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Video games an Olympic sport? Chris Morris over at CNN Money says that the media lifestyle company Global Gaming League is talking with China to bring competitive gaming to the 2008 Beijing games. Due to declining interest with youngens, GGL's Ted Owen says gaming's time has come.
"You need to bring younger viewers back if you want to keep making money. To do that, you need to embrace non-traditional sports," he says. "They did it with snowboarding - and look how the popularity of that has surged in the Games. Video games deserve to be seen as a non-traditional sport."
But will the International Olympic Committee bite? "There's a big campaign [in the IOC] to get kids away from computer terminals," says Ed Hula, editor of an Olympic newsletter. Neither Ted nor the GGL has spoken with the IOC, but have been in talks with the Chinese Government. The talks have been "encouraging." Riiight.
Something about all this just reeks of publicity stunt. Yes, gaming requires hand-eye coordination and concentration. Yes, it is a popular spectator event in some countries. And yes, there are pros. But an Olympic sport?!
