WHAT is a sport? That tricky question is back. As the 2018 Asian Games start in Indonesia, for the first time, the competition will include video gamers alongside the likes of athletes, swimmers and weightlifters.
Although it is a demonstration sport this time, the plan is to make esports a full medal event in 2022, and the International Olympic Committee is .
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The impetus for its acceptance is growing. Esports is having a bit of a moment in the West (see New Scientist鈥檚 video report, below), with pro leagues and TV coverage that seek to replicate its popularity in countries like South Korea and China. More and more people are finding that esports can be thrilling and inspiring in the same way that traditional sports can.
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But is it an actual sport? No, say opponents: . The counterargument is that playing esports requires superb hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, and it causes blood pressure and heart rate to rise. In these respects, the exertion is on a par with the long-standing Olympic sport of shooting.
And even if it is primarily mental, there is still precedent for its recognition 鈥� in Asia at least. The Asian Games have previously included Go and chess, and bridge makes its debut this year.
It is easy to apply a drive-by cultural analysis to the Western resistance to and Asian embrace of esports 鈥� the Olympics are rooted in the Western psyche as displays of physicality to honour the gods, while Asian cultures revere the dedication and effort to excel that top gamers display.
But it is more complex than this. Asia鈥檚 enthusiasm is not universal. Japan鈥檚 professional gaming scene because of legal restrictions on prizes. And South Korea鈥檚, which flourished in the late-1990s with pro leagues, sponsors and TV contracts, was enabled in part by a government broadband push and the creation of an agency to promote esports.
In addition, the relatively recent economic rise of South Korea and China means mass participation in sport itself is relatively new. It is often said that modern sport as a participatory and spectator activity appeared in Britain . Little wonder, then, that people in Asia found sporting heroes in the games that everyone had on their computers or in their pockets.
Our opening question may soon be moot: esports鈥� popularity is rising everywhere and is hard to resist. The success in the US and UK of the Overwatch league for professional players suggests the acceptance gap is now more of a generational one than a philosophical one.
In the end, perhaps the usual definition of sport will change. Maybe it will be economic: if people will pay to play it, watch it and sponsor it, it鈥檚 a sport. Who鈥檚 to say otherwise?
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淩eady to level up鈥�
