Esports encompass a massive array of online and console-based games, but the proliferation and popularity of first-person shooter titles could bar the modern sports genre from being included at future Olympic or Paralympic Games.
At the Asian Games in Indonesia last week, IOC President Thomas Bach said that “violent” esports do not fall in line with Olympic values, according to the AP, jeopardizing esports’ bid to be part of the world’s largest sporting event. Bach’s statement came while he was at a pan-Asian tournament where esports was making its debut as a “demonstration sport.”
Mashable argued that Bach’s statement glossed over esports as a broad category without regard for a more detailed look at what games are played. Esports also encompass games based on actual sports like Madden, NBA, and FIFA that are all popular and played worldwide. Basketball and soccer are already part of the Olympics, making those games, as well as a hockey title, possible candidates for inclusion.
Bach, a 1976 Olympic gold medalist in fencing, asserted that combat sports that are part of the Olympics have their roots in “real fights among people,” according to the AP, but none of them involve killing outright.
SportTechie Takeaway
Bach’s comments represent a shift in tone for the IOC. Recently, esports had been gaining traction towards inclusion in the Olympics. Intel sponsored an esports tournament in PyeongChang just before the Winter Olympics took place there in February, and there has been talk of esports’ inclusion at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. This summer, the IOC also held a forum to discuss the potential of esports as an Olympic medal event, recognizing that gamers may train and prepare similarly to traditional athletes.