Gaming's golden year broke new ground

Olympic limbo

When e-sports was debuted at last year's Asian Games in Jakarta, many were convinced gaming's inclusion in the Olympics was inevitable.

However, recent comments from the International Olympic Committee indicate the IOC is cooling its initial enthusiasm on the possibility of including e-sports.

After a December meeting at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, the IOC said "discussion about the inclusion of e-sports as a medal event on the Olympic program is premature".

Sports bodies are now advised to "continue to engage with this (gaming) community, while at the same time acknowledging that uncertainties remain".

Violence, especially in shooting games, is thought to be a major stumbling block for gaming's Olympic hopes.

E-sports' Asiad inclusion was sealed by avoiding violent games, as Wei Jizhong, honorary life vicepresident of the Olympic Council of Asia, explained at the time.

"Adding e-sports to the Asian Games was much tougher than we thought," said Wei.

"After long negotiations, we agreed on three principles - no violence, making sports games a priority and guaranteeing fairness."

Riot Games CEO Laurent believes e-sports' structural complexities are also proving problematic for the IOC.

"It's a case of digital versus traditional sports, so the ecosystems are totally different," Laurent told China Daily.

"Each e-sports game has a private company which is very different from traditional sports. There's still a lot of work to be done in order to decide on the direction.

"Maybe e-sports should be in the Olympics. Maybe e-sports should have its own Olympics. Maybe e-sports should have its own life to be separated from the Olympics.

"These are all questions that we have raised in our discussions with the IOC."