The government should strive to make online gaming a community event and host a national tournament following the nation’s extraordinary performance at the League of Legends (LOL) tournament, advocates of online gaming said yesterday.
On Saturday, a Taiwanese team defeated their South Korean rivals 3-1 in the finals of an international online video game competition held in Los Angeles, California, taking home the top prize.
While the development of the online gaming industry has expanded over the past 10 years, the general public does not equate online game players with athletes of other sports.
Gamers are also often associated with negative images, portrayed as addicts, layabouts or simply those who are not engaging in a serious activity.
Lager Network Technologies chairman Philip Chang (張厥猶) said that the Taiwanese team winning the LOL tournament would help change the general impression of online game players.
The government should seize this opportunity to make online gaming a community event through an objective and strict online game rating system, he said.
Chang added that many sports centers around the nation could use unused computers to host small online games competitions, which could increase participation.
Like teams in Major League Baseball, which hail from all over North America, Chang said that the nation could at least have online gaming teams based in Taipei, Greater Taichung, Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung.
He said these cities could take turns hosting a national online gaming competition, which could then produce players to represent the country in international tournaments.
Asked if parents would oppose online gaming if it became a community event, Chang said they would not object as long as children play games that are appropriate for their age.
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