eSports and Society - A Worthwhile Discussion?

gensulitor

United States19 Posts

March 22 2013 02:05 GMT

Hey TL,

I think a serious discussion about the social implications of eSports could:

1. Be a platform for awareness and understanding of eSports to the general population.
2. Give us a better idea of where eSports is headed in the near future
3. Help justify further investment of time and resources to developing eSports

I recently put together a class presentation regarding eSports and society, and very briefly overview some of my ideas on the matter. I geared the project towards explaining eSports to the average layperson, and explaining how it might benefit society.

Please build on this topic, I would love to see thoughts tossed around, and maybe build some new ideas for expanding the appeal of eSports.

TerranosaurusWrecks

Canada187 Posts

March 22 2013 03:10 GMT

aha! i love this topic

I thought your video was pretty good, you hit few pretty huge points on the potential value it can give to the scientific community about learning and cognitive ability, as well as how many skills in sc can be used in real life. I think developing arguments that highlight the skills needed to play sc and how they can be used in real life scenarios like on the job etc. is the key to your first topic.

"1. Be a platform for awareness and understanding of eSports to the general population. "

which in my opinion is the most important of the three topics you listed, as it is the foundation of the sport, and i personally feel the industry is ready to take on more numbers now that we have decent structure. Social acceptance and understanding leads to more viewers and dedicated fans.

But to me, if i was going to describe e-sports and try to sell it to someone would highlight the passion, the stories, and the bonds it creates, for me e-sports isn't so much of a sport, it's a feeling

That's why I love this video:

Also one thing you didn't mention (which i think is super cool!) is the kind of communication it brings, i mean what other sport allows you compete with every person on the world (minus china ahueheu) at a push of a button? I know so much more about korean culture than the average person because of team liquid. Overall i'd say this whole experience in the community aspect has made me more open minded and liberal, getting to hear the opinions of people from spain, france, india, south america and more has really educated me.

Destroying the "geek" stereotype if also really huge for me, i feel like anyone on the planet would be shocked to hear that these groups of starcraft players are all super intelligent and nice people who are in fact not just a bunch of acne ridden 20 years olds who live with their moms.

WikidSik

Canada382 Posts

March 22 2013 04:39 GMT

a note. u should add CoD and Street fighter. those games are more mainstream then sc2 is and will help gain aceptance from your class. (esp CoD)

docvoc

United States5491 Posts

March 22 2013 16:10 GMT

On March 22 2013 13:39 WikidSik wrote:
a note. u should add CoD and Street fighter. those games are more mainstream then sc2 is and will help gain aceptance from your class. (esp CoD)

I really don't think street fighter is more accepted anywhere except Japan. The FGC in the USA and Latin America is smaller than the LoL and SC2 communities by a lot. They have talent, but a lot of talent is in Japan for fighting games. CoD is popular in the USA but that is about the only place it is popular as an e-sport, I can't think of too many teams in other parts of the world. The only team that comes to mind is Optic and only because they have a couple canadians on their team.

BreAKerTV

Taiwan1658 Posts

March 22 2013 21:01 GMT

I want to stress that I think western countries are the furthest behind in eSports. In Taiwan, China, and Korea, I know for a fact that there are television channels dedicated to eSports.

StarStruck

25339 Posts

March 23 2013 00:08 GMT

On March 23 2013 01:10 docvoc wrote:

Show nested quote +

The competitive scene okay, but that doesn't mean there aren't casuals who get together with their friends to play. When we consider that. There are many who are obvious to the FGC even with all the new online features.

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