Sports Videogames And Sports - Symbiotic Or Parasitic?

Thanks to CNN Money for their column discussing whether sports themselves are helped or hurt by the increased popularity of sports videogames. The author argues: "You've got to wonder if sports leagues are sleeping with the enemy embracing video games. Youth participation in sports is declining, as is overall viewership of sports on cable and television by the targeted group." The NBA's licensing director also mentions a perceived change in attitudes: "In the past video games wanted to look like TV. Now TV wants to look like video games." Although the leagues argue "the [video] games can spur participation and viewership in the [real-life] games", the CNN columnist isn't so sure, concluding: "The leagues may not have a choice but to try to embrace the video games. But the video games' popularity isn't a long-term win for the sports themselves."

Comments

Sports games can evangelize

[leviramsey]

For instance, American Football is a sport which is known for tactical depth and rule density.

In addition to the NFL, I'm a huge fan of NFL Europe (arguably a bigger fan of NFLE than the NFL). On online fora (web boards and mailing lists), I've encountered large numbers of people (mostly under 20) in the UK who became fans of the sport thanks to playing Madden. The game allowed them to get into the rules and understand the strategies, which is a critical part of becoming a fan of the sport.

Co-Existence

[cgenman]

Sports games co-exist with other forms of sports entertainment. In the same way that a person may now go to a bar to watch the game, or throw a ball with their kids, or read Sports Illustrated, they may also now play the videogame. One could just as well argue that adults read the sports page instead of watching the game. If a college kid is playing a round of NBA Basketball between classes, that is not going to prevent them from playing in the intermural sports teams after dinner.

Videogames are now irrecoverably part of the sports ecosystem, the same way that radio broadcasts created sports heros and television broadcasts created the instant replay.

Lumping all videogames together in this article is unnecessary, and shows a lack of understanding on the part of the author. It's as if supporting sports gaming implies the support of Deus Ex. He doesn't say how non-sport television shows doesn't do anything but hurt... Or how bars that don't show the game are contributing nothing to the cause.

Honestly, professional sports is on a slow decline in this country because they are out of touch. While most kids are skateboarding, rock climbing, and doing other physical independent activities, sports broadcasters have stuck with the idea that large traditional team sports will always be the ideal. We're moving away from a team-oriented society, to one where individuals and very small groups work with a great deal of autonomy and specialized knowledge to achieve their ends. A weekly x-games show would probably be a hit with the ratings, but the chance to do such a thing has passed by the broadcasters (again) because of their lack of vision.

They might receive more sympathy, if professional sports weren't prohibitively expensive. Certainly, not being able to afford actually going to the game has nothing to do with waning interest. With tickets going for roughly the same price as a trip to the Opera, most people are priced out of seeing any professional event in person. Playing hockey will make you like the game, but seeing it in person will make you a fan of a team. That fandom is an essential part of the sporting ecosystem.

Part of the image of the classic baseball player was that of the clean-cut but slightly unshaven man sleeping in a bus on the way to his next game. They were hardworking individuals with a strong ethic, rough but approachable. With player salaries hovering around 800,000 per year, the image has changed to that of the pampered superstar, likely to get off the plane and have a manicure before being wisked away in a limo to the Park Plaza. Sure, they train all of the time, but that hard work is only emphasized in Gatoraid's commercials. And certainly, no modern sports star from the majors can be considered approachable, emulatable, or otherwise attainable. Tony Hawk retains this ability (and whose public stardom is based on his tremendously successful videogame) because Tony is "one of us" who worked hard and got good at a sport, but retains his middle class status. Barry Bonds is now firmly upper class, and would never be seen with any dirt on his uniform.

The sports moguls lost touch, plain and simple. This demonizing of videogames is just a sign of that.