professional video game players

M

Michael.R

Gawd
Joined
Jan 20, 2005
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I was just wondering what you guys think about the term "professional video game players"

It seems a bit elitist or snobish. But then again there are titles like professional hockey players and that seems perfectly ok to me. But when I hear the words professional video gamer used in the same sentance it feels very elitist.

Probably also the fact that there are a ton of gamers and these Professional gamers are singalling themselves out as the best when it isnt always true. Anyways maybe I have a biased opinion so I just want to hear what some other people have to say.
 
I don't mind it, people like fatal1ty deserve to be called professional. Look at him now, he has his own motherboard and sound card line
 
The term is okay with me, but I can see how it can raise some eyebrows with others.
I don't consider someone a "professional" unless they're good enough to rank highly and earn decent money from tournaments.
 
retardedchicken said:
I don't mind it, people like fatal1ty deserve to be called professional. Look at him now, he has his own motherboard and sound card line
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OK, I got a noob question and a thread hijack and I apologize in advance for both but there was a gamer called fatal1ty? is he some sort of legend or somthing, Is he connected with the fatality hardware?
 
yeah man he's from dallas and owns at fps specifically quake but and deathmatch he's just about impossible to kill. he has a deal w/ a couple of companies producing hardware with his input and or spec requirements.
anyways I'm a professional(barely) and what else would you call us? professional douchebags?
 
spaceman said:
yeah man he's from dallas and owns at fps specifically quake but and deathmatch he's just about impossible to kill. he has a deal w/ a couple of companies producing hardware with his input and or spec requirements.
anyways I'm a professional(barely) and what else would you call us? professional douchebags?
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No fatal1ty is just some professional douchebag who got famous playing Doom 3 online, possibly the worst game ever made. Hope that answers your question :)

And how are you a professional??
 
"Pro video game players" sounds strange to most. If I ever mentioned it to someone I know, they would probably laugh at it.
 
After checking that site and seeing "cyber athletes," how exactly does gaming require any athleticism? Except for moving your mouse very fast, it requires no athleticism at all. The only thing it requires is loads of time to get good at.
 
I will never buy a Fatal1ty product... ever...

I think its moronic how these companies put his SN on them.
 
TheCommander said:
After checking that site and seeing "cyber athletes," how exactly does gaming require any athleticism? Except for moving your mouse very fast, it requires no athleticism at all. The only thing it requires is loads of time to get good at.
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Not really. You cant get good at FPS over time. ITS LIKE A SWITCH MAN, YOU EITHER GOT IT OR YOU DONT. ITS A 1 or a 0!!!11111

Youve obviously never played fps...or just suck at them and think you can get better over time
 
TheCommander said:
After checking that site and seeing "cyber athletes," how exactly does gaming require any athleticism? Except for moving your mouse very fast, it requires no athleticism at all. The only thing it requires is loads of time to get good at.
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Nah you gotta have pretty damn good hand eye coordination. Probably close to a pro ping pong player in regards to some of these FPS tournaments.
 
J-M-E said:
Not really. You cant get good at FPS over time. ITS LIKE A SWITCH MAN, YOU EITHER GOT IT OR YOU DONT. ITS A 1 or a 0!!!11111

Youve obviously never played fps...or just suck at them and think you can get better over time
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please man. You don't need to "have it" You can work at it and become the best at this. To call it atheltism is only proff of ignorance and nothing else.

I was playing FPS with Overtoad, BMF|Satan, Wally|FSU and the LMC clan. I think Ron1Jed know who they are. Before Fatal1ty even have a thought of playing an FPS muchless become good at it.
 
J-M-E said:
Not really. You cant get good at FPS over time. ITS LIKE A SWITCH MAN, YOU EITHER GOT IT OR YOU DONT. ITS A 1 or a 0!!!11111

Youve obviously never played fps...or just suck at them and think you can get better over time
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Ive played CS, CS:S, Tribes, Tribes2, BF, and BF2 and was very good at them all or just good depending on the game. And yes, with time you do get better at them. You don't just magically become an excellent player. And no need to make stupid comments on how I "suck."
 
Big Worm said:
Nah you gotta have pretty damn good hand eye coordination. Probably close to a pro ping pong player in regards to some of these FPS tournaments.
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umm no

as i play table tennis at a very advanced (1800-1900 level) level. FPS games have no where NEAR the hand eye coordination needed to hit the ball back MUCH less react to the majority of shots. So you THINK it is close but nope. Not even.
 
I don't understand why people care. "Omg he's an elitist prick even though I've never met him... I bet I could beat him at counterstrike!@" They are "professionals" because they are making money from it, and if they are good enough to do that then more power to them. I tend to find your common player on a bf2 or counterstrike server to be more elitist than any "professional" gamer.

-This isn't directed at anyone in general.. just seems like the common perception of fatality and any other professional is bad and yet no one has a good reason for it.
 
Tedium said:
I don't understand why people care. "Omg he's an elitist prick even though I've never met him... I bet I could beat him at counterstrike!@" They are "professionals" because they are making money from it, and if they are good enough to do that then more power to them. I tend to find your common player on a bf2 or counterstrike server to be more elitist than any "professional" gamer.

-This isn't directed at anyone in general.. just seems like the common perception of fatality and any other professional is bad and yet no one has a good reason for it.
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elitest?

nah man i never thought that. What does bother me is the term ATHLETE being used by them. There is ZERO athletism involved in gaming.
 
fps are games just like any other sport.. some require diff skills. and no one is born an uber fps player or super bball player. it all take practice "practice makes perfect" after all.

everyone is diff tho. some have better hand eye coord. ect. so will naturally be better at certain things than other people. but its also something you can improve on.
 
figgie said:
elitest?

nah man i never thought that. What does bother me is the term ATHLETE being used by them. There is ZERO athletism involved in gaming.
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An athlete is some one skilled in something, that something doesnt necessarily have to be a physically challenging. For example one can call nascar drivers "athletes"

As for professional gamers, I could care less if they are good enough to earn a living winning contests or not. Although I cant help but get annoyed when I see products targeting me as if I care that their name is on it.
 
Wildace said:
fps are games just like any other sport.. some require diff skills. and no one is born an uber fps player or super bball player. it all take practice "practice makes perfect" after all.

everyone is diff tho. some have better hand eye coord. ect. so will naturally be better at certain things than other people. but its also something you can improve on.
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no

football players actually CAN get injured same with Basketball players. FPS players can get injured too... eatting to much cheetohs and getting a cardiac or corpal tunnel syndrome.

As for Hand Eye coordination. All it takes is a want. Fatal1ty got good by playing 10+ hours a day 7 days a week for nearly 3 years.

Nothing special except practicing. No need to run a 4.4, 40 yard dash. No need to bench 320 lbs. No need to have a resting heart rate of 48 or a VO2max of 7.0 Liters. Once again Nothing special.
 
Lord of Shadows said:
An athlete is some one skilled in something, that something doesnt necessarily have to be a physically challenging. For example one can call nascar drivers "athletes"

As for professional gamers, I could care less if they are good enough to earn a living winning contests or not. Although I cant help but get annoyed when I see products targeting me as if I care that their name is on it.
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bullshit

they don't call themselves athletes. The call themselves racers and competitors. Never once has nascar or ANY race organization used the term athlete to describe thier drivers.
 
people have to understand what an athlete is. An athlete competes in a sport, and a sport is a recreational activity that creates competition.

In my opinion, there are two types of sports: Physical and mental.

Physical is your usual high-school sports, such as basketball, baseball, football, etc.

Mental is more like chess, poker, etc.

Gaming goes under mental. I would never expect or want to see progaming in the olympics, only because the olympics has its origin from physical sport competition. In short, those poker players that want a spot in the olympics should just stop.

That's why we have e-sports. i think it'll be plain out ignorant to look down on the term professional gamer, gaming athlete, and so on. It is a talent that not everyone can receive. The best of the best are truly professional, ranging from business and sponsorship contracts, to fans, to tv channels (mainly korea :), etc.
 
ekorazn said:
people have to understand what an athlete is. An athlete competes in a sport, and a sport is a recreational activity that creates competition.

In my opinion, there are two types of sports: Physical and mental.

Physical is your usual high-school sports, such as basketball, baseball, football, etc.

Mental is more like chess, poker, etc.

Gaming goes under mental. I would never expect or want to see progaming in the olympics, only because the olympics has its origin from physical sport competition. In short, those poker players that want a spot in the olympics should just stop.

That's why we have e-sports. i think it'll be plain out ignorant to look down on the term professional gamer, gaming athlete, and so on. It is a talent that not everyone can receive. The best of the best are truly professional, ranging from business and sponsorship contracts, to fans, to tv channels (mainly korea :), etc.
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wrong answer

mental sport??
Chess a SPORT?
Poker a sport??

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,

HAHAHAHAHAH. Bwaahahaha. omg.. lmfao

sorry they are far from sports.

No those are called COMPETITIONS not sports.

Football, SPORT.
10,000 Meter Marathon, SPORT.
100 meter dash, SPORT
100 meter Freestyle, SPORT
Long Jump, SPORT
Triple Jump, SPORT
Steeple Chase, SPORT
1000 m Hurdles. SPORT
Baseball, SPORT
Hockey SPORT

do you notice a pattern?

they are not done for FUN. I dont see people trying to do long jumping for FUN. Running a 4 minute mile for FUN. Jumping 30 feet for FUN. You defenition is highly incorrect.
 
you also must accept the fact that some people are just naturally better at it.

I always sucked at physical sports. But in fps I own :)
 
figgie said:
wrong answer

mental sport??
Chess a SPORT?
Poker a sport??

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,

HAHAHAHAHAH. Bwaahahaha. omg.. lmfao

No those are called COMPETITIONS not sports.

Football, SPORT.
10,000 Meter Marathon, SPORT.
100 meter dash, SPORT
100 meter Freestyle, SPORT
Long Jump, SPORT
Triple Jump, SPORT
Steeple Chase, SPORT
1000 m Hurdles. SPORT
Baseball, SPORT
Hockey SPORT

do you notice a pattern?
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hence another ignorant person. Many refer to the activities i mentioned as sports.

please tell me, if sports was all about physical abilities, then why do sooo many people use the term "athletic sports"? So they can be even more specific in something that, in your view, is specific enough?
 
I don't see gaming requiring much more "athletecism" than hunting or fishing, those are both sports. They're referring to themselves as "cyber" athletes, meaning their athletes in the cyber world. Fine by me.

Professional: Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.

If someone makes enough money at playing games to be their source of a livelihood, or makes a career out of it... their a professional. It's their profession. Easy enough.
 
ekorazn said:
hence another ignorant person. Many refer to the activities i mentioned as sports.

please tell me, if sports was all about physical abilities, then why do sooo many people use the term "athletic sports"? So they can be even more specific in something that, in your view, is specific enough?
Click to expand...

only the ignorant masses that WANT to be included in the term "athletes"would use a lose and vague term as "athletic sports". Looking at Olympics,, no one uses "Athletic sports". They call them for what they do, A runner, a swimmer a diver, a weightlfiter, et al. SPECIFIC, No one calls football an athletic competition or athetic sport. Even though they are athletes there is no "I" in TEAM.

Ignorant, yes you have shown that. Thanks.
 
jrbryner said:
I don't see gaming requiring much more "athletecism" than hunting or fishing, those are both sports. They're referring to themselves as "cyber" athletes, meaning their athletes in the cyber world. Fine by me.

Professional: Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.

If someone makes enough money at playing games to be their source of a livelihood, or makes a career out of it... their a professional. It's their profession. Easy enough.
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a professional is definded as making a living off thier job. That would make every person working the factory floor making widgets or taking the thorns of the roses for 8 hours a day, 7 days a week a professional in that regards.
 
figgie said:
only the ignorant masses that WANT to be included in the term "athletes"would use a lose and vague term as "athletic sports". Looking at Olympics,, no one uses "Athletic sports". They call them for what they do, A runner, a swimmer a diver, a weightlfiter, et al. SPECIFIC, No one calls football an athletic competition or athetic sport. Even though they are athletes there is no "I" in TEAM.

Ignorant, yes you have shown that. Thanks.
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You are missing a key point in my argument. wtf are you saying "no one calls footbal an athletic competition"? That's why it's listed as one in my highschool and many others in the region. IGNORANCE.


please stop looking at the specifics and look at the whole concept.
"Even though they are athletes there is no "I" in TEAM." that doesn't prove anything nor is relevant to your argument. teamwork can also be found in counter-strike :confused:

A runner, a swimmer a diver, a video game player a gamer.
 
ekorazn said:
You are missing a key point in my argument. wtf are you saying "no one calls footbal an athletic competition"? That's why it's listed as one in my highschool and many others in the region. IGNORANCE.


please stop looking at the specifics and look at the whole concept.
"Even though they are athletes there is no "I" in TEAM." that doesn't prove anything nor is relevant to your argument. teamwork can also be found in counter-strike :confused:

A runner, a swimmer a diver, a video game player a gamer.
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funny

college list it as a sport not as an athletic competition... so let see.. highschool or college/univerity. Norte Dame/FSU/UoF/USC or tiny high school. I am going with Norte Dame/FSU/UoF/USC defenition thanks.

whole concept that pressing keys and moving a mouse is a "Sport" or athletisism. No sorry. If anyones post is irrelevant and full of IGNORANCE is yours but that is expected as high school is your world. Don't worry once you get into the real world you will understand that highschool is it own little micro-enivironment where the color of jeans and what to wear the next day is the priority of the day.
:)
 
figgie said:
they don't call themselves athletes. The call themselves racers and competitors. Never once has nascar or ANY race organization used the term athlete to describe thier drivers.
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Im not saying its popular to use the term athlete loosely. =)
 
Wildace said:
fps are games just like any other sport.. some require diff skills. and no one is born an uber fps player or super bball player. it all take practice "practice makes perfect" after all.

everyone is diff tho. some have better hand eye coord. ect. so will naturally be better at certain things than other people. but its also something you can improve on.
Click to expand...


Sports in general require speed, strength, agility, "heart," and mental toughness / thinking. Sports also require good size, weight, height and other physical attributes. Gaming is for everyone of any size or and barely requires any physical skill.
It takes a lot more to become a pro athlete in Basketball, Football, or whatever sport than it does to become a pro video game player.
 
Lord of Shadows said:
Im not saying its exactly popular to use the term athlete loosely. =)
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well if they themselves don't use it. There is a reason behind that. Everytime they open thier mouths to descirbe themselve it is always competitors and racers.

I can see CPL folks calling themselves COMPETITORS as that is what they do, BUt athletes? Not unless sitting on chair keeping it warm, pressing a button and staying virtually alive is now considered athletisism. Because then we can throw in Sims, WoW, and any other game require H.E.C. (whihc mind you all of them do as they require to put the mouse in a specific place, over a group, over a signle entity etc), Metroid and since we are going that far minus well throw consoles in their also.

Also throw in everything from flashgame area and every other flashgame site. Include the old midway arcades, Pinballs etc.
 
jrbryner said:
If someone makes enough money at playing games to be their source of a livelihood, or makes a career out of it... their a professional. It's their profession. Easy enough.
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I'm not really sure how long "pro gamers" time lasts, but what I heard is most end once they reach their early 20s. They will eventually have to find a normal career to support themselves and their family. Their parents will not support them forever.
 
TheCommander said:
Sports in general require speed, strength, agility, "heart," and mental toughness / thinking. Sports also require good size, weight, height and other physical attributes. Gaming is for everyone of any size or and barely requires any physical skill.
It takes a lot more to become a pro athlete in Basketball, Football, or whatever sport than it does to become a pro video game player.
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lol your so wrong...

Speed? needed to be a top player in most fps, if your slow you will die. Agility? you need to be able to stop your mouse precisly where you want it too so you wont miss your target and be able to use all the keys on your keyboard effectivly in a "speedy" manor. the older you are the less agility you have hence why you dont see too many "old" people playing Quake 3 or football. in the fast beat world of computer gaming.

Mental toughness / thinking your fricken joking right? thats one of the more important aspects of ANY GAME if you cant think for your self and now jpw to learn fomr your mistakes, or implement good strategies you might as well be a rock.

an example of being good at a game and not just a random player..

in BF:1942 and BF: vietnam i was probly the BEST person to ever get my hands on the anti tank kits i can judge the speed of my rocket And the trajectory also the speed of the target player runing or his vehicle ect. doesnt matter what he was in. along with his direction i have a beutiful instinct of where i needed to shoot to hit a certain target.
which is the main thing i dislike about BF2 hte whole laser guided AT kit helps put my distinct advantage over most other players in long range at shots aside.

heres an example of how accurate i was in those 2 games.

on La drang vally (pretty sue thats the right map name. been awhile sence ive played bfv) i was on the US team about 400-500m from the main US base standing on the edge of an NVA mobile spawn point knifing the people as they spawned (good times :rolleyes: ) then a team mate runs upto it and drops a grenade on me to blow up the hole killing me with it and getting a tk. well in my "rage" cause i hate blatent tks the moment i spawned i saw him running in the hills with the 3d map i judged his speed and distance probly withing 2-3sec. and fired. about 6-10sec. later bam his 3d icon dissapears and i get a tk. he was just speechless at that point.


another example in bfv: im flying a huey and an F4 phantom is flying straight at me getting ready for the kill i bail aim & shoot an RPG and rape the phantom hit E and get back in the huey as the wreckage of the F4 flys over the top of me and i fly away.

not to mention all the times i would fly a huey slick solo switch to the side seats and rape mi8's tanks and infantry with an RPG from the side. and if i have a pilot with im just that much deadlier.

with the skill i have for arching projectiles i bet i could of made a pretty good QB with some practice.

i knlow Click made a movie of me launching rpgs off the side of a huey slick if i can find it ill post it.

the conclusion is yes everyone can play video games but there are people with exceptional skill. that not everyone has
 
Professional: One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation: hired a professional to decorate the house.

Yes, professional gamers also decorate houses.

With reguard to elitism or not... well, in my experiences in the professional gaming world, (CPL) it is quite a rare thing to find a "professional gamer" who is not full of himself//herself... but it can and does happen.
 
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