International Olympic Committee: Olympic eSports Discussion Was “Premature”

International Olympic Committee: Olympic eSports Discussion Was "Premature"

Earlier this year, we reported of a discussion happening with the International Olympic Committee about integrating eSports in the Olympic Games. Naturally, the support for such a move grew bigger and more passionate as time passed by. Unfortunately, including it in the Olympic Games isn’t as simple as many have thought as there were a number of roadblock which prevented it from happening.

Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was hesitant to include them due to the “violence and discrimination” that games could include, and now the International Olympic Committee is calling the discussions “premature” altogether.

That new statement came out of the Olympic Summit that took place in Lausanne, Switzerland over the weekend. While they recognized that just as much practice and effort is required in some eSports as in other sports already featured in the Olympics, that train of thought “cannot necessarily be said to apply to leisure electronic gaming.”

Because of that, the International Olympic Committee is encouraging further dialogue on whether eSports can actually be considered a sport, but is not yet ready to put that n the Olympics just yet.

That wasn’t the only issue. One highlights the fact that some games “are not compatible with the Olympic values” likely referencing Thomas Bach’s recent comment. They also say that the industry is evolving rapidly “towards augmented reality and virtual reality” which could cause issues.

Finally, they called the games industry “fragmented in nature, with tough competition between commercial operators. With gaming being a commercially-driven industry, it may go against the “values-based” sports featured in the Olympics.

Simply put, the inclusion of eSports may still be a bit far off but all hope isn’t lost yet. With the committee encouraging discussions, there is clearly room for consideration, just that people need to be more educated about it. Let’s hope for the best, shall we?

Source: GamesIndustry

Pokdepinion: The whole thing about gaming being commercially-driven and other sports being “values-based” is a bit strange. Aren’t most of the sports in the Olympics commercialized to begin with?