To many in an older generation, the rise of esports rings alarm bells. Reports of children spending an unhealthy amount of time and money on games have become commonplace. Even Prince Harry offered rare public criticism earlier this year. “That game [Fornite] shouldn’t be allowed,” he said. “It’s created to addict, an addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It’s so irresponsible.”Oh, great! Another demonising of gaming coming up, courtesy of the dear old Grauniad...
But wait!
Yet while fears around the rise of esports abound, in bedrooms and internet cafes around the world games such as League of Legends, Dota 2 and Fortnite have become a cultural phenomenon, bringing young people from different regions and religions together and bridging divides. Slang, inside jokes and dance moves flow out of them as if they were a proto-society.
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Their popularity may be about to eclipse traditional sports, but they actually perform a surprisingly similar function, for a younger age group, to the one fulfilled by football terraces for their parents and grandparents. Because what draws us to these games isn’t the need to feed a compulsion. In most cases, it’s kinship – a very ancient and tribal desire to be part of a group, and one that forms the basis of any team sport.Well, well, well!
There are detractors, usually of the 'waah! big corporations!' type, but mostly, it's overall a positive article. I guess every blind squirrel does find an acorn...
There's a science fiction story I read many years ago about an America where children spend most of their time playing computer games. Although they become famous for their gaming skills, they have wasted muscles, bad posture, and no physical stamina. At the end of the story, it becomes apparent the games were instigated by China and, when the time was right, they simply walked into America with little or no resistance.
ReplyDeleteThat was fiction. Today, look at the fact of many of the electronic games and communication systems are produced by China; film studios taken over by China; the amount of property in the USA owned by Chinese corporations (in other words, sections of the Chinese government); millions of dollars owed to China, and so on. The Chinese have always played the long game and I wonder if that fictional story could become fact.
Penseivat
"...and, when the time was right, they simply walked into America with little or no resistance."
ReplyDeleteIf they time it when the Superbowl is on, too... ;)