Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

[Ameroth]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

I lol'ed. God damn you and your funnies Murphie.

Oh Murphie. You say something and people 'round here start jacking off to you. How do you do it?

[dirtyclown]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

Oh Murphie. You say something and people 'round here start jacking off to you. How do you do it?

I hear he carries bacon wrapped in cellophane in his jeans pocket.

[Brielle]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

I hear he carries bacon wrapped in cellophane in his jeans pocket.

Wait, I do not get it. What do bacon and cellophane have to do with anything?

[Murphie]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

Who doesn't love bacon?

[Kittyneko]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

How much do you think they could RMT the torch for?

How exactly can you RMT anything in Warcraft III?

[Brielle]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

How exactly can you RMT anything in Warcraft III?

An army of female elves might fetch a nice price on the black market

[Kitalrez]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

True, but in my experience with Warcraft III, that army wouldn't fetch nearly as much as a button mod to mute the other players. Or in a large number of cases a button to send a few nice burly men over to permanently mute the other players.

{Edit} Ok, and no one still has answered my question: What makes a professional gamer an athlete? The story doesn't tell us about anything else they do for physical activity, so what is it about using a keyboard or controller that makes you an athlete?

[Brielle]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

I am not sure I can really answer that, but it could have something to do with the mental prowess a professional gamer has. Obviously it takes coordination and some intellect to execute commands in a gaming environment. Does that really classify as an athlete..

Here is the definition of an athlete from Merriam-Webster's online dictionary:

Main Entry: ath·lete
Pronunciation: \ˈath-ˌlēt, ÷ˈa-thə-ˌlēt\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin athleta, from Greek athlētēs, from athlein to contend for a prize, from athlon prize, contest
Date: 15th century
: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

By those standards, I think that you could consider a professional gamer an athlete.

[Caspian]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

How so? The only way you can try to justify a gamer fitting into that definition is if you assume that they are trained or skilled in a game requiring physical stamina.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
stam·i·na1 Audio Help /ˈstæmənə/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[stam-uh-nuh] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun strength of physical constitution; power to endure disease, fatigue, privation, etc.

None of that is required to play a video game.

[Brielle]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

Haven't you ever played video games for forty-eight hours and no sleep?

The definition of an athlete is really open to interpretation, but I can understand what you are saying as well. Agility is a part of coordination, for some video games you do need to have quick reflexes. It is a stretch, but not completely unjustified.

[DakAttack]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

It's just China trying to justify the decision to let them host the Olympics.

[Caspian]

Re: Warcraft players to carry Olympic torch.

Haven't you ever played video games for forty-eight hours and no sleep?

I have, yes, but it wasn't required to play the game.

And yes, its possible to get pretty vague in determining what an athlete is. But calling gamers "athletes" basically means that video games are a form of a sport, and thats right up there with calling poker and billiards sports. Skill games are not necessarily sports.

Somewhat more on topic: Is WC3 big in China? Or am I thinking of Starcraft in Korea?