Earlier this summer, news broke that Paris was open to considering esports’ inclusion at the 2024 Olympics. A decision won’t be made until 2020, leaving time to address things that need to happen before it’s seriously considered as an addition.
At last month’s Soccerex Global Convention, a group closely tied to the esports community discussed the close relationship between soccer and esports. They also touched on barriers and advantages to having a video game like FIFA played at the Olympics.
“I think esports is the future of how young kids are consuming sports and entertainment,” said Roisin O’Shea, Fnatic‘s Head of Partnerships.
A somewhat obvious statement is made more interesting when you consider O’Shea’s background. She worked on the London Olympic & Paralympic Organizing Committee back in 2012. Now working for Fnatic, an esports organization with investments from owners of the Boston Celtics and AS Roma, O’Shea understands the International Olympic Committee’s values might not reflect that of esports.
“I don’t think it would be a mistake from IOC, but I think the IOC’s values are very different and encourage a completely different message to that of esports. You know, it’s about inclusion, it’s about participation.”
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Another barrier discussed was the ownership rights of video games — something the Olympics has never had to deal with. O’Shea compared it to playing Monopoly. If you ask developers whether their game can be played at the Olympics, will they say yes? Says O’Shea, “it’s really difficult and knowing [the] IOC, it’s not as plain as maybe the concept.”
While the concept isn’t cut-and-dry there is great potential if bridges can be built between the two sides. Frederic Maupin, Ares Esport’s General Manager, Europe, noted that the number of people who watch the physical World Cup is upwards of one billion. That has to make the possibility of playing FIFA (the video game) at the Olympics more enticing.
“Once you make that boost the way the gameplay of FIFA is moving, it’s like the Pixar cartoon,” said Maupin. “Once you start forgetting you’re watching a cartoon and just say, ‘wow, it looks like the real one.’ That would bring the emotion to the game, and maybe that’s what would move FIFA forward as soon as people will watch a FIFA game as they would a football game.”