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Kristi Leskinen " No gamer in the world deserves an X-games Gold Medal"

Okay, now we're getting somewhere. The organisers let H5 in. It's ultimately their event and their decisions what they want their event to be about - and by what means it should stay afloat. Contrary to what seems to be popular opinion here, I don't really find it a problem that there's a side event with something else; perhaps because I've seen what I would roughly describe as forcing main contestants of certain non-sport event to get a third of their score in sponsored competition. It's essentially a very weird sort of merchandise here - an X-Games flavour Halo 5 tourney. Is this annoying to main contestants? Perhaps. I think there are worse alternatives.
And once the organizers of an extreme sporting event start allowing non-extreme sports in, people like Kristi are, rightfully, voicing their displeasure.
Meh, you can compare it to soccer, or Basketball. Some sports are more pick up and play than others.

And i guarantee you someone that's never had a dualshock in their hands won't do shit in Halo for a long while.
Yeah, soccer's just kicking a ball amirite.
 

knkng

Member
This is X-game integrating e-sports, not the other way round. I'd guess the organisers were hoping to gain higher viewership.

I mean, videogames are probably a pretty good fit with their demographic.

Sure, and I wouldn't even say it's a bad idea to hold a Halo tournament alongside the X-Games. The issue is the medal itself. Giving out an X-Games medal to somebody playing video games devalues the purpose behind the award.
 

RAWi

Member
X-Games = Extreme Sports or Activities

Competitive Gaming =/= Extreme Sports or Activities

Done.

Doesn't mean that Competitive Gaming can't be considered as sports (which in the future will be completely considered as one, it will happen people, esports is just the beginning), but this is not the issue here. The issue is that, Halo tournament isn't an extreme activity.

Unless, people start playing with a gun on their head (or something like that), and whoever loses, BAM.
 

Siege.exe

Member
As an athlete, I have to say that the whole "games are/aren't sports" thing is a huge waste of time, because honestly, who fucking cares. It doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things. I can understand wanting things to be kept separate though. Halo doesn't need to be at the X-Games, and League doesn't need to be at EVO.
Seriously, if you're going to make the argument that games shouldn't be shoehorned into other competitions, it doesn't make much sense to go on to say that it's okay for them to be shoehorned into other established competitions for specific games/genres.
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
Where are you guys even getting that I think you can compete against pros? Read what i said.

Well if that wasn't what you were getting at than I don't know what to say...

Who would get their bearings faster, a first time gamer handed a Halo 5 disc and an Xbox One controller, thrusted into online multiplayer... or a first timer with a golfbag and a bag of balls pushed into a lane at a driving range?

I really don't think the former would be "fine in a few minutes".
 

zroid

Banned
Not gonna lie, I was watching the X-Games this afternoon and then suddenly they started showing Halo and it was, uh, definitely not what I asked for.

I mean I don't care whether there is a Halo event at the X-Games, but seems like a demographic mismatch there... kinda. At least for viewers who didn't know what they were getting into. I can sympathize with people who weren't too pleased with it.
 
Well if that wasn't what you were getting at than I don't know what to say...

Who would get their bearings faster, a first time gamer handed a Halo 5 disc and an Xbox One controller, thrusted into online multiplayer... or someone with a golfbag and a bag of balls.

I really don't think the former would be "fine in a few minutes".

Well no kidding if you throw a noob into an onliine match against people who have been playing halo for awhile they aren't going to do well. if you throw a noob golfer in their first game against an experienced golfer they aren't going to do well either. So what's your point? What are you guys even arguing.

Halo is designed to be comfortably playable within the very first few minutes. Is anybody going to dispute this? Within your first few minutes of playing golf, are you going to be comfortably playing it, or is going to take a while for you to even be able to hit the ball on the tee? It's going to take a lot more practice to even be considered a bad player in golf compared to a bad player in Halo.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Not gonna lie, I was watching the X-Games this afternoon and then suddenly they started showing Halo and it was, uh, definitely not what I asked for.

I mean I don't care whether there is a Halo event at the X-Games, but seems like a demographic mismatch there... kinda. At least for viewers who didn't know what they were getting into. I can sympathize with people who weren't too pleased with it.

I dunno, both have an Xtreme fondness for sugar laden by the truckload energy drinks.
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
Well no kidding if you throw a noob into an onliine match against people who have been playing halo for awhile they aren't going to do well. if you throw a noob golfer in their first game against an experienced golfer they aren't going to do well either. So what's your point?

My point is apparently that saying, "uh you can pick up halo and be playing it fine enough within a few minutes. You can't come close to doing that with golf " doesn't make any sense, unless you fill in some qualifiers (there aren't any)... apparently, "all things being equal" isn't one of them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

No point in addressing the fact that I simply said, "get their bearings" and literally said nothing about "doing well" or "playing against an experienced golfer".

Halo is designed to be comfortably playable within the very first few minutes. Is anybody going to dispute this? Within your first few minutes of playing golf, are you going to be comfortably playing it, or is going to take a while for you to even be able to hit the ball on the tee? It's going to take a lot more practice to even be considered a bad player in golf compared to a bad player in Halo.

It's apples and oranges.

You seem to be comparing a person who is completely familiar with videogames and first person shooters to a person grabbing a nine iron for the first time.

At least that's what I'm guessing you're saying.

The analogy doesn't work. Bleh. Fin.

Not gonna lie, I was watching the X-Games this afternoon and then suddenly they started showing Halo and it was, uh, definitely not what I asked for.

I mean I don't care whether there is a Halo event at the X-Games, but seems like a demographic mismatch there... kinda. At least for viewers who didn't know what they were getting into. I can sympathize with people who weren't too pleased with it.

It's certainly a weird marriage of events; it just doesn't fit well at all.
 

RAWi

Member
Halo is designed to be comfortably playable within the very first few minutes. Is anybody going to dispute this? Within your first few minutes of playing golf, are you going to be comfortably playing it, or is going to take a while for you to even be able to hit the ball on the tee? It's going to take a lot more practice to even be considered a bad player in golf compared to a bad player in Halo.

Wha? No, both are the same.

Both have simple objectives. In Halo, you have to shoot other players by pressing a button, move with the sticks, etc. In golf, you have to hit the ball with the golf club so it can go into the hole.

Both are easy and quick to get. But, it is way to different to master. At Halo, you will be going from learning to run and aim quickly and accurate. At golf, you will be learning to hit accordingly and aim accurately.

Both are easy to play, difficult to master, like every other activity. Almost everyone can run, but not everyone got the skills and techniques to run just as fast as athletes at the Olympics.

I like to play Halo and golf, and I know how to play both, they are fun. But, I am so bad at both, hahaha.
 
My point is apparently that saying, "uh you can pick up halo and be playing it fine enough within a few minutes. You can't come close to doing that with golf " doesn't make any sense, unless you fill in some qualifiers (there aren't any)... apparently, "all things being equal" isn't one of them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It makes complete sense. I have absolutely no idea what is so hard to understand. You can be comfortable with the controls and be capable of comfortably playing a fun game of Halo within minutes. It's going to take you a lot longer to get used to the motor skills needed to even get a game of golf properly started with hitting a ball off the tee.
Do people start playing Halo adequately enough within minute starting it? yes, they do.
Do people start playing golf adequately witihin moments of just learning it.?No, they don't Are you really going to say that it takes a few minutes to learn how to play golf?
 
Yeah, if shooting, archery, & making a horse dance can be passed as Olympic events, I don't see why gaming, at some point in the future, can't be.

Yeah, the olympic tournament are loosing their meaning and value for each iteration, so it's not impossible that gaming can be a part that.
 
Wha? No, both are the same.

Both have simple objectives. In Halo, you have to shoot other players by pressing a button, move with the sticks, etc. In golf, you have to hit the ball with the golf club so it can go into the hole.

Both are easy and quick to get. But, it is way to different to master. At Halo, you will be going from learning to run and aim quickly and accurate. At golf, you will be learning to hit accordingly and aim accurately.

Both are easy to play, difficult to master, like every other activity. Almost everyone can run, but not everyone got the skills and techniques to run just as fast as athletes at the Olympics.

I like to play Halo and golf, and I know how to play both, they are fun. But, I am so bad at both, hahaha.
I am not even going to answer this in detail because you are not even following the conversation.
You people are making my head hurt
 
It makes complete sense. I have absolutely no idea what is so hard to understand. You can be comfortable with the controls and be capable of comfortably playing a fun game of Halo within minutes. It's going to take you a lot longer to get used to the motor skills needed to even get a game of golf properly started with hitting a ball off the tee.
Do people start playing Halo adequately enough within minute starting it? yes, they do.
Do people start playing golf adequately witihin moments of just learning it.?No, they don't Are you really going to say that it takes a few minutes to learn how to play golf?

Except you are wrong. I can't prove it, so you have that going for you.

Aside from that though, I've met people who barely play video games. Maybe they played once or twice, maybe they just play a little Skyrim. I've seen them start trying to play Halo and just spin in place like some kind of faulty, game-playing top. Similarly, I have seen people who have played some video games pick Halo up and do okay. Halo being just an example, since I play a lot of Halo.

Now I also play tennis and teach tennis over the Summer to make a few extra bucks between semesters. I've met people who barely play sports and want to learn how to play. I've seen them just spin their rackets around like some kind of malfunctioning, ball-seeking top. Similarly, I've had people who played other sports come into and pick up on the fundamentals just fine.

I think skills are transferable between sports. I think they are transferable between games. People do pick up on sports quickly. Some don't though. Same with games.
 
Except you are wrong. I can't prove it, so you have that going for you.

.

Uh-huh.. great argument. "you're wrong but I can't do anything to show you why". Wrong where exactly? That it takes longer than a few minutes to get the hang of golf? Or wrong that it takes a few minutes to get the hang of Halo? Put a bunch of people in a room and see which game gets picked up more easily
By "get the hang of " I don't mean start pwning people , I mean being comfortable enough that you can at least play competently without being a complete trainwreck ( for example, a trainwreck of golf would be always just barely even grazing the ball while teeing off .let alone anything else. )

seriously this board is baffling and embarrasing sometimes when it comes to any
Since i have been accused of being wrong, just to show that I am not pulling stuff out of my ass, here's an article where it's suggested for total golf noobies that it takes "36 hours or the equivalent of one work week " for somebody to be able to "play a relaxed, casual and non-competitive game" of golf.
http://news.cybergolf.com/golf_news/for_neverever_golfers_invest_36_hours_and_learn_to_play_golf
Go anywhere ansd search whether golf is something that is picked up easily, even on a casual level.You'll find plenty of people saying it's way harder than it looks, even playing casually. Now somebody show me a link suggesting that halo needs about 36 hours for somebody to play on a relaxed non competitve casual level . Can you find a link? Didn't think so.
You are insane if you think golf is easier to pick up and play than halo.
 
I'm not here to say whether esports should be considered a sport, but I have to say that I agree with her, and gaming doesn't fall under extreme sports to me. They're putting their bodies in extreme danger where one mess up could put them in a hospital, or even worse, death.

Not to take away from the winners of the Halo 5 tournament. It still takes a lot of skill to accomplish what they did.
 

kiguel182

Member
Well, eSports as actual sports is kinda dumb so can't blame her for thinking that.

It's also not an extreme sport so she is right.
 

Freshmaker

I am Korean.
I don't care about the X-Games or regular Sports in general. To be honest I don't think Gaming has any place at the X-Games, but they have to gain viewers somehow.

If the gaming was Xtreme I could see it. Maybe put people playing racing games on a rollercoaster with monitors and controllers or something.

CoD players could get shot with paintballs and hit with high radiation periodically.
 

Nanashrew

Banned
If the gaming was Xtreme I could see it. Maybe put people playing racing games on a rollercoaster with monitors and controllers or something.

CoD players could get shot with paintballs and hit with high radiation periodically.

We should all be trying for the top score in Pilot Wings while jumping out of a plane.
 

FLAguy954

Junior Member
hey remember when the x-games used to get laughed at by real athletes for like decades because they were basically a bunch of venice beach rejects

People used to say the same about all the sports at the X-Games. We certainly have come full circle.

Ah yes, the prestigious X-Games medal.

Lol, these are great.

Well giving a medal to people who are displaying no athleticism for something that takes athleticism just undermines what the athletes actually put themselves through to get that medal. I can definitely see why she would be upset at it.

It should not invoke such a negative response from her imo. Shit, it's not like they won a gold medal from her specific event so why does it bother her so much?
 

LaronX

Neo Member
It is not an extreme sport. Unless they changed the rules to "Win Halo match while riding a BMX/Skateboard/Ski/whatever" esports aren't really extreme. They can be extremely stressful, but same goes for Poker and Cheese. I doubt anyone would consider those extreme.


It fits the demographic that's why it is there. Is she right in her point? Yes. Does anyone care? No.
 

Rurunaki

Member
She could've worded that better and even used better hash tags than "couchgames" and "athleteonly." I do think Esports shouldn't be in x-games just as mich as skiing does not belong in dreamhack.
 
She has a point. IMO, its not even about the medals or how one defines athletics / sports. It has more to do with the corner stones of which xgames have been built upon. Tony Hawk, Pastrana, Hoffman, Mirra, hundreds of others pushing themselves and what they represent on a grand stage for all to see, often at the expense of their bodies. To put a gamer on the same platform is a slap in the face.

In fairness though, x games have been shit for almost a decade so yeah it kinda fits the formula.
 

Petrae

Member
While the inflammatory parts of her tweet were unnecessary, I agree with her main point 100%. By all means, televised video game competitions should be a thing-- but putting it on the same stage and earning the same rewards as legitimate athletes who risk life and limb for those rewards minimizes the accomplishments of everyone else.

I get why she's pissed. She should have used more discretion in terms of dealing with that anger.
 
Yeah this Kristi lady is right.

Ain't no world in which Halo 5 should be part of the X-games.

The organisers should start another event that focuses on e-sports because putting Halo in there is just weird, confusing and inappropriate.
 

Hip Hop

Member
Yeah, I agree and I didn't even know this was a thing.

Video gamers don't deserve those medals. They should provide a second tier awards for that and not put them in the same category as extreme sports.
 

mStudios

Member
Only the organization decides what to do with the medals.
If they thought the players deserved it, then great.

It might be the start of their own league or something.
 
Uh-huh.. great argument. "you're wrong but I can't do anything to show you why". Wrong where exactly? That it takes longer than a few minutes to get the hang of golf? Or wrong that it takes a few minutes to get the hang of Halo? Put a bunch of people in a room and see which game gets picked up more easily
By "get the hang of " I don't mean start pwning people , I mean being comfortable enough that you can at least play competently without being a complete trainwreck ( for example, a trainwreck of golf would be always just barely even grazing the ball while teeing off .let alone anything else.
As one guy already said:
You seem to be comparing a person who is completely familiar with videogames and first person shooters to a person grabbing a nine iron for the first time
Have you seen people who have never played videogames, especially FPs games with two analog sticks try it for first time? It takes forever for them to even grasp how to walk straight and look where you are going.

I'm not saying learning Halo 5 is harder or easier than golf, since we don't have actual comparisons on subject. We can just guess and use common sense. But I you don't have both test subjects in same conditions, meaning total noobies, then you shouldn't make comparisons.
 
Lol, these are great.



It should not invoke such a negative response from her imo. Shit, it's not like they won a gold medal from her specific event so why does it bother her so much?

She said that they should win some type of medal just not an X-games medal, there's absolutely nothing wrong with what she said. It wasn't "such a negative response" it was a normal response to what she felt undermined what people who win those things have to go through.

I don't understand why people take such issue with what she said. Gaming has nothing to do with extreme sports.
 

patapuf

Member
And once the organizers of an extreme sporting event start allowing non-extreme sports in, people like Kristi are, rightfully, voicing their displeasure.

Yeah, soccer's just kicking a ball amirite.

I don't mean that soccer takes no skill.

I meant that i can play soccer with 4 year old kids but not golf.

In the same way someone can just pick up halo, but is going to struggle mightily with say, starcraft or dota.

Some sports/games are pick up and play and others aren't. How easy they are for newcomers has little to do with skill ceiling. Which is why comparing an accessible game like Halo with something like Golf doesn't work well. Golf is just flawed because playing golf for the first time is like someone never having used a controller in his life. Not someone used to playing FPS's on consoles.
 

Gunharp

Member
I don't think she is pissed, basing that off the tweets she made after the one quoted by OP. I also don't find her comments negative.

I believe the X Games organization might benefit from creating a different type of trophy for the esports finalists. Not sure how to go about it in such a way that the esports don't appear as second class or side showy. But worth finding a solution. I had no idea the medals were the exact same as the one athletes received. I'm pretty sure I agree with her on this and I got nothing for the "who cares" argument, lol, other than shit man I dunno competitive sports are cool.

Reading through some of reply's and @'s... good god not a whole lot of respect for her comments. These dudes think they've been insulted. Even taunting from CLG and EG players. Gross.
 
I'd be more understanding about video games at the Olympics than X Games. There's plenty of dangerous sports there too, but you'd never get curling at the X Games - why Halo?
 

KTO

Member
While my gut says she's right, the xgames was founded by suits at ESPN to get people who didn't watch traditional sports watching ESPN. Handing out medals to pro-gamers falls right in line with that philosophy.
 

Hip Hop

Member
It should not invoke such a negative response from her imo. Shit, it's not like they won a gold medal from her specific event so why does it bother her so much?

Why not?

I'm not even into these sports that much (I guess skating back in the day a bit) and I see the inclusion of video games as disrespectful to the people that represent the actual sports and what it was built open, the whole legacy of it.

I can more so understand the response coming from someone that comes from that background. And it wasn't even that negative tbh.
 
Golf is just flawed because playing golf for the first time is like someone never having used a controller in his life.
arrrgh ..no, it isn't like that. Using a golf club needs far more motor control than using a controller. That's what started the whole thing... talking about motor control versus halo and golf
 
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