Bringing digital games to the Olympic ones

As inconceivable as it may seem, some people are trying their best to get at least some aspects of video gaming viewed as a sport, and perhaps even one day incorporated into the Olympic Games.

Ted Owen is the CEO of the Global Gaming League, which is based in Santa Monica, California, and is an organiser of online gaming tournaments and events. It stages gaming competitions, and produces television content for networks worldwide. They are now heading the battle for Olympic acceptance.

In one small way they have already seen some success. They managed to get the Chinese Olympic Committee to agree to feature a gaming tournament as an official welcome event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Unfortunately, the event was later cancelled.

Matt Wood was a pro-gamer in that gaming championship series and sees similarities between gaming and more traditional sports.

“It’s the same skills as if you were a hockey player or a baseball player, anything like that. Mostly it’s mental. You don’t have a good mental game, you could be the best player, and all of a sudden you’re on stage, on live TV or with cameras in your face, and if you get nervous, you’re going to lose”

Most of Owen’s efforts to have gaming included in any sports event including the Vancouver Games have so far been unsuccessful. Some agree that sports have to have some type of physical activity, other than rolling your eyes and flicking thumbs or a mouse.