In the next few years, competitive gaming will become a multi-billion dollar industry, and it could even come to the 2024 Paris Olympics. But what are Esports, and why are people watching gaming tournaments instead of football games?

在接下来的几年中，竞技游戏将成为一个价值数十亿美元的产业，甚至可能会出现在2024年巴黎奥运会上 。 但是什么是电竞？为什么人们观看比赛而不是观看橄榄球比赛？

电竞可以是任何形式的竞技游戏 (Esports Can Be Any Form of Competitive Gaming)

From the outside, the world of competitive gaming looks like it’s built around large-scale tournaments, with a strong focus on team-based games such as Fortnite, Counter-Strike, or Overwatch. These tournaments are typically held in large arenas (sometimes dedicated gaming arenas), schools, nerdy arcades, and bars. They’re usually livestreamed via Twitch or YouTube, or broadcasted by a major network such as ESPN or the BBC.

从外部看，竞争性游戏世界看起来像是围绕大型锦标赛建立的，并且非常关注Fortnite，Counter-Strike或Overwatch等基于团队的游戏。 这些比赛通常在大型竞技场(有时是专用游戏竞技场 )，学校，书呆子的拱廊和酒吧举行。 它们通常通过Twitch或YouTube进行直播，或者由ESPN或BBC等主要网络广播。

But that’s just the outside view. Like the bottom of an iceberg, the largest sect of the competitive gaming community is hidden from view. There are thousands of small (not necessarily amateur) competitive gaming communities. Some of them focus on digital card games like Hearthstone, others play fighters like Mortal Kombat and Smash Brothers, and an even smaller group of gamers focuses on “speedruns”–how fast you can complete a single player game. Some of these competitive gamers livestream their games on Twitch or Youtube, while others simply communicate over Discord, a chat software.

但这只是外界的看法。 就像冰山的底部一样，竞争性游戏社区中最大的一个分支被隐藏了起来。 有数千个小型(不一定是业余的)竞争性游戏社区。 他们中的一些人专注于诸如《炉石传说》之类的数字卡游戏，其他人则扮演《真人快打》和《粉碎兄弟》之类的战斗机，而一小撮游戏玩家则专注于“极速奔跑”，即完成单人游戏的速度有多快。 这些竞争游戏玩家中的一些在Twitch或Youtube上直播游戏，而其他一些则只是通过聊天软件Discord进行交流。

Due to the variety of competitive games on the market and the accessibility of livestreaming, it’s difficult to comprehend or define Esports accurately. But one thing’s for sure: Esports are similar to “regular” sports.

由于市场上竞争性游戏的多样性以及实时流媒体的可访问性，因此很难准确地理解或定义电子竞技。 但是可以肯定的是：电子竞技类似于“常规”运动。

是的，电竞就像“真实”运动 (Yes, Esports are Like “Real” Sports)

Most people see a clear distinction between gaming and athletics. We think of gaming as an unhealthy, antisocial habit—the opposite of sports. But unless you solely define sports as “something that happens outside,” it’s hard to find serious differences between “real” sports and Esports.

大多数人看到游戏和田径运动之间有明显的区别。 我们认为游戏是一种不健康的反社会习惯，与体育相反。 但是，除非您将运动单独定义为“在外部发生的事情”，否则很难在“真实”运动与电子竞技之间找到严重的区别。

Like “real” athletes, competitive gamers have to practice regularly to keep in tip-top shape. They develop muscles related to their chosen sport and have to use good posture to avoid injury (carpal tunnel and arthritis). Surprisingly, some professional gamers stick to strict diets and exercise regiments to keep their body working at peak efficiency.

像“真正的”运动员一样，竞技游戏玩家也必须定期练习以保持最佳状态。 他们会发展与其所选运动相关的肌肉，并且必须采取良好的姿势来避免受伤(腕管和关节炎)。 出人意料的是，一些职业游戏玩家坚持严格的饮食和运动习惯，以使他们的身体以最高效率工作。

The world of Esports is also incredibly social. Like football fans, Esport fans develop close friendships with one another, even if gaming is the only thing that they have in common. And because gaming is based around the internet, many of these friendships occur in spite of social, economic, or physical boundaries.

电子竞技的世界也是不可思议的。 与足球迷一样，即使他们唯一的共同之处是电竞迷之间也能建立密切的友谊。 而且由于游戏是基于互联网的，因此尽管存在社会，经济或物质上的界限，但其中许多友谊还是存在的。

Not to mention, competitive gaming generates a ton of money. Business Insider predicts that the competitive gaming market will be worth $1.5 billion by 2020, and that doesn’t include the money from competitive gaming hardware, like computers and gaming keyboards. Sure, most NFL teams are worth twice as much as the entire Esports market, but that gap is sure to narrow over time.

更不用说竞争性游戏可以赚很多钱。 Business Insider预测，到2020年，竞争性游戏市场的价值将达到15亿美元，这还不包括来自竞争性游戏硬件(例如计算机和游戏键盘)的收入。 当然， 大多数NFL球队的价值是整个电子竞技市场的两倍，但是随着时间的流逝，这种差距肯定会缩小。

Do you have to accept competitive gaming as a “real” sport? Not really. There’s a good chance that the general public will always create a distinction between athletic sports and Esports, even though competitive gaming may make a splash at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Hell, the Olympic Committee has recognized chess as a sport for two decades, and people still don’t think of chess as a sport.

您是否必须接受竞争性游戏作为“真实”运动？ 并不是的。 即使竞争性游戏可能在2024年巴黎奥运会上大放异彩，一般公众也有很大的机会始终将田径运动与电子竞技区分开来。 地狱，奥委会已经将象棋视为一项运动已有二十年了，人们仍然不认为象棋是一项运动。

竞争性游戏吸引了所有年龄段 (Competitive Gaming Appeals to All Ages)

We tend to think of video games as something for children, which isn’t entirely untrue. But the biggest games of the last decade, like Minecraft and DOTA, have been successful because they appeal to all ages. Competitive gaming and traditional sports are successful for the same reason.

我们倾向于将视频游戏视为适合儿童的事物，这并非完全不正确。 但是，过去十年中最伟大的游戏(如Minecraft和DOTA)之所以成功，是因为它们吸引了各个年龄段。 出于同样的原因，竞争性游戏和传统体育也很成功。

According to an ESPN survey, most top-tier competitive gamers are in their 20s. And according to this same survey, the best football, basketball, hockey, and baseball players are also in their 20s.

根据ESPN的调查，大多数顶级竞技游戏玩家都在20多岁 。 根据同一项调查，最佳足球，篮球，曲棍球和棒球运动员也都在20多岁。

Of course, we’re talking about the best of the best. It’s not uncommon for a traditional athlete to shine as a teenager, or well into their 30s or 40s. And as the National Federation of High School Associations continues to develop Esports teams in High Schools, more kids and adults will find themselves involved in the competitive gaming scene.

当然，我们谈论的是最好的。 传统的运动员在十几岁时或进入30或40年代时表现出色并不少见。 随着国家高中协会联合会继续在高中中发展电子竞技团队，更多的孩子和成年人会发现自己参与了竞争激烈的游戏界。

Think of it like baseball. A young baseball fan may keep up with the famous players, buy merchandise, and casually (or seriously) participate in baseball through a school program. An older baseball fan may play with friends, keep up with a team, or take on the role of a coach, host, sponsor, or baseball businessperson.

想起来就像棒球。 年轻的棒球迷可能会跟上著名的球员，购买商品，并通过学校课程随意(或认真)参加棒球。 年长的棒球迷可能会和朋友一起玩，与团队保持联系或担任教练，主持人，赞助商或棒球商人的角色。

In the end, one age group is useless without the other. Without adult gamers, young gamers have nowhere to compete, and no monetary incentive to practice gaming. But without young gamers, adults have nothing to watch, invest their time into, or make money off of.

最后，一个年龄组别无选择。 没有成年玩家，年轻玩家就无处竞争，也没有金钱激励去练习游戏。 但是如果没有年轻的游戏玩家，成年人就没有什么可看的，没有时间投入或从中赚钱了。

为什么不自己玩游戏？ (Why Not Just Play the Game Yourself?)

There’s nothing worse than sitting on a couch and watching your best friend play a game. That’s why the eternal question surrounding Esports (and streamed gameplay in general) is “why don’t you play the game instead of watching somebody else play it?”

没有什么比坐在沙发上看着最好的朋友玩游戏更糟糕的了。 这就是为什么围绕电子竞技(和一般来说都是流媒体玩法)永恒的问题是“为什么不玩游戏而不是看着别人玩游戏？”

Of course, this leads to another question. “Why watch a football game when you can go out and play football?” It’s impossible to find a solid, all-encompassing answer. Maybe you aren’t in a position to play a sport, or perhaps you like to see how professional players perform. Maybe there isn’t a reason. Maybe you just like to watch sports.

当然，这引出了另一个问题。 “为什么可以出去玩足球时看足球比赛？” 不可能找到一个坚实的，包罗万象的答案。 也许您没有能力参加一项运动，或者您可能想看看职业球员的表现。 也许没有原因。 也许您只是喜欢看体育比赛。

翻译自: https://www.howtogeek.com/415742/what-are-e-sports-and-why-do-people-watch-them/