When fingers fly over the keys: Interest in electronic games is growing – and the audience is large.
Photo: Reuters
Splendor, youth and financial potential: the International Olympic Committee is interested in hosting the Olympic Games in the field of eSports. But there is still a long way to go, and the criticism is great.
HeyOlympic gold for winning a computer game? The medal ceremony, complete with winner’s podium and national anthem, for the young men who let their fingers fly over the console or keyboard for their sporting triumph? Anything unreal. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wants to host the Olympic Games using eSports in the foreseeable future. If Thomas Bach had his way. The President recently instructed the responsible International Olympic Committee to consider organizing such an event.
Bach is guided by several numbers in his project. According to him, the target group of global gaming fans is three billion people – of which more than 500 million people are interested in virtual simulation of sports. So, football on console, but also bike racing with a home trainer on a digital road. In fact, professional gaming of a wide range of on-screen games – also referred to as sports by its biggest fans – has evolved into a massive business with millions of fans over the past eight years.
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