but I agree that it isn’t very physically exerting, and I’m not too accustomed to the exertion of golf.</p>
<p>At this point, the semantics don’t matter as much, for whether it’s a sport or not, it requires many of the grueling requirements to become good (albeit with less physical benefits/chance of injury).</p>
<p>hi</p>