I remember a Just Chatting streamer I watch occasionally, who used to be an Esports Startcraft II professional, say that Esports gamers are some of the biggest ‘normies’ you’d ever meet.
They’ve never played other games, like Final Fantasy, Starcraft, the original Mass Effect trilogy, retro games, basically anything story driven, or artsy. They don’t care about the creative outlet, the cosplay, the character lore. It’s exactly like a ‘sport’ to them. I can’t think of a duller reason to be into video games, and it’s poisoned the mind of any FPS playerbase.
In order to even BE an esports pro, you need to be better than the .05% of the playerbase. And to get to that point, you need to grind that game, and only that game. You need map knowledge, weapon recoil patterns memorized, movement and aim that is perfect. And you’ll miss out on other games, real life experiences. I’ve seen what esports players look and act like. There’s NOTHING appealing to me about it.
I hate the chavy language you have to deal with in competitive games, so I mute the chat 99% of the time. I don’t need to hear Gen Z fuckbro slang, while I’m trying to unwind, and especially when you have a high-likelihood of having mediocre teammates, who think they’re the next esports star, who take the game super seriously, and suck the joy out of it.
Plus the matchmaking is horrendous. I work a 9 to 5 job, I DJ, I make alt clothes/accessories, go hiking, hangout with my gf or our cat, go to cons/raves/clubs. I’m not going to have the same snappiness/reaction as the high-ranked no-life, Mcdonalds Combo-Meal Team 6 that the game forces you to play against if you are even average.
The wannabe ‘pros’ and tryhards’ defense will be, ‘if you’re not willing to get good (aka dedicate all your free time to just that one game), then it’s not for you.” Great, I’m a capitalist. Cater to the 0.5% of the playerbase, and let me know how it works out for the game company. I’ll be a welcome ear to hear about it. I’ve got Industrial gigs to go watch, a fit figure out for the upcoming anime rave, and MMOs with better communities that don’t smell like b.o. And cheeto dust, to enjoy.