# Do you ever feel like you were born too early for the whole eSports thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Video Games\ **Created:** [March 13, 2021, 2:33am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317 "2021-03-13T02:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 2:33am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/1 "2021-03-13T02:33:10Z")
When I was a student I would have never imagined getting a scholarship for being competitive at eSports. I know those players are talented. But man, had that been a thing when I was in high school I would have probably invested a ton of time into it instead of the sports I actually played. In some ways, I’m glad it wasn’t a thing yet because I was able to become a somewhat good athlete. And chances are, I never would have gotten far as an eSports competitor considering how wide a pool that it draws from. But occasionally, I wonder, would I have been at all good if I were just 15 years younger? It’s an amusing thing to witness after my parents told me for so long that my video games were a “waste of time” lol. Would’ve just told them “okay boomer” back then had I known how things would evolve. ---
**Author:** ![Yakumo](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/yakumo/32/1538_2.png) [@Yakumo](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Yakumo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 1:05pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/2 "2021-03-13T13:05:54Z")
Esports is a load of bollocks. None of those guys look like normal gamers at all. Plus they’re only great at one or two games. A true gamer can play hundreds of different games well. Also, I think your title should be “Do you think you were born too early for Esports?” ---
**Author:** ![D.Lo](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/d.lo/32/4116_2.png) [@D.Lo](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/D.Lo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 1:33pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/3 "2021-03-13T13:33:49Z")
Guess I played competitive Counter Strike online in like 1999? It just didn’t go anywhere and was just for fun. One guy at my college went to a LAN and won something, but it was like a $100 prize lol. I also played Street Fighter III with some guys who played in a couple of tournaments around 2001. But again, you won like a trophy only. ---
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/4 "2021-03-13T17:10:36Z")
> [@Yakumo](#): > > Also, I think your title should be “Do you think you were born too early for Esports?” Lol, serves me right for posting random thoughts half asleep. ---
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/5 "2021-03-13T17:11:59Z")
I was the best SSBM player on my campus. But the pros would have destroyed me. ---
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/6 "2021-03-13T17:14:44Z")
> [@Yakumo](#): > > Plus they’re only great at one or two games. A true gamer can play hundreds of different games well. I imagine those players are probably at least as good as the typical gamer in any game not their “main” game. ---
**Author:** ![raskulous](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/raskulous/32/11773_2.png) [@raskulous](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/raskulous)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/7 "2021-03-13T18:17:38Z")
I’m 41 now, but I was still a competitive player in the early days of eSport. I used to play in Quake 2 and Quake 3 tournaments back when they were popular, and even won a few nice prizes. I still love competitive games now (mostly Rocket League), but I’m only Champ 2/3 level, nowhere near eSports level of competition. That said, I also love watching eSports. Rocket League and Trackmania are my favs. I also watch a ton of speedrunning. ---
**Author:** ![VGEsoterica](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/vgesoterica/32/17792_2.png) [@VGEsoterica](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/VGEsoterica)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/8 "2021-03-17T14:12:09Z")
I went to DePaul for a Masters Degree “meet and greet” and saw their eSports practice room…that was odd lol ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/codinghorror/32/16647_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/9 "2021-03-28T23:46:29Z")
Also, how does one game become an eSport, and another game… not at all? How do you “design” for an eSport, and should you even try? 😖 I feel like I can point to multiple examples of… - games that were _expressly designed_ to become eSports… but didn’t and - games that had _no idea_ they would become eSports, that was not a consideration at all during the game’s design, but somehow they did, sometimes in a massive way So… what does it all mean? Why and how are we still playing Counter-Strike after TWENTY ONE years?! I remember playing that in 1999 on a then-new cable modem connection and feeling like a god versus modem users! ---
**Author:** ![VGEsoterica](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/vgesoterica/32/17792_2.png) [@VGEsoterica](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/VGEsoterica)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/10 "2021-03-30T13:28:34Z")
I’m glad it exists but it really hasn’t caught my attention in the way that I want to watch it ---
**Author:** ![NeoZeedeater](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/neozeedeater/32/415_2.png) [@NeoZeedeater](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/NeoZeedeater)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 4:59am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/11 "2021-04-07T04:59:31Z")
I think I could have done well at EA NHL games back in the 16-bit era, if there were tournaments. In general though, my game time has always been divided among several games (and usually single player ones) so that doesn’t leave much room for mastering individual ones. ---
**Author:** ![Eccles](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/eccles/32/6391_2.png) [@Eccles](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Eccles)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/12 "2021-04-16T14:10:55Z")
I still watch competitive Broodwar. In fact I just supported the Patron set up to continue offering English commentary for the Korean tournaments. The last 3 seasons have been amazing, some of the best games or series ever played. It doesn’t have the huge following of the mid 2000s, but it’s still broadcast in Korea, and gets good crowds (before covid). It works as an esport because it’s so mechanically demanding, allows for individual style, and there’s a lot of information an audience can take in easily about what is happening. 22 years later, it’s still great. ---
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/13 "2021-04-16T14:48:08Z")
Yea, I once watched a video on it - the amount of effort these players put into inputing everything so fast is really impressive. I’ve never even attempted to play a game like that other than Super Smash Bros. Melee - and while that can be complicated, it’s still quite a bit less so than something like Broodwar. I got arthritis just watching them lol. I also just so happen to suck royally at RTS. It’s a genre that just seems so hard for me to wrap my brain around. It’s a bummer since turned based strategy games like chess, Fire Emblem, and Advanced Wars are some of my favorites. But once you add a real-time element to them, my head turns to mush. Even a hybrid system like Ogre Battle is complicated to me - it’s hard for me to move around the map and anticipate where all the characters are. Pikmin games are the closest I’ve come to any degree of mastery over RTS. But I’d argue they’re very easy to complete compared to games typical of the genre. The depth comes from the speed by which you can complete the game rather than needing to out-think opponents or enemy AI. It’s more about staying organized. ---
**Author:** ![Eccles](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/eccles/32/6391_2.png) [@Eccles](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Eccles)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/14 "2021-04-16T15:43:49Z")
The great thing about Broodwar is that expectation and deception are key in high level play. The double bluffs, and tricky surprises they can pull off in best of 5 game series are awesome. There’s a reason it’s been described as the hardest competitive game. There’s the mechanics, game strategy, and series mind games and planning. All of which are needed to win the top tournaments. I haven’t actually played much RTS consistently since a couple of years after Starcraft 2 came out. And that experience was pretty humbling, as my hands and brain weren’t up for the total overload needed to be freaky good at it. I have been playing a bit of Overcooked with my wife, and I realise I’m approaching some elements like an RTS. Where are the bottlenecks? Can I do this thing 3 steps ahead? Total overkill 😅. I hear you on the strategy games, and it reminds me of some discussions with friends about being able to think to win, or input to win. And I totally understand that mechanical difficulty isn’t for some people, even if they’re looking for a very challenging experience. ---
**Author:** ![sixteen-bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@sixteen-bit](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/sixteen-bit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 11:04am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/15 "2021-04-17T11:04:52Z")
The only esport-adjacent titles I’m interested regularly feature 30-and-40-year-olds in top 8 so no, lol. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/codinghorror/32/16647_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/do-you-ever-feel-like-you-were-born-too-early-for-the-whole-esports-thing/2317/16 "2021-05-23T02:30:55Z")
Out of curiosity, what esport adjacent title would that be? 🤔