There has been talk for a few years now about bringing esports on to a bigger stage.
And what bigger stage is there than the Olympics?
Well, FIFA fans may have come one step closer to finding themselves competing for gold medals instead of spending coins on fantasy players.
The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, recently spoke with the Associated Press during the 2018 Asian games, making it clear where he and the Olympics stood on introducing esports to the prestigious stage.
“We cannot have in the Olympic program a game which is promoting violence or discrimination,” he said.
“So-called killer games. They, from our point of view, are contradictory to the Olympic values and cannot, therefore, be accepted.”
Bach was also questioned on the inclusion of combat sports in the Olympic games and how this was different.
He said: “Of course every combat sport has its origins in a real fight among people.
“But sport is the civilized expression about this. If you have egames where it’s about killing somebody, this cannot be brought into line with our Olympic values.”
The most popular esports games right now do centre around ‘violence’, although it’s mostly in a fantasy setting.
For example, Fortnite isn’t exactly realistic and League of Legends isn’t based on reality.
This does, however, raise the question of whether sports-based titles such as FIFA, NBA2K and Rocket League could lead the charge for esports into the Olympic games.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, the Paris 2024 team has been discussing hosting an official esports event for some time, believing esports will help get more young people interested in the Olympics.
Would you watch FIFA being played at the Olympics?
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