The International Olympic Committee has slowed its support for recognising electronic gaming as a sport.
After an Olympic leaders' meeting yesterday, the IOC says "discussion about the inclusion of esports/egames as a medal event on the Olympic programme is premature."
Enthusiasm has seemed to dim since the IOC hosted aJuly conference with esports organisers and players. Sports bodies are now advised to "continue to engage with this [gaming] community, while at the same time acknowledging that uncertainties remain."
The IOC rules out co-operation with violent games, and suggests virtual and augmented reality could become more popular with young people. "Commercially driven" gaming was also compared unfavourably with "values-based" sports.
"Some egames are not compatible with the Olympic values and therefore co-operation with them is excluded," the IOC said in a statement.
"The industry is commercially driven, while on the other hand the sports movement is values-based. "For all these reasons, a discussion about the inclusion of esports/egames as a medal event on the Olympic programme is premature."
The IOC says governing bodies will continue meeting gaming industry officials "to explore jointly collaborative projects."
A global survey of sports industry executives in September showed 57 per cent oppose Olympic status.
To the PwC survey's question: "Is esports an Olympic sport?", 28 per cent said "no, because esports does not qualify as 'sport",' and 29 per cent said esports should grow independently of the Olympics. A further 26.7 per cent said esports must first unify under a single governing body, and 10.4 per cent said esports should join "as soon as possible". Almost 6 per cent did not know or abstained.
Duane Mutu, the director of Let's Play Live, told the Herald in February "it was absolutely a sport" with professional gamers demonstrating skills at the same level as Formula One.
"Research around the fact that a lot of the top PC players [shows] ... reaction times are just as good as F1."
