Esports has an intrinsic relationship with violence but it might not last long

Esports is growing at a phenomenal pace and is all set to become a billion industry very soon. With a very young user base, it is already catching the attention of several mainstream media companies and investors. As investments and opportunities continue to grow in esports, the violent nature of several esports titles has come into the limelight. The Olympic committee recently confirmed their stance on esports title inclusion into the Olympics. They will not allow violent games to be a part of the Olympic movement.

We cannot have in the Olympic program a game which is promoting violence or discrimination, so-called ‘killer games’. They, from our point of view, are contradictory to the Olympic values and cannot, therefore, be accepted.

Thomas Bach.

However, several of the sports sections in the Olympics also have violent origins. However, their usage in the Olympics is not to depict violence in their current form.

Of course, every combat sport has its origins in a real fight among people. But sport is the civilized expression about this. If you have ‘egames’ where it’s about killing somebody, this cannot be brought into line with our Olympic values.

Thomas Bach.

Esports does not need the Olympic approval

Esports is a unique industry in itself. It has grown over the years despite ridicule and opposition from the mainstream media. Even today, there are media outlets which do not believe in the potential and future of esports. However, there is no doubt amongst people who know about its potential that esports is only going to grow as an industry.

With a massive young player base, this industry will help shape the consumer base for the future. Esports already has received millions of dollars of investments in the last year alone. A single overwatch Franchise for 2017-18 sold for around $10 million. The price this year is reportedly between $30-$50 million.

While an Olympic approval will prove to be a massive boost to esports, it is not a necessity. However, Thomas Bach’s opinion on Violent esports has definitely raised a few questions. The violent nature of esports will definitely cause concerns for its future adoption into the mainstream media.

Violent esports have no place in the Olympics

The Olympic committee specified that ‘violent esports’ do not have a place in the Olympics. The Asian Games 2018 Jakarta presented League of Legends as a demonstration sport. Thomas Bach deemed certain esports title [ which include most of the popular titles] as too violent for the Olympics. This means that several other esports titles which do not include direct graphical violence are allowed in the Olympics.

It has to fit the spirit and the value of the Olympics. The content should not be violent. Blood in video games is the problem. The line to violence can be blurry but when it comes to blood it’s easy to define

Zhang Dazhong, founder and CEO of Alisports

The Olympics already includes sports which have had strong roots in violence. Esports titles have no such baggage and are virtual worlds for players to entertain themselves. There has been no correlation between the violence in esports games to real life violence. If anything, the government should stop making excuses on esports being the treason for instilling violent thoughts in citizens. The case for gun control is a long-running debate, one which will directly influence violence in regular life. But there seems to be no end to that debate, in what could lower the violence in the US dramatically.

Countries are already taking action against violent esports

There are reports of countries already taking action against Violent esport titles. Recently Argentina passed a draft bill which allowed for esports’ inclusion into sports. However, the draft bill did not include several popular esports titles such as Counter strike Global Offensive. They deemed these titles as extremely aggressive and too violent to be included in sports.

We have seen China also implement low violence graphics for players under 18 [ in Dota 2]. This is an issue local to China and we have not seen similar actions in other countries. The Olympic Committee has partnered with Alibaba esports for the 2022 Asian games. In accordance with the Olympic charter, Alibaba has asserted that they will not have violent games at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022.

With China being one of the biggest esports markets in the world, we will see them taking a leadership position in the regulation of esports. They are already taking steps to regulate esports and providing the professional athletes with a safe career path.

Regulation of violence in esports

The bigger question is whether there should be some regulation with regards to esports and the violence depicted in it. After all, there is no correlation between what happens in a game and in real life. Everyone who plays a video game knows its a virtual world with no relation to the real world. Arcade games have long supported FPS gameplay even on the big arcade machines. This issue has never been a real problem until the Olympic committee’s reluctance to accept esports as it is in the Olympics.

So why is everyone suddenly putting a heavy focus on esports and its supposed violent nature? It’s because esports is growing at a fast pace. There has always been opposition to esport and its potential. The concept of change and the whole new industry coming into the formation is difficult for some people to understand. However, this ‘new industry’ is already upon us with almost a billion dollars in revenue this year alone. 

Finally, there should not be any regulation of violence in esports. There has been no correlation between any real-life violent act and esports. If anything gun control is probably a bigger issue in America than the possibility of esports influencing young minds. Without adequate research to back the ‘killer games’ claim, there should not be any type of action against esports.

Esports has a love-hate relationship with Violent titles

FPS games are at the forefront of the esports industry, Titles like Call of Duty, Counter-Strike and Overwatch are taking the lead in providing the necessary exposure to esports. They are easier to follow and extremely viewer-friendly. The realistic nature of many of these games is exactly what draws players to this genre.

However, we have also seen the development of Fortnite, a first-person shooter game with a Battle Royale format. It has a heavy focus on being cartoonish and far away from reality. It is one of the fastest growing game, however, its ‘esports side’ is not yet a runaway success. The involvement of streamers and personalities in Fortnite esports is great news, but the lack of rivalries amongst teams is evident.

However, when it comes to esports, CSGO, COD and Overwatch are definitely in the lead. Esports players and many supporters of esports do not have a problem with the way violence are depicted in video games. However, there is a strong lobby especially in China which wants to curb the exhibition of violence in esports.

The future of FPS games

The Olympic Committee’s reluctance to accept certain games which they deem violent will not impact esports’ future. However, if local governments would begin to take action against such games, it would definitely have an adverse impact on the development of such games. Recently the Argentinian government passed a draft bill which would include several video games in the sports category. But the exclusion of well-known games like Counter Strike Global Offensive was a sore point of contention. This draft bill did not take into account the opinions of the gaming community in the country.

Regardless of the final outcome in this particular case, individual national governments have the power to squeeze esports into a specific direction. Whether all countries will adopt such a path is still up for debate. That being said, there is not any consensus of initiating action against such ‘violent games’.

The future of esports and game development is not endangered. Just like in the past, we will see several more First Person Shooter games in development. Esports might not find a place in the Olympics, at least not in its entirety. However, it will surpass the fame and glory of the Olympics in the future. Right now, it is important for the community to step up and be responsible for their actions.

Rohan

The author

Esports journalist. An esports fan, former wannabe pro and occasional angry young man. You can find him trying to climb the Dota 2 MMR or just chilling in Rocket League. Or maybe building an entire city in Cities: Skylines. The current mood is always a surprise.

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