Video Games: Sport or Not?

Video Games are one of the main sources of entertainment throughout the entire world. With today's technology, video games are becoming more advance with their graphics and the way they are played. Many people have argued whether or not video games can be considered as an actual sport, but there is no way video games can fall under the category of being an actual sporting event. However, with the technology we are making, video games may one day become a sport.

First, the word "sport" is defined as an athletic activity requiring skill or physical ability and often a competitive nature. The word "athletic" does match the description of playing video games. Athleticism does not include sitting in front of a television or a computer. Yes, it does take skill to play video games, especially if you are playing online against other people, but nothing physical is involved in playing video games, except for moving your thumbs, if you're playing on a console, or moving your fingers and hands if you are playing on a computer. So video games cannot be considered a sport. They require no athletic activity and are rather considered as an entertainment activity.

However, in many places of the world, tournament for video games are held and have cash prizes for winning. In Korea and Japan, video games are taken very seriously and might b considered a sport there. They have cafes filled with computers just for people to play games online. Koreans take video games more serious than anyone else. The game "Starcraft" is a strategy game which is one of the most favorite games to the Koreans. They host many tournaments and even have a T.V. channel dedicated to Starcraft in order for fans to watch others play from home. Even with all the tournaments, video games cannot be defined as a sport because they still require no athletic ability.

With today's technology and the technology we will have in the future, video games might become an actual sport. The Nintendo Wii for example, the controllers are motion sensed. The game "Wii Sports" players actually have to make a swing motion to hit a baseball, move back and forth and swing to hit a tennis ball, and move their hands really fast as if they are running in a race. The Wii actually requires physical activity of the whole body and could bring the world of video games into becoming a sport.

In conclusion, video games cannot fall under the category