Video games have come a long way in a very short time. From their earliest foundations in the sixties to being in almost every home in America, this medium has grown faster than anyone could have thought. But now it appears that they will make another huge leap and join the world of the Olympics.
What is happening?
With the upcoming summer Olympics in Paris, the International Olympic Committee, or the IOC for short, is gathering. The group designs the Olympics, including locations and events. This year, one of the biggest items on their agenda is the formation of a new set of Olympic Esports events.
This design is being made at an upcoming meeting and will be announced after July 23 – 24, when the meeting concludes. So, we could see more esports presence at our next set of Olympic games. They are not completely absent from this one.
The IOC already held a full week of esports-related events last year in Singapore. To say that the event was a success would be an understatement, with its mass appeal and fantastic reception. This seems to have been the push that the IOC needed to make an actual set of Esports-related games for the Olympics.
While there is no word yet on what games could be used, there are a few that I’m sure you are thinking. This will likely be one of the discussion topics at the meeting, and hopefully, we will learn at least which ones are being considered. This could be one of the large designs for the whole planning stage.
Why is the IOC doing this?
Of course, I’m sure you are wondering why the IOC is doing this. The Olympics are often thought of as a set of purely physical events, but that is not the case. Several games based on intelligence and brain power, ranging from bridge to chess, have been part of the Olympics.
So why wouldn’t the Olympics consider using one of the most popular types of activity on earth for the game? Of course, this is not to be done purely for intellectual reasons; it is also related to a main feature of the games. Its audience.
The Olympics exist to bring people together from all over, but if nobody watches, they can’t really do that. Esports has been growing faster and faster over the last ten years, and the IOC took notice. This is more than likely why they held the week of activities in Singapore last year. That event brought in a group audience that ranged from 13 to 34, the full next generation the Olympics need to strive for.
This will undoubtedly get some push-back, but the Olympics need to be where competition and people are, and for the foreseeable future, that will be video games. They will need to be careful to select games that can fit a long-lasting and dynamic balance, but if they do, this is the future of the games.
