The Rise of Digital Sports and Why You Should Pay Attention

Digital sports is something that has seen tremendous growth over the past couple of years. The growth of eSports was explosive even before the global health crisis, and it just seems to be getting bigger and bigger. In fact, it’s grown so big that it’s no longer just about video games and their star players. Even sports such as Madalin Stunt Cars 3 racing have taken to the digital realm as a substitute for racing in the real world. There are many benefits to being able to do this, and there are extremely well-known racing champions that have praised the digital version of their sport, citing that it’s incredibly realistic and a fantastic training tool as well.

But are these sports and games just video games at heart, or is there something more to them? Should you bother paying attention, or is it just an industry ploy to get your child addicted to video games? We certainly believe that you should pay more attention and there’s a lot more to it than just video games.

What exactly is a digital sport?

So you might be wondering “what are virtual sports?” or “what’s a digital sport?”. The term used to just be eSport and it was short for electronic sport. However, these days, more and more terms are being used such as virtual sport and digital sport. These typically all mean the same thing but it has expanded the definition of what a digital sport is and what it can include.

In most cases, the term eSports is exclusively used for video games and is one of the most popular terms used. However, digital sport and virtual sport can also be used interchangeably and they often refer to sports that have real-life counterparts. For example, virtual sports could include virtual soccer and virtual racing. However, since many video games don’t have real-life counterparts, they stick with the eSports term.

In short, digital sports are a lot more than just digital versions of a real-life sport. The terms can generally be used to refer to the same things.

Aren’t digital sports just video games then?

Calling a digital sport a video game isn’t false, but it does make it seem a lot less cool and interesting than it really is.

Sports are activities that typically involve a lot of physical exertion and skill. This is the most common definition of a sport. The combination of skill and physical activity is then used to compete against others in a symmetrical game. Both sides have an equal chance to win and it’s a competition of how skilled one team is versus the other. Competition like this is what fuels sports and the idea of training and becoming better than others is really appealing to people. As such, people generally think that digital sports and video games don’t require the same physical exertion and skill that is required of a normal sport.

But that’s not exactly true.

You see, digital sports tend to require a lot more mental brainpower than physical sports. There are a lot of decisions to make in every digital sport and they often happen with no break. You’re subjected to intense competitive environments where split-second decisions can really cost you a game if you’re not careful. In addition, digital sports tend to be much shorter in duration, meaning there’s less room for error and less time to make a comeback. In addition, the physical dexterity required to play some digital sports is staggering. While it doesn’t require the same physicality as a regular sport, it still takes dedication and training to master the muscle memory and dexterity required to perform at a high level.

By definition, digital sports are sports. While it might not be as accepted by some members of the public, sporting figures such as Shaquille O’Neal and Rick Fox have been well-integrated with the gaming community and have been pushing the idea that digital sports can be just as entertaining and demanding as real sports. In short, if sporting legends have a positive outlook for the future of digital sports, then it’s probably a good thing.

The Rise of Digital Sports and Why You Should Pay Attention

Is there a future for digital sports?

The eSports industry has been growing for decades now. In the past, first-place prizes were barely enough to cover travel fees and people did it as a side hobby. Nowadays, some players are paid lucrative salaries to play and represent their country, and they even have profitable side jobs streaming the games and creating content for websites such as YouTube. There are so many career opportunities related to digital sports and it’s become somewhat of a dream for many young children who frequently watch their gaming idols. Instead of kids growing up watching soccer and football players and aspiring to become them, they’re watching gaming legends and developing an interest in professional eSports.

But becoming a player isn’t the only way that your child could have a future in digital sports. There are also plenty of career opportunities on the backend of the digital sports industry.

Digital sports is a growing industry that has thousands of job opportunities. There are many types of jobs in the industry including social media managers, content creators, videographers, video editors, software engineers, network engineers, event managers, coordinators, account managers, hospitality, customer service… the list goes on! There are just so many unique and different opportunities to work in digital sports and it covers such a huge range of professions. Even if your child has committed to learning something such as software development, they can still find a career in the world of digital sports. They could help create software to make watching digital sports easier, or they could become a developer for a new digital sports game.

The digital sports industry has done a fantastic job of opening new career possibilities for the next generation. It’s not just about becoming a decorated player in your favorite video game; it can also involve creating content and leading productions to bring the world of digital sports to a larger audience.

Financially, the eSports industry is expected to exceed the $1 billion mark in 2021. This is a 14 percent growth over the previous year which is a fantastic amount of growth. In addition, it’s predicted that there will be 728.8 million unique live stream viewers across a variety of different platforms such as Twitch.TV. It goes without saying that the digital sports industry has a bright future and now would be a fantastic time to learn more about it.

The Rise of Digital Sports and Why You Should Pay Attention

Should you and your family start playing video games as digital sports?

Much like real sports, you can generally enjoy digital sports and eSports titles as regular games. They’re fun for the whole family and you can cooperate with your children in various titles. However, some games can get extremely competitive and there’s always a chance for toxic behavior to occur because of the team-oriented nature of most digital sports. It’s important to keep your kids safe online and to find groups of players that they can join instead of being forced to play with random people online. This helps them make new friends over the internet and it creates a safer and more comfortable environment for them to enjoy the game.

However, it’s important to remember that even if they are called digital sports, they are still video games. Video games have a few disadvantages over regular sports such as requiring less physical exertion, meaning that if your child stays home and plays video games all the time, they’re not really getting much physical activity. It’s important to balance exercise and physical activities with video games to ensure that their body is still healthy. Even if you’re interested in leading your child into a career in digital sports, it’s extremely important that you still take care of their health and understand that physical activity is still important.

Playing video games with your child can be a fantastic pastime and bonding activity, but do realize that with the competitive nature of digital sports and how quickly children can adapt to the games, you may need to play a lot just to keep up with the skill level of your child and their friends!

To conclude, digital sport is a growing industry that is here to stay. It’s creating loads of job opportunities, it’s opening the way for content creators, and there are plenty of career paths to follow in such a diverse, interesting, and unique industry. Even if your child has no interest in becoming a professional player, there are still plenty of ways to introduce them to digital sports for the sake of trying new things and also meeting new friends. If they have a passion for gaming and sports, then they can mix their interests together with their college or university degree and set off on a brand-new career path that didn’t exist a few years ago.

The Rise of Digital Sports and Why You Should Pay Attention