Is gaming a sport?

Neil Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Neil.

Catherine Hello. I’m Catherine.

Neil And if I say to you, Catherine, fortnight , what do you think of?

Catherine Well, that’s easy, Neil. A fortnight is a period of two weeks.

Neil Well, fortnight, spelt f-o-r-t-n-i-g-h-t, is indeed a period of two weeks. But Fortnite, spelt F-o-r-t-n-i-t-e, is an online computer game that has become incredibly popular in a very short period of time.

Catherine As well as popular, it’s also very competitive. And you’re soon going to be able to make big money playing it and you can even hire people to be your Fortnite coach.

Neil Well, before we hear a little more about this topic, it’s time for our quiz. These days we play computer games on our phones, we can hold them in our hands. In1950 Bertie the Brain was the name of one of the very first computer games. It played a simple game of noughts and crosses, also called tic-tac-toe. But how tall was this computer? Was it…

a) one metre tall; b) about four metres tall or c) about ten metres tall­?

Catherine Well, if it was the 1950s, computers were huge, so I’m going to go for ten metres.

Neil OK. Well, we ‘ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme. eSports or computer games competitions are now a thing. In some markets they are huge and they are even discussing including them in the Olympic Games. Kyle Jackson is a 13-year-old gamer who’s been asked to join a team. How long does he say he’s been playing video games?

Kyle Jackson, gamer I’ve played video games all my life, basically. I started playing competitively when I was around nine or ten. I got into like Halo, Call of Duty, games like that. And I just … I realised that I could probably like go to a pro ( professional ) level, if I keep playing at the level I am

Catherine He said that he’s been playing computer games all his life. Now that might be a little exaggeration, but he’s probably been playing them ever since he can remember. When he was nine or ten he started playing competitively , which means he started playing in competitions against other people.

Neil He talks about a number of games that he got into. This is a good expression. If you are into something you are very interested in it and to get into something describes the process of becoming interested in that thing.

Catherine In Kyle’s case, it was computer games and he got so good that he’s thinking about playing at a professional level. Doing something as a professional means that it’s more than a hobby or pastime. It ‘s something someone pays you to do because you are really good at it.

Neil George Yao is a former gaming champion who is now Director of Media of Team Secret. Team Secret are like a regular sports team. They have a group of players who play matches and competitions against other teams. Except these are not regular sports. These are eSports and they are big business. Here ‘s George Yao.

George Yao, Director of Media of Team Secret It’s becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry : just games, production of games, publishing of games and the eSports scene. So it’s not just one thing now, it ‘s a whole industry.

Catherine So George Yao says that online gaming is becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry. We usually think of industry as factories and manufacturing. But it can also apply to other areas as well that involve a lot of different elements that come together to make a business.

Neil Different elements that he mentions as part of this industry are creating games, publishing games and the eSports scene. The word here scene here refers to the world of eSports: the events, the competitions and the players. And many people want to be part of that scene. Right, now, let ‘s get the answer to our quiz question about the size of that 1950s computer game. Was it… a) one metre tall; b) four metres tall or c) ten metres tall? What did you say, Catherine?

Catherine I went for ten metres, Neil.

Neil Well, unfortunately it was four metres.

Catherine Still quite big though - imagine you couldn’t get those in your pocket, could you?

Neil I’d rather not! But I would like to review today’s vocabulary.

Catherine We started off with the word for a period of two weeks - a fortnight. But with a different spelling, Fortnite is also a very popular video game.

Neil Multi-player video game competitions which people pay to go and watch are known as eSports. Playing against other people is playing competitively. Do you like to play multi-player video games, Catherine?

Catherine I’ve never really got into them even though I’ve tried one or two. And that was one of our other expressions, to get into something - to become really interested in something.

Neil Same here, I enjoy playing a little bit but I could never be a professional. I couldn ‘t get paid to do it as a job.

Catherine Of course not, you’re already a professional broadcaster, Neil. An area of business that is made up of different parts can be described as an industry. The video game industry is a multi-billion-dollar business. And we also talk about, for example, the fashion industry and the movie industry.

Neil And finally there was the word scene. This noun is used to describe the world of a particular activity.

Catherine So the eSport scene , for example, is the world of eSports. The games, the teams, the competitions, the audiences. It ‘s all part of the scene.

Neil Well, that’s all from the 6 Minute English scene today. Do join us again, but if you can’t wait, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and of course on our website bbclearningenglish.com. Thanks for joining us and goodbye.

Catherine Goodbye!