A “DIFFERENT REALM”
Earlier in the year, in response to media queries on the lineup, the IOC said the primary goal of the Olympic agenda was to develop virtual sports.
“This is why we have focused first on virtual and simulated sports games in the Olympic Esports Series,” it added, referring to the tournaments leading up to the live finals at Olympic Esports Week in Singapore.
IOC also said it was important that the featured games align with Olympic values such as participation inclusivity and “avoiding any personal violence”.
But initial reactions across the globe were that of dissatisfaction and disappointment.
The co-founder of London-based e-sports agency AFK, Matt Woods, told the Guardian newspaper he was “a little embarrassed”.
“Instead of working with existing game publishers or well-established tournaments, it seems that the Olympic committee has instead decided to use this event as a marketing vehicle for brand-new, poorly thought out, unlicensed mobile games,” he added.
Data released by market research company YouGov showed that 80 per cent of e-sports followers resided in the Asia Pacific, with the multiplayer battle arena game League of Legends (LoL) ranked as the most popular globally and in Asia.
None of the titles on showcase at Olympic Esports Week – such as the archery-influenced Tic Tac Bow – made it to the top 25 list of most popular games in Asia, according to YouGov.
“It’s a very questionable decision to use these games and call it the Olympic Esports Series,” said e-sports commentator Eugene Eu.
The 27-year-old, who has been live commentating since 2012, said the selection would be understandable if the IOC kept to its previous branding of the Olympic Virtual Series.
“That way, we can understand and draw some links from physical sports versus virtual sports,” said Mr Eu. “But to call it e-sports, that’s a completely different realm.”
Those in the community know that “this isn’t e-sports”, he added.
Mr Aleef also said new forms of e-sports also provided opportunities for new players to join the community.
On Tuesday, organisers announced that veteran national sailor and two-time Southeast Asian Games champion Colin Ng would represent Singapore once more – this time in the Virtual Regatta simulator at Olympic Esports Week.
The founder of e-sports events company Zenway, Lee Jian Ming, said the IOC needed to better understand what “proper” e-sports titles were compared with “digitalised” sports, which could differ from what mainstream gaming fans expect.
“(But) if the objective was about awareness and getting people to know about Olympic Esports Week this time round, I think they were successful,” he added.
When asked about ticket sales for the event, a spokesperson from the local organising committee would only say that it is expecting more than 20,000 visitors.
“Ticket sales are still open and we foresee the demand to grow as we get closer to the event,” the spokesperson told CNA on Thursday.
Mr Tan, the Cyber Games winner among other accolades, also acknowledged efforts by organisers to include in the programme key local figures such as the Singapore Esports Association – the national governing body – and well-known professional player Daryl Koh, who goes by the alias iceiceice.
If it can help the general population “slowly understand” and view e-sports as a competitive, national sport, then Olympic Esports Week is a step in the right direction for the future of e-sports in Singapore, said Mr Tan.
What might that future look like? As he wrote in his comment on the minister’s Facebook post last year: “An era where e-sports games are recognised as a traditional sport in the Olympics”.
This content was originally published here.
