Thu, May 22, 2008 | 20:05 BST

“You will never achieve in a video game”, says Olympic president

The Times is reporting that President of Olympics Committee Jacques Rogge has said that in comparison to sport, there is no achievement in gaming.

“Kids are attracted to visual, interactive forms of communication,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy for sport to counter that.

“You won’t hear me saying sport is not fun – it is,” he went on. “But it requires austerity and discipline. The answer is achievement. You will never achieve in a video game. It is not really success.”

So there you go, you losers.

By Mike Bowden

10 comments

#1

Psychotext
22/05/08, 8:08 pm

Success is what society defines it to be, nothing more. If there comes a point that society as a whole decides to appreciate skill in gaming then you will be able to achieve success as a gamer.

#2

that_happy_cat
22/05/08, 8:47 pm

You know what… I agree. There is something about reaching the peaks in sport that outweighs anything else and certainly what can be achieved in gaming.

I’d rather hit a buzzer beater in a pick up game of basketball that hit a high score on Pac-Man…

I know that’s just me, but really, I agree with this chap

#3

Rhythm
22/05/08, 9:27 pm

Yeah, being active is tons better than gaming. I cannot stand competitive sport though, and the sooner it’s abolished, the better.

#4

deanimate
22/05/08, 10:53 pm

he better not say that to any pro starcraft players.

#5

G1GAHURTZ
23/05/08, 5:19 am

Hey, I’ve got LOADS of Achievements!

He, he…

#6

Michael
23/05/08, 6:27 am

Clearly he’s never set foot inside the halls of a fighting game tournament arena…

#7

Blerk
23/05/08, 8:17 am

Achievement Unlocked
Full pack of Jaffa Cakes consumed

#8

Hero of Canton
23/05/08, 9:17 am

The man’s clearly not experienced the highs of reaching the fifth stratum of Etrian Odyssey or completing Ninja Gaiden on hard mode, has he? That takes discipline, patience and skill, and is massively rewarding (er, I’d imagine – in the latter case, at least).

#9

TJ
23/05/08, 9:25 am

I think this is patently bullshit. Of course there’s achievement to be found in video games.

#10

EdwardTivrusky
23/05/08, 9:31 am

Me too Rhythm, I pretty much don’t care for the “competitive” aspect of sports either. I always try to beat myself not others so all my achievements are worthwhile sporting or gaming.
It’s a bit close to Jeff Bell’s “What have you done for the world?” statement for my liking and anyway to “succeed” in anything you need determination whether it’s deemed worthwhile or not. I don’t see the point in running for 26 miles for a bit of gold but i admire the people who can.

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