Shana Park
WRIT 1133-9
November 14, 2019
Open Letter to the International Olympic Committee
Dear Olympic committee,
I have heard you guys are going back and forth on including Esports in this global event, but are still reluctant for numerous reasons.
Some say that computer games are too violent, as many games include shooting and killing. Also, Esports supporter around the world are mostly the new generation. However, the concept of Esports may be hard to understand for the older generation so they are reluctant to recognize it to be part of the Olympic games. Another problem to resolve would be the trademarks that the companies that own the games have. Unlike traditional sports, the computer games would continuously have to be managed by its companies such as Riot Games or Blizzard Entertainment.
The idea that video games are nothing but unhealthy is old news. The Esports market has been growing very fast in the 21st century and it is time to shed light on the topic. By simply sitting in a classroom, it is easy to find black laptops adorned with red lighting that contain a NVIDIA 1060 graphics card, perfect for gaming on campus. As the number of gamers increase every year, it has now become a billion-dollar industry. In fact, the industry has been expanding and trying to come out of the closet and become more accepted by the public as an official activity and career instead of its negative connotation that gamers are Mountain Dew drinking, friendless couch potatoes who failed in life.
It may be a little hard for traditional sports fans to understand, but esports fans follow and cheer for their favorite teams from their favorite games, watch world competitions and Twitch streams, just like football fans watch the NFL.
On October 4th, 2017, the University of Utah announced the creation of their varsity eSports team, who will perform in League of Legends, Overwatch, Hearthstone and Rocket League. The University of California Irvine, that has one of the top eSports programs in the country also provides scholarships to their esports athletes. Like the NCAA, in 2016, a non-profit organization named NACE was established: National Association of Collegiate Esports. This organization has over 125 member schools and more than 2800 student-athletes.
In 2018, the Asian Games had a demonstration section for esports. The events included League of Legends, Overwatch, and StarCraft II. According to ESPN, eSports will be showcased as an official medal event in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. In fact, in August 2018, the co-president of the Olympic bid committee, Tony Estanguet, told the Associated Press he is considering the adding of video games to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The largest esports market is, of course, North America. According to Forbes, The esports revenue was $257 million in 2017, and it is believed that this number will more than double to reach $607 million by 2020. Esports is also a very attractive market for advertisers since it targets the young generation.
Lee Sang Hyeok, also known as Faker, may be the most famous player in the gaming world. This Korean League of Legends mid-laner is part of the SK Telecom professional team. He is said to be the best League of Legends player, as he led his team to victory three times in the Worlds series. Though the exact numbers were not revealed, his yearly earning have been rumored to be over $2.5 million. Fun fact: in Korea, every Korean men are required to perform two years of military service unless you have a special circumstance since the South and North are technically still in war. And one of them is that if you get a medal in the Olympics, you do not have to fulfill your military service. So many eSports fans are trying to get Esports to be recognized as a sport in the Olympics so that Faker does not have to go to the army.
We are living in the future where computer games, that did not even exist thirty years ago, are now about to be at the same level as soccer or baseball. Gaming is no longer a time-killing activity for geeks but an actual industry. I am hoping that you will soon understand that watching the League of Legends World Championship is not any different than watching other sports events. As the new generation rises, it is time for the Olympics to embrace the change and incorporate esports into sports.
Thank you for your consideration,
Shana Park
