"Cruel" computer games will not fall on the Olympics

Photos from the last Quake World Championship 2017, where Nikita “clawz” Marcinski won.

At the moment, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering the possibility of including e-sports in the program of the Olympic Games. Some IOC members believe that this is necessary “so that the Olympic Games remain relevant for new generations.” The program of the Olympic Games of 2024 will begin to take shape in 2019, then the final decision will be made. Various sports are constantly added or excluded from the program of the Olympiad, so the chances of e-sports are not slim, especially since in 2018 e-sports will be included in the program of sports competitions of the Asian Olympic Games in 2022. Winners will receive full Olympic medals.

Specific games, too, have not yet chosen, but at the nearest demonstration event in the center of track and field athletics will compete in Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Dota 2 and King of Fighters XIV.

By definition, sporting competition is the activity of people organized according to certain rules, which consists in comparing their physical and / or intellectual abilities. E-sports is 100% consistent with this definition, requiring players to carefully prepare, years of training, quick response, tactical and strategic thinking, psychological stability. Individual and team matches at major championships is a very spectacular event that attracts a huge number of spectators and spectators with millions in prizes. By 2019, the global audience for eSports competitions will reach 303 million people, analysts predict Superdata. Here, eSports can only be envied by many Olympic types, such as curling or archery.

The only question is which specific computer games to include in the Olympic program. There really can be difficulties, because there are a lot of games, world championships are held for each game individually: Counter-Strike, StarCraft, Dota 2, League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, World of Tanks, etc. And will there be in the program cybersport all-around, where players will fight in all games in turn?

Now the President of the International Sports Committee, Thomas Bach, shared his thoughts on this issue. In a comment for the newspaper South China Morning PostHe said that he potentially prefers competitive computer games that are based on different kinds of sports - this is virtual football, hockey, etc., but in no case games that require killing an opponent. The "brutal" killing of the enemy game may contradict the Olympic values: excellence, friendship and respect. Friendship as the highest Platonic value implies friendship between peoples and cultures. Sport is the tool that helps to find mutual understanding between people, even helps to resolve international conflicts. By the way, this is connected with the ancient tradition of the Olympic Truce, dating back to the Olympic Games of antiquity. Killing is not a place at the Olympics, not even virtual killing.

“We want to promote the elimination of discrimination, violence, as well as the establishment of peace between people. This is not consistent with games of violence, explosions, and murders, ”said Thomas Bach. “Here we have to draw the line.”