Sports Bars Changing Channels For Video Gamers

dtmos wrote in to say that "This summer, StarCraft II has become the newest bar room spectator sport. Fans organize so-called Barcraft events, taking over pubs and bistros from Honolulu to Florida and switching big-screen TV sets to Internet broadcasts of professional game matches. As they root for their on-screen superstars, StarCraft enthusiasts can sow confusion among regular patrons... But for sports-bar owners, StarCraft viewers represent a key new source of revenue from a demographic—self-described geeks—they hadn't attracted before."

Comments

Still not a sport, try as you may..

[Anonymous Coward]

I guarantee that if I'm at the bar watching a White Sox game, and somebody turns it off in favor of some video game, there's going to be hell to pay.

(replace "White Sox" with your favorite team that plays a real sport based on physical prowess)

Come on, bring out the -1's. Show me how malevolent you really are, slashdot moderators.

Re:Still not a sport, try as you may..

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Luckily, finely honed reflexes and well developed fine-motor skills are not forms of physical prowess... so the status of Real Sports is safe.

C'mon: Obviously, for the basic reason that our metabolisms sure as hell didn't evolve for sitting on the couch and letting our fingers do the work, getting actual exercise is healthy and useful(some people are even into it for its own sake, I'm told).

Plunking your ass on the couch and cheering as your tribe fights the away tribe, though, bears basically the same relationship to real physical activity that plunking your ass on the couch and cheering as your RTS-er of choice drops some stimpacked marines on the opposition's mining outpost. That is, None At All.

Spectating isn't a sport, no matter what you are staring at.

Re:Still not a sport, try as you may..

[Yamioni]

I have to respectfully disagree. Starcraft and other competitive online games are just as much a sport as baseball and football. Just like traditional sports, they require that you have good reflexes. They also require that you strategise and think ahead, predicting your opponent's moves better than they predict yours, in order to succeed. Just because the player isn't wearing protective gear and sweating in the sun doesn't mean it is any less intense; the focus is just shifted more off of the player's body and onto the mind. That also doesn't mean that the sport is less enjoyable or interesting to both the participants and the spectators. Different strokes for different folks ya know?

We live in America. Majority rules. If ten people want to watch the Sox play, and 20 want to watch Starcraft, the bar owner is going to change the TV. And if you start shit about it, they will happily tell you to leave. Money talks. Mouthy assholes who think the world should cater to them and their every whim walk.

Re:Still not a sport, try as you may..

[Skarecrow77]

I've never understood how FPS capture-the-flag games that had a good active spectator mode, like Tribes, etc. never caught on as a spectator sport with video gamers and traditional sports fans alike. It seems like they've got everything your average sports fan would enjoy. a medium size squad of players who have specific positions to fill. quick turnovers, last minute saves, plenty of opportunity for both team tactical dynamics AND individual heroics to affect the match, etc. Easy-to-explain goals and dynamics that don't becoming boring (unless the map encourages turtling).

Seems like it's almost custom-built to be a great spectator sport.

Re:Still not a sport, try as you may..

[_0xd0ad]

And if you look at "athletic" it says "of or relating to athletes or athletics".
And if you look at "athletics" it says "exercises, sports, or games engaged in by athletes".

It's circular, so it can mean anything you want it to mean.

Re:Still not a sport, try as you may..

[Anonymous Coward]

And if you are a "regular" at a sports bar you most likely suffer at least some mild retardation.

Amen. I guess at some point in life they decided "hmm, is that a bunch of overpaid athletes? i'm going to pretend like everything they do is both important and has a significant impact on my personal life. i will get really excited about their every move and make a big deal out of every action they take. i may even get into shouting matches or even fistfights with other people who don't like my team, because they are like infidels."

I understand how the GP feels. Retarded and confused is a tough way to go through life.

You sure about that? It looks like big business to me. Everything is designed for them.

The newspapers are written for a 3rd-grade reading level (not kidding about this, look it up) just to make sure they don't get confused by all those scary polysyllabic words. It's almost like an unwritten law that you are a terrible person if you ever intellectually challenge someone in any way or ever expect them to know how to use a dictionary.

The entertainers. Most of the celebrities, actors, athletes have the emotional maturity of a 12-year-old. This is what gets promoted. Ever watch say Desperate Housewives and look at how petty and vindictive and catty they are? That's what gets ratings. Ever watch Entertainment Tonight and see how some insignificant piece of melodrama is treated like a profound event worthy of public scrutiny? That's what gets ratings.

Warning labels. Now they tell you that bug spray is poisonous. Wow, you mean something so toxic it can be sprayed on a cockroach and the cockroach will drop dead might be bad to ingest? You don't say. Coffee is hot. Wow, you mean a beverage made from boiling or near-boiling water could be hot? Damn I am glad they protect all the stupids from having to rub two brain cells together to discern these things.

No, the tough way to go through life is to be one of the minority who sees all these things we get so excited about and spend so much time and energy on, and then sees how stupid, wasteful, and pointless they all are.

We should understand this as a society and leave the retarded to their "Sports Bars" (It is so cute we call them that.) We can pad the walls. Guard the entrance and keep them safe from "outsiders".

Well it would be amusing just for once to see a sports game get pre-empted by something else. Just to see how the sports fans like it when it happens to them. Because usually a football game or a basketball game will pre-empt ANYTHING ELSE that's on the air no matter how much more merit it may have. It's like mental crack rock for the shallow. Those who aren't jock-sniffers and aren't obsessed with how well some millionaires can play a game have had to put up with that for a long time now.

Sad to say

[m50d]

but said demographic can also be very stingy. I suspect a large proportion of them will be teetotal, and many of those who aren't will buy a single drink and nurse it through the evening. So I'd be interested to hear whether the bars actually make enough money for this to be worthwhile.

Re:Sad to say

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

You just aren't selling it right:

It isn't a shot, it's a potion of +1STR, +1CON(Side effects may include; but are not limited to, -1DEX, +1d6 illusory CHA, -1d6WIS).

Re:Nerds can socialize...IRL???

[geekoid]

My friends and I talk about starcraft WITH our lady friends. Why would someone be with a lady friend that can't talk to about their hobbies?

Re:Don't you mean..

[h4rr4r]

I have seen games that could have been played by 4 players, 2 pitchers and 2 catchers for 90% of the game. Also WTF is up with the lack of a playclock? The game is too slow to be entertaining.

Re:And lose all their normal sports customers?

[brkello]

You act as if sports bars put all their TVs on one sport. Having one set of TVs on Starcraft 2 is not going to matter. Besides, businesses will do what makes them money. If they find more people come in for the SC2 events and they make more money...say goodbye to baseball or whoever else is the least represented crowd.

Some Locations

[Saishuuheiki]

For those interested in where this is actually happening, here's a forum thread which has locations (with map) and descriptions for a tournament this weekend
Barcraft Thread
Barcraft Location Map

Some locations: Seattle WA, Toronto, San Diego CA, Washington DC, New York City, Portland OR, Tampa FL, Gainesville FL, Edmonton (Canada), Honolulu, Waterloo (Canada), Chicago, Boston, Dallas TX

Re:Don't you mean..

[gfxguy]

Obligatory Homer Simpson quote, when sober at the baseball game: "I never realized how boring this game is..."