The Problem With Most eSports Games

I grew up playing video games when you were considered almost an outcast for doing so and that was at the time when "eSport" meant you attended a video game tournament either at a friend's house or at a local comic book store. The eSport of today is definitely more fleshed out with a structure similar to that of their more physical sport counterpart.

There's a problem with the eSport of today and its the fact that some of them require their athletes to get familiar with an entirely new version of their game every year. If we think of Call of Duty series, for example, they release a new game every year forcing the pros to learn new mechanics. While it's true that, at least to a casual player, it may not be that different but the nuances in gameplay are noticed by the pros enough so that they need to spend time re-learning them.

I think we can all understand this problem and why the likes of Counter Strike Go, Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch may be a better path for pros. Those games are tweaked every patches but it's generally not as big of a change as the total make-over of a new Call of Duty entry. The problem that those game faces, however, is the dwindling gaming community. It can be difficult to maintain a community interested in a game that is a few years old no matter how good it is.

eSport is a more dynamic field than traditional sport. It constantly needs to adapt to the wimps of the fan base. If there's not enough fan interest in a eSport league then it either dies or need to re-invent itself via a new game entry. The lack of consistency is a bit of a frustration for me but we do live in a wonderful time as far as video game is concerned. I'm not longer an outcast - I'm part of a majority.

eSport is for Everyone!

There are biological differences between the man and female body which may be the reasoning behind having dedicated sports teams rather than having mixe ones. Traditional sport also has separate divisions for people with disabilities.

eSport is still in its infancy and already we can see a division similar to traditional sports. In the eSport world,biological differences, or disabilities, doesn’t always make difference on how good someone can play. Why don’t we have female players competing against male ones? Why don’t we have more people with disabilities competing? Why don’t we have teams that would include people from all groups?
Let’s not bring the misconceptions of traditional sport to the eSport world. Women/Men, people with disabilities and everything in between can and should play video games with each other at a competitive level.

The following video is an example of a blind man competing at a Street Fighter V tournament. How many more people, like this player, could do this given the chance?

At the Canadian Atlantic eSport League, you are welcome no matter what your sex or limitations are. If you think you’re the best, then come prove it.

Launch of Atlantic eSport League

All signs shows that eSport is becoming the next big thing in the competitive industry. There are talks of having divisions of it at the Olympics, big pockets are investing in it and news outlets now have sections dedicated to the discipline.

To me, this means that we need to have a more leagues, more circuits, more people managing everything behind the scenes. This is why i created the Facebook group Atlantic eSport League - a East Canadian eSport division. The idea is to find, and connect with, those interested in contributing in this growing industry.

Do you live in Atlantic Canada? Are you looking to join a eSport team in the area? Do you have a team already? Do you have other ways to contribute to the cause?

Click here to join!