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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."
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.
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.
Cool post bro, highfive \o
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).
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.
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