The idea of acknowledging video games as a kind of sport has been kicked around for a while now, to the point where mentally demanding games are sometimes classified as "e-sports." Now, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced an event before the official Olympics called the Olympic Virtual Series which will feature five videogames.
What's Coming to the Olympic Virtual Series?
The official Olympics website reports that the IOC wants to host the Olympic Virtual Series (OVS) before the Tokyo Olympics 2020 kicks off. It's worth noting that the Tokyo Olympics 2020 was rescheduled to 2021 due to the world pandemic, so you're not too late to catch the action.
The president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, expressed his desire to bring digital sports into the Olympics fold:
The Olympic Virtual Series is a new, unique Olympic digital experience that aims to grow direct engagement with new audiences in the field of virtual sports. Its conception is in line with Olympic Agenda 2020+5 and the IOC’s Digital Strategy. It encourages sports participation and promotes the Olympic values, with a special focus on youth.
The OVS will last from May 13 to June 23, 2021 and will focus on video games as a competitive sport. The website lists the following as featured events:
- World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) – eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020, Konami Digital Entertainment
- Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) – Zwift, Zwift inc.
- World Rowing - Open format
- World Sailing - Virtual Regatta, Virtual Regatta SAS
- Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) - Gran Turismo, Polyphony Digital
While the Olympic website doesn't have much information on these events just yet, it seems that the organization may stream the event for people to watch live:
Fans will have the opportunity to engage and follow the events on the Olympic Channel. Additional information on how to participate, as well as prizes included with select events, will be announced soon. Information will also be available online at www.olympicchannel.com
The event has already caught the eye of other big players in the video game world. For instance, FIFA is looking into potentially having a stake in a future OVS event.
The popularity of the OVS amongst developers will likely come down to how this year's event goes down. If it manages to attract a sizeable crowd, other developers will likely petition to have their game on the big screen too.
Being a Good Sport About Video Game Sports
People have toyed with the idea of recognizing video games as sports in the past, and now the Olympics are ready to take the plunge. Be sure to tune in from May 13 to June 23, 2021, to see the action for yourself.
That's not to say that all competitive games in the future will involve sitting in front of a PC or console. In fact, Bigger Insider recently showed off Protocol 223, a laser tag game that will put players to the physical test.
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