As our South Korean friends can confirm, video games can most definitely be a spectator sport. But will they ever catch on in a huge way in the good ol' U.S. of A? Well, pro leagues already exist, but to know if they'll ever reach the levels of March Madness and Superbowl Sunday, we need to take a closer look at traditional sports spectatorship to figure out the REAL reason we watch. It's more than just winning and losing: there are characters, rivalries, histories, and a host of other background information that coalesce into an AMAZING story, and we're dying to know the ending. Could eSports ever achieve this level of storytelling? Watch the episode to find out!

Special Thanks to Mr. AJ Mazur / HatPerson for assisting greatly with research on this episode.

Check out some awesome eSports Leagues featured in this episode!

Major League Gaming:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MajorLeag...

IGN Pro League:
http://www.youtube.com/user/IGNProLeague


Further Reading Links:

Jason Johnson Kill Screen Article:
http://killscreendaily.com/articles/a...
Is Math Real on BoingBoing:
http://boingboing.net/2013/06/22/is-m...
Numberphile - Is it Math or Maths?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbZCEC...
Extra Credits - Zombies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohC10r...


Idea Channel IRC!
http://bit.ly/138EHBh


Tweets of the Week:
https://twitter.com/lidowatts/status/...
https://twitter.com/twptwit/status/34...


Music:
"Europe" by Roglok (http://www.roglok.net)
"Carry on Carillon" by Roglok (http://www.roglok.net)
"Bouncy Castle" by Roglok (http://www.roglok.net)
":P" by Roglok (http://www.roglok.net)
Level 5: Room for the Homeless
http://www.jamendo.com/en/list/a10132...
Chiptune - Kenzalol
https://soundcloud.com/chiptune/kenzalol
Pocaille
https://soundcloud.com/pocaille/tachy...
Binarpilot
http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/66141...
"Squarehead" by Roglok (http://www.roglok.net)
Clockwork - Titan (geometry remix)
https://soundcloud.com/wompworthy/clo...

Let us know what sorts of crazy ideas you have, about this episode and otherwise:
Tweet at us! @pbsideachannel (yes, the longest twitter username ever)
Email us! pbsideachannel [at] gmail [dot] com
Idea Channel Facebook!
http://Facebook.com/pbsideachannel
Hosted by Mike Rugnetta (@mikerugnetta)
Made by Kornhaber Brown (http://www.kornhaberbrown.com)


Want some more Idea Channel?

Here's Last Week's episode: "Why Do We Love Zombies?" http://youtu.be/RSoIDJCY3r8

Want another one? Here ya go: "Is The Universe A Computer?" http://youtu.be/ws3XQo9MTA0

Here's Some More: "Is Math A Feature of The Universe or a Feature of Human Creation? http://youtu.be/TbNymweHW4E

• Category

  Education

• License

  Standard YouTube License