As the teams battle for dominance on the field, you can feel the sweat begin to form on your palms as you watch the spectacle unfold before your own eyes. You’re almost overcome by disbelief at what you are witnessing. The Olympics have become far more enjoyable!
You watch as excitement takes over the crowd as the USA and Swedish teams are facing off in the finals to see who wins it all. Sweden has been holding a dominating lead over the USA for most of the game, but the Americans are coming back strong.
The match has been rather intense with back-and-forth between the two, but Sweden appears like they will be the clear winner if nothing changes. As the final seconds begin to tick down, Team USA goes for their last-ditch effort and makes a heroic shot across the level.
It connects with the opponent brilliantly, taking the target down. The shot is registered right before the time limit expires, pushing Team USA into the lead and making them the winner. Team USA will be taking home the gold!
As the players break from the computer screens and head to congratulate one another, you swell with pride for your country as you just think to yourself how great it is that video games are in the Olympics. Who would have ever dreamed these events would come true?
Today you will learn about the potential esports titles that will be going to the Olympics for the 2020 games, or most likely the 2024 games. If you are an esports or sports bettor, it is good to start learning about the changes that may be coming to the Olympics to keep ahead of the pack.
As humanity has changed, so have our ways to compete against one another. Although there have been many changes to these competitions, one has remained strong: the Olympic Games. These great games are a place where competitors from all around the world come to face off against one another.
The games have the goal of proving skill in a specific competition and bringing pride to the country that they are representing. When it comes to events, some nations have distinct advantages based on many different things, such as economics or geography.
One would assume that snow-based nations would be more talented in the Winter Olympics than a desert-based country. The country with the better geography will have the definite leg up when it comes to competing in specific climates because they train within that environment.
These events are still considered essential to the Olympics, even though specific countries are given a clear advantage over their competition. That is just how it works, though, because a country can’t just change its environment.
The fact that a country cannot change its geography is one such reason why having video games as part of the Olympics is not so crazy of an idea. Video games are a uniting force that helps teams compete on a level playing field by removing the advantages and disadvantages of geography.
Esports has become a global phenomenon where professional sports team owners are even taking part in getting them franchised. There is a lot of faith behind making the whole video game scene mainstream with genres like First-Person Shooters and Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas.
By becoming a part of the Olympic Games, it would just take the competitions to the next level.
There also sits the idea to mix up the status quo, where specific countries who are already favorites in multiple events may now find themselves with unexpected adversaries. The world can only hope that the momentum behind the whole gaming movement doesn’t lose its steam in the upcoming years.
After all, esports would be a terrific addition, and gamers like myself aren’t the only ones who have that view; so do the organizers of the Paris Olympic Games. They want to include them in the 2024 Olympic Games, and with luck, so too will the rest of the world.
Marketing Demographic
No longer does a person on a Wheaties box get people excited for the fantastic Olympic Games because let’s face it, things aren’t the same anymore. Traditions of gathering around to watch the competitions do not seem to be on everyone’s priority list anymore.
Those who are involved with the Paris Olympics understand these changes and have the full intention of trying to introduce esports into the roster of their 2024 Games. The whole competitive video gaming scene was one of the suggestions to try to draw a younger audience into the viewer demographic.
One of the main ideas behind it was to go after the youthful audience and introduce a more “modern” Olympics to the world. There is an intention to try to bring a little bit of the excitement back to the scene. Those gaming titles in the esports scene would do well to be featured in these events.
Some titles that could be featured are First-Person Shooter (FPS) games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Overwatch, which are becoming staples within the esports community. The goal of these games is mainly to shoot your opponents and complete game objectives.
Criticism
As excellent as the introduction of esports into the Olympic Games would be, there are still those who hold objections to the idea. They aren’t new problems, but there have been issues associated with esports and calling their players “athletes.”
That word seems to resonate with people in one of two ways: very positive or negative. It is one extreme or the other, since some scoff at the whole idea that people who compete in esports should be considered athletes at all. They are only playing video games — hardly a strenuous activity.
They are, in fact, playing video games — no denial there — but the whole notion that esports does not take physical prowess and cannot be considered a real sport is where the line should be drawn. Esports requires a strenuous amount of training that will take both physical and mental prowess to succeed.
Most people only consider the physical aspects of sports when they are watching a game play out, but sometimes forget how important the mental portion is to the process. The concept remains the same when competing professionally in esports.
Although the physical demands on a competitor may be diminished, the mental portion is severely intensified. The stress that goes into making back-to-back split-second decisions cannot be readily compared to throwing a football across the field, yet clearly, it is no easy feat.
I’m not saying it isn’t possible for either to occur; it’s just hard to come out of nowhere and be that talented.
That is where some of the debate continues to spark from — arguing that professional esports should be recognized for all the hard work that goes into the process. These competitors make many of the same sacrifices that traditional sports players make.
Whichever side of the equation you are on, the current stance is approaching the possibility of making esports part of the Olympic Games in 2020, but realistically for 2024. Video games are getting their chance to shine on the world stage. Hopefully they don’t disappoint.
What Titles Would Stand a Chance?
Once we get past the red tape of considering whether esports should be included in the Olympics at all, we must discuss what game should be played. The mainstream video games within the competitive esports scene do not necessarily coincide with Olympic values.
The idea of the Olympics is to bring people closer together in a peaceful environment, and many do not believe that video games do a good job of that. It’s ironic that the games that have grown the competitive esports scene may not even be the ones that get to represent them to the world.
CS:GO also deals with terrorists planting bombs, so the subject matter may be tricky, too.
The violence risks also apply to the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games like DOTA 2 and League of Legends because you are non-stop killing opponents. Although not blatantly as violent as FPS games, violence is a standard part of them.
Although these games do utilize violent undertones, it does not keep them out of the running, because they do, after all, have a considerable following. Just in case, esports has many other different types of games and isn’t just restricted to the FPS and MOBA genres.
There is a multitude of different types of video games out there that could potentially fit the role that the Olympics needs. One of the suggestions that has been thrown up there is the usage of sports games of already-existing Olympic events.
There has been criticism for sports games, as well, since video games represent a fantasy-type aspect for many people. People argue that traditional sports video games in the Olympics do not seem to cater to the primary market that they wish to target.
Their thoughts are that people who like sports video games enjoy them in the real world as well and therefore the addition of them as an esports category wouldn’t have the same impact. The argument has merit, and as a result, further game genres are pushed, such as virtual reality styles.
VR titles can potentially offer things that viewers have never seen from the Olympics before and therefore set the standards for future innovations. The idea of the virtual reality games is to have athletes utilize both a physical and mental acuity; the issue is that they are untested.
The belief that VR titles will become a massive hit in the esports scene by 2024 is not outrageous. However, the market is unproven, and there is not a significant following surrounding it. All esports titles have their benefits on what they bring to the scene, and only time will tell who will make it.
Potential Solution to the Title Debate
There are multiple titles of games that would work and can potentially benefit the Olympic Games; however, determining which ones to use will become tricky. Therefore, the idea of a multi-platform method might be the best choice, like a triathlon or decathlon set of events.
Instead of one game where a team can emphasize on becoming masters of a single esport, there can be a list of categories to choose from. Competitors would get the options to select specific games to compete in, and then there would be back-to-back competitions, from single-player to team games.
What that means is that there will be no specific set roster of “official” games. Instead, there could be a different mixture of games, from First-Person Shooters, VRs, MOBAs, Sports, and so on. That would allow for different games to be introduced and multiple markets to be targeted.
There is also a tactical reason behind introducing esports in this manner. By having categories, it will require the whole team to be skilled across the board at video games, and they can’t just stack the team with all professional MOBA or FPS players.
Whether esports will be presented in that manner is unknown, but one thing that is certain is people’s desire to see it in the Olympics. Let’s just hope that those in power don’t waste this opportunity and can succeed in bringing us that joy.
The Olympic Games will be changing, and we should embrace it. One of those significant changes that we have heard about is the possible introduction of esports into the competition. The debate over whether that is a good or bad idea remains heated, but the support for implementing them is persistent.
However, which games should end up representing esports for the charge onto the Olympic Stage remains anyone’s guess. As viewers and bettors, we want to keep our eyes and ears open to what may be introduced.
There are a lot of potential options when it comes to introducing video games into the Olympic fold, and it is vital that we understand how to utilize that knowledge best to put money in our pockets. Which video games are introduced for competitive play will determine how we bet.
Current esports teams are made up of players from all around the world who specialize in being the best at specific games. Therefore, based on the games selected or rules established by the Olympics committee, the traditional ways of betting won’t work as well.
When in doubt, bettors should study multiple games until we know for sure which titles will make it to the actual event. The more you know, the easier it will be to refine your research in determining what games you should make your focus. Remember, the well-prepared bettor is a successful one.
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