With the video game streaming site Twitch being purchased by Amazon for $970 million and competitions such as “The International” (“Defense of the Ancients 2” championship) having more than $10 million in prizes, eSports are becoming more and more popular.

Because of this, people are asking, are eSports actually sports?

ESPN President John Skipper seems to have put it the best, “It’s not a sport — it’s a competition. Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition.”

I, myself, am an avid gamer. I have been playing video games my whole life, and I know firsthand the difference between a good and a bad player.

A good game takes time to learn. It requires practice, timing and strategy to get good at it. This is also true of any sport.

The major difference with video games and sports is of course the physicality of sports. A sport requires a person to be in a particular physical condition to excel, video games do not.

Consistently playing a sport builds endurance, strength, mind body coordination and more depending on the sport, whereas video games might really only enhance strategic ability and hand eye coordination (which sports do as well).

Competitive video games do share a lot of the same great features as regular sports.

Competitive video games require an incredible amount of dedication and concentration, as sports do.

Many video games teach teamwork and can create life long bonds of friendship, as sports do.

Video games for some are extremely entertaining to watch, as sports are.

So why is the physicality so important?

Simple, to be truly great at a sport, the dedication doesn’t stop by clicking an off switch.

Both gamers and athletes have to practice and perform their skill, but once they are done playing or practicing, that’s where it stops.

To be truly great at a sport, it requires dedication on and off the field. It requires exercise, proper diet and safety.

There are physical risks to sports. Something as simple as a twisted ankle could take a person out of a game! This is simply not the case with video games.

Video games require time to master. Somebody who can truly compete in a video game should absolutely be recognized for their talents, but this is true of any other competition. A sport is something that requires physicality.

A sport is a competition that has risks, and requires commitment beyond honing the skills to play the sport itself. This is the biggest difference in sports and eSports.

Although great examples of true and vibrant competitions, eSports in their current state can never be considered real sports without the same level of physical commitment and risk that athletes have to undergo.

Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to go play more “Destiny.”