Video games are a daily part of life for millions of people. With the influence of Esports growing, people ask, Are video games a actual sport? Not only does video games have similarities to sports, it could be accepted as one soon.  

Most people think that gamers are antisocial nerds, hunched up on their monitors for hours. While stereotypes like that are undoubtedly false, the last part is partially true, especially if you talk about pro gamers. These people have their whole life built around video games,and gain a decent amount of income. They are called for endorsements and win tournaments and get a surprisingly large amount of money. They can win scholarships (Gale opposing viewpoints-Washington Post). And most of all, they practice. At Least eight hours a day, with tiny breaks more social media or shopping online (New York Times).  Sounds like athletes, right? While casual gamers are harder to defend, pro gamers who dedicate their life to the game are undoubtedly athletes in their own right.

Although video games lack physical movement, they have similar skills required to be good at the game. Teamwork, strategy, and practice, and hard work are all things esports gamers and regular gamers learn (Gale Opposing Viewpoints-Washington post), the same skills people learn  in sports. Games and sports both require and, in the end, improve visual motor skills like hand-eye coordination(Li, NCBI), and both help with quick reflexes (Dye, NCBI). While people argue that video games isn’t a physical sport, chess is the same thing, and it has been submitted into the International Olympic committee to try to be included in the 2020 olympics.

Video games do have what it takes to be a sport. With similar skills required to play and dedicated people who work hard to to master their game, video games will hopefully be a sport in the near future.