NPR covers MLG DC, focuses on SC2 and LiquidTyler - Page 2

I think there's a few things that are stacked against gaming in terms of becoming a respected competitive event. First, a significant portion of games are played by an individual, and it's hard to get inside the players head. I think this is why poker never really took off until the "hole card" cameras were used in broadcasts. Until the audience can "play along," gaming won't be huge.

Second, sports do allow people to play along because often they have played the sports before. While it may be true that many gamers can enjoy competitive gaming, the games change so much that even someone like me, who grew up in the 80s-90s and played a lot of games, doesn't have much experience with modern games. Without consistency over time, like in, say, football, it's hard for audiences to be connected to gaming.

Third, the skill in some games is not immediately visible to audiences. Running fast is easily identifiable as a skill. Executing hundreds of actions just looks like clicking a mouse. I'm not saying it's not a skill, just that it's hard to understand for lay observers. Not an insurmountable challenge for gaming, but still, a factor against it.