POLL: Will electronic gaming ever conquer the world of sports?

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http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/07/06/college.gamers.ap/index.html

An interesting study, which brings me to a discussion I've been wanting to start for awhile.

As computer gaming becomes more and more common, do you think there will ever come a point where gaming (or at least electronic competition in some form) is THE thing to do? Do you think that electronic gaming will ever replace sports as national passtimes?

I know it sounds goofy today, but when you think of the rate at which electronic technology is developing, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the sports we cherish today end up going the way of the dodo in favor of more visually stunning electronic experiences where it takes brains over brawn to win. Society evolves to suit its interests, and that certainly includes entertainment.

Thoughts?

Poll Information
This poll contains 1 question(s). 19 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: Will electronic gaming ever conquer the world of sports? (19 votes.)

Will electronic gaming ever conquer the world of sports? (Choose 1)
* Yes. Eventually, technology will make physical sports obsolete. It's inevitable. - 5% (1)
* No way. Clicking buttons will never replace blood, guts and glory! - 53% (10)
* We'll have both, though eventually I think they'll be equally popular. - 42% (8)

 

Interesting question.

Personally, I believe that while neither will go the way of the dodo, at some point a hybrid form of electronic/athletic gaming will become the dominant form of entertainment for many people. However, as much as I am looking forward to it, the cost-effectiveness problem is still a long way from being solved.

my two cents.

 

I agree. With the visually stunning electronic experiences you were talking about and the ability to make people "feel" the action in a game, by using electric pulses or something like that, the sports we play nowadays will become less popular and eventually stop.

 

Mankind has been competing in sports ever since... the beginning i suppose. Nothing will ever replace that. Besides, international happenings like the Olympics, is the one and only thing that brings people of different nations closer together, be it for a brief moment.

 

@ Pac Man

My point wasn't that people will stop playing sports in favor of staying home in front of a computer. My theory is that eventually, the competition will move from a grassy field in a stadium to an electronic medium that is mass broadcast. That with the advent and evolution of electronic technology, actually getting physically fit to compete in such games will eventually become obsolete. The competition will still be there, just in a different form.

Your point about the Olympics bringing everyone together is an interesting one. To wit, it can be said that that's precisely what makes the internet so great. If the competitions are mass broadcast and done in this new digital format, it would potentially enable more nations to participate, more athletes to compete, and a much wider audience to enjoy it, theoretically.

 

There's a visceral satisfaction to physical activity that no amount of intellectual stimulation can provide. I remember very clearly several episodes from college where my academic workload was very heavy. After several weeks of nothing but classes and homework, I'd find myself sleeping less and less but being more and more tired and unable to concentrate. The only cure for it was to take a night off from studying and spend several hours at the fencing club, sweating my butt off. After that, it was easier to stay in an academic groove.

I've observed the same thing as the mom of a toddler: lack of active play makes for a child who can't focus or listen, no matter how much he loves the sedentary activity before him.

Why must either extreme dominate? Life is generally more enjoyable when it's a conglomeration of many choices.

 

I totally agree with Rallymama.

During my busy season when I work 65+ hours a week for 13 weeks I get in to a rut in which I'm doing nothing but working, eating, and sleeping. It drains my energy like nothing else can. The only surefire cure is to get to the gym and spend some time chasing after a little blue ball in the racquetball court.

I have also noticed that with my son (age 7) that at the end of a school day his body has a craving for physical activity. If the school was smart they would move gym/recess to a point in the day where the kids are reaching an intellectual low.

 

Yep, I agree. The human body and mind needs sports. It needs excersise of some kind. Anyway playing a sport on a computer or what ever is nothing like actully playing it, and this will never change no matter how good technology gets IMO. The feeling of playing hockey in pouring rain, not been able to see the ball when it's a few metres in front of you; or doing archery in wonderful fine weather, with the sun shinning in your eyes, and fantails flying above your head; or running through thick muddy forest, playing paint ball. A computer would never, no matter how smart computers get, be able to creat the same atmosphere as actully playing the sport.

 

Part of the problem I see with gaming becoming as popular as sports is that sports, in addition to being participatory, generally also have some sort of spectator appeal. I just don't see gaming as having much potential as a spectator activity; I, for one, would much rather be playing a game myself rather that spending any significant time watching someone else play. And unlike sports, if I am at home, it is very easy for me to just go into the next room, turn on the computer, and start playing.

And I certainly hope that gaming doesn't surpass sports. As a society, we are in the worst physical condition that we have ever been, and as much as I hate to admit it, games are part of the reason for that.

 

In addition to the spectator element of sports, there's a social element. Velcro and I met on a bike ride - he had joined the club to get back into dating following his divorce, and I was actually dating a different member at the time. We've made some great friends through cycling.

While watching the Tour de France coverage, I heard an interesting anecdote from Phil Liggett. He told the story of trying to interview Irish racer Sean Kelly but being unable to get him to talk on camera. However, when they put him on a bike, added a mic, and followed along with a camera on a motorcycle, he wouldn't shut up. Try that with a computer game!

 

I hate to be the one raining on everyone's parade, but here goes...

I believe that actual physical sports will never be replaced by "virtual" sports, but for an entirely different reason than those posted above. While doing sports might make the performer feel better, more focused, etc., those watching sports will be interested for an entirely different reason.

I admit to being a rather cynical person, but my take on things is as follows: People will want to see physical sports, not for aestethic purposes, but because that's how you get to see blood. People are no different today than they were in ancient Rome; they want blood, death and suffering, preferrably so close they can smell it. The "voyeur instinct" is strong in humans, and the world is chock full of people getting off on death and misery. Anyone who belives me wrong need only take a close look at the audience at a boxing match.

Therefore, I put forth the theory that when it comes to watching someone get badly hurt, people will always, always want the real thing. The romantic in me sincerely wish it wasn't that way, but the cynic in me knows that it is.

 

It already has. Well, in South Korea at least. The players there are worshipped like pop stars. Weird.

 

Umm...hasn't electronic gaming already beaten sports?

If you mean on TV, then no.

But as far as time spent by members, video games won a long time ago. By a landslide as a matter of fact.

 

There is much more to it than that.
I would say I spend more time on the computer than playing sports but then I would place sports way above computer games any day.

 

Well, I like comp gaming a heck more than sports, honestly. Running around like crazy just sucks big time.

My 2 cents.

 

But then sitting in front of the computer all day can cause many different medical problems which sports cannot. Just been inactive all day can lead to major health problems later in life.