Where to for Super Rugby?

[liquor box]

I work with a young fella and we were discussing what we watch on TV, he told me he rarely watches TV and just watches youtube.

I asked what he watches and he told me he watches people playing computer games, I was stunned and asked why he watches it and does not play himself instead and he told me that he sees it as being no different to watching football instead of playing the game.

Hard to argue with despite me finding it strange, I think I am now too old to understand 23 year olds.

I guess whether something is a sport is up to the individual

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I work with a young fella and we were discussing what we watch on TV, he told me he rarely watches TV and just watches youtube.

I asked what he watches and he told me he watches people playing computer games, I was stunned and asked why he watches it and does not play himself instead and he told me that he sees it as being no different to watching football instead of playing the game.

Hard to argue with despite me finding it strange, I think I am now too old to understand 23 year olds.

I guess whether something is a sport is up to the individual

Similar situation with my kid brother. He's 21 and outside of playing games will watch them being played competitively. It's something as a millennial I struggle to translate to a sport but it very much is as far as he and many like him are concerned.

 

[Rebel man]

I work with a young fella and we were discussing what we watch on TV, he told me he rarely watches TV and just watches youtube.

I asked what he watches and he told me he watches people playing computer games, I was stunned and asked why he watches it and does not play himself instead and he told me that he sees it as being no different to watching football instead of playing the game.

Hard to argue with despite me finding it strange, I think I am now too old to understand 23 year olds.

I guess whether something is a sport is up to the individual

There are a few nerds out there. Will never get watching people play games

You watch elite sports because it’s elite. You can just adjust the skill level on the game and get the exact same experience

 

[hifflepiff]

There are a few nerds out there. Will never get watching people play games

You watch elite sports because it’s elite. You can just adjust the skill level on the game and get the exact same experience

The majority of E-Sports are competitive I.e. they involve people playing against each other, not against AI. I'd equate it to watching competive chess, but with added need for fast reflexes.

IMO, rugby and a lot of other traditional sports are really sleeping on the threat E-sport presents as competition for the interest of younger demographics. The 2020 League of Legends World Championship had 23.04 Million Viewers (with peak viewership being nearly double that).

There's also good money to be made. The winners of the above event took home 2.34 million U.S. dollars. That's only one game, and one event. There are hundreds of others out there.

 

[Tomikin]

Similar situation with my kid brother. He's 21 and outside of playing games will watch them being played competitively. It's something as a millennial I struggle to translate to a sport but it very much is as far as he and many like him are concerned.

I once had a flu so bad I couldn't get off the couch for 3 days.. I have fetch with egg tv I was so out of it. I watch about 40 hours of league of legends world championship. . To be fair I actually liked it... I think pog was on too.. haha it was like a lava lamp I couldn't look away..

 

[Dan54]

I work with a young fella and we were discussing what we watch on TV, he told me he rarely watches TV and just watches youtube.

I asked what he watches and he told me he watches people playing computer games, I was stunned and asked why he watches it and does not play himself instead and he told me that he sees it as being no different to watching football instead of playing the game.

Hard to argue with despite me finding it strange, I think I am now too old to understand 23 year olds.

I guess whether something is a sport is up to the individual

Although it's not a sport, plenty of people watch quiz shows etc, so I suppose that not a lot differnt to watching e-sports etc. And don't forget art was actually an olympic event at some stage (early 1900s I believe), and I think chess also almost became an olympic sport in late 1990s.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

I guess after a 1000 pages you might forget the question trying to answer as i look at these latest pages and we are now discussing horse racing, chess…maybe we need to go back to page 1 or maybe we are just bored and moved onto red herring topics of relevance.

 

[Dan54]

I guess after a 1000 pages you might forget the question trying to answer as i look at these latest pages and we are now discussing horse racing, chess…maybe we need to go back to page 1 or maybe we are just bored and moved onto red herring topics of relevance.

Well we pretty well discussed where to for super rugby RN, and it's been decided, so we got to chess etc, surely you not surprised really

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Well we pretty well discussed where to for super rugby RN, and it's been decided, so we got to chess etc, surely you not surprised really

Actually no not surprised - more probably it took this long lol ;-)

 

[Pfitzy]

My kids are 14 and 17 and don't deal with commercial TV at all well. Daughter is slightly better at getting through it while watching trashy TV with her Mum, but finds the interruption to the flow of GoggleBox very irritating.

 

[hoggy]

My kids are 14 and 17 and don't deal with commercial TV at all well. Daughter is slightly better at getting through it while watching trashy TV with her Mum, but finds the interruption to the flow of GoggleBox very irritating.

Yep mine are 11 & 12 don't watch commercail TV full stop. Its all you tube/Tik Tok, Netflix, Iphones. Even as parents we barely watch TV, maybe the news, I think streaming has pretty much become the norm.
We are looking at dumping Foxtel next month, mainly due to the hassle of switching over to streaming (yep I know first world??).

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

There are a few nerds out there. Will never get watching people play games

You watch elite sports because it’s elite. You can just adjust the skill level on the game and get the exact same experience

There are a few nerds out there. Will never get watching people play games

You watch elite sports because it’s elite. You can just adjust the skill level on the game and get the exact same experience

Gaming has never been my thing but dismissing those that play at these kind of tournaments as nothing other than elite shows a lack of understanding of how it works. Gaming is hyper competitive and those that compete at the highest levels actually have to earn their way up a pretty extensive pyramid to get there.

 

[Dctarget]

Gaming has never been my thing but dismissing those that play at these kind of tournaments as nothing other than elite shows a lack of understanding of how it works. Gaming is hyper competitive and those that compete at the highest levels actually have to earn their way up a pretty extensive pyramid to get there.

For sure, they’re as dedicated as professional sports players and put in as much effort.

arguably the games can be more interesting as they’re not limited by real world physics and shit. But also I think that’s why I prefer real sports.

 

[Ignoto]

There are a few nerds out there. Will never get watching people play games

You watch elite sports because it’s elite. You can just adjust the skill level on the game and get the exact same experience

If you looking at how many people are watching eSports, then I think you'll find your view is in the minority.

Peak viewers watching an eSports tournament hits 2-5 million.

Streamers i.e. people who broadcast them playing a game hit 100-300k viewers and they stream multiple times a week.

The games these people play aren't against the computers, but other elite players. There is no adjusting the skill level. People who watch these eSports like us watching a Rugby game, can see the difference between the skills of the pro's vs themselves (and more importantly its easily measureable compared to a rugby game where we constantly say "oh I could have made the tackle").

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

If you looking at how many people are watching eSports, then I think you'll find your view is in the minority.

Peak viewers watching an eSports tournament hits 2-5 million.

Streamers i.e. people who broadcast them playing a game hit 100-300k viewers and they stream multiple times a week.

The games these people play aren't against the computers, but other elite players. There is no adjusting the skill level. People who watch these eSports like us watching a Rugby game, can see the difference between the skills of the pro's vs themselves (and more importantly its easily measureable compared to a rugby game where we constantly say "oh I could have made the tackle").

Yep. They play these games and appreciate just how skilled the elite players are in comparison. Very similar to a traditional sports fan. They are also hugely accessible and community based which is a big draw card.

Another element is the sheer number of options. Did anyone know there's such a thing as competitive 'Age of Empires'? Because there is among others. It's certainly a rapidly looming issue for traditional sports not just Rugby.

 

[Rebel man]

Yep. They play these games and appreciate just how skilled the elite players are in comparison. Very similar to a traditional sports fan. They are also hugely accessible and community based which is a big draw card.

Another element is the sheer number of options. Did anyone know there's such a thing as competitive 'Age of Empires'? Because there is among others. It's certainly a rapidly looming issue for traditional sports not just Rugby.

Let’s be honest your typical gamer sits around all day and smokes bongs. Hardly the type that were going to be athletes

 

[Derpus]

I work with a young fella and we were discussing what we watch on TV, he told me he rarely watches TV and just watches youtube.

I asked what he watches and he told me he watches people playing computer games, I was stunned and asked why he watches it and does not play himself instead and he told me that he sees it as being no different to watching football instead of playing the game.

Hard to argue with despite me finding it strange, I think I am now too old to understand 23 year olds.

I guess whether something is a sport is up to the individual

I think the difference between a sport and a game is that a sport requires athleticism. Or at least that's the distinction i make.

I tend to think 'games' are less interesting to watch than sport, e.g. golf. No less skill involved but it's just not as fun.

That said eSports are as valid as anything else people are willing to pay to watch. I played a fair bit of CS as a kid and you can definitely see the level of skill they exhibit is far beyond anything regular people get near.

 

[hifflepiff]

I think the difference between a sport and a game is that a sport requires athleticism. Or at least that's the distinction i make.

I tend to think 'games' are less interesting to watch than sport, e.g. golf. No less skill involved but it's just not as fun.

That said eSports are as valid as anything else people are willing to pay to watch. I played a fair bit of CS as a kid and you can definitely see the level of skill they exhibit is far beyond anything regular people get near.

'Athleticism' is fuzzy concept and is difficult to use a distinguishing factor for whether something is or is not a sport. Reaction speed is something most would consider a fairly core aspect of athleticism, and is also central to elite E-Sports. E.g I'd argue there's a lot of cross over in the athletic skills required for E-Sports and say trap shooting, which is generally considered a sport.

Golf I would also consider a sport as it does involve athleticism to a degree, but is more heavily skills based as compared to a sport like basketball or rugby.

The only time I'd classify something as a game as opposed to a sport is when it is entirely skills based as opposed to athletic e.g Poker or Chess. But even then something like speed chess enters a grey area.

Anyway this is all very interesting, but probably off topic for a rugby forum.

 

[Adam84]

eSports will be as big as some of major live sports tournaments in the future, will be of a similar scale to the F1. Many of the teams and players are already millionaires which reflects the level of interest in the space.

Rather then dismissing the concept, rugby should be looking to bridge the gap and leverage the growth of eSports to target growth markets, the lack of a credible rugby union game limits growth in this space. There's an enormous amount of crossover between FIFA22 on PS5/Xbox and the real world games with mutual benefits for both.

I don't watch soccer at all but I've played the game on PS4 quite a bit and could tell you most of the players in Manchester City and key players in the Premier League just through playing, including who their sponsors are etc.

 

[hifflepiff]

eSports will be as big as some of major live sports tournaments in the future, will be of a similar scale to the F1. Many of the teams and players are already millionaires which reflects the level of interest in the space.

Rather then dismissing the concept, rugby should be looking to bridge the gap and leverage the growth of eSports to target growth markets, the lack of a credible rugby union game limits growth in this space. There's an enormous amount of crossover between FIFA22 on PS5/Xbox and the real world games with mutual benefits for both.

I don't watch soccer at all but I've played the game on PS4 quite a bit and could tell you most of the players in Manchester City and key players in the Premier League just through playing, including who their sponsors are etc.

I absolutely agree with this, World Rugby really needs to be reaching out to someone like 2K or EA and trying to get a proper rugby game made. I've played some of the stuff that's on the market, but to be honest it's all a bit shit.

I strongly believe that one of the big drivers of soccer's success in non traditional markets, e.g. USA, Aus etc has been due to the Fifa franchise. Same with the NFL and Madden.