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Japan

Japan is Opening Its First Ever Esports Gym (insider.com) 34

Japan is opening its first gym for esports in Tokyo, a space for both amateur and experienced gamers to train and get professional coaching, according to Japan Today. From a report: The competitive gaming space, which is set to open on May 19 and will be known as "Esports Gym," will include a lounge and gaming PCs outfitted with some of Japan's most popular games, including Valorant and League of Legends. Gamers can book a three-hour time slot at one of the PCs for about $13 or opt for a monthly membership starting at $50, which allows daily access to the gaming PCs as well as optional coaching sessions that can be added on for about $25 an hour. Esports Gym, which is jointly operated by private transit company Tokyo Metro and esports education company Gecipe, will welcome experienced gamers as well as those who are new to gaming PCs or don't understand the game rules, according to the website.
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Japan is Opening Its First Ever Esports Gym

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  • I think you can get kicked out of this "gym" for doing exercise on the premises.
  • Obese unshaven smelly man with ahegao shirt, 10GB lolicon folder, and no job: "I'm a professional e-sports athlete!"

    • Some of them make more than I ever will, so as far as I'm concerned it's a legitimate career. However I suspect it's a bit like any other professional sport where the .001% that can make it professionally don't come close to amounting for all the people who practically devote their life to it but won't get anywhere.

      The professional gamer industry might be the only thing that burns through young talent faster than the game development industry.
      • It is like any sport. Where there is a lot of training and practice going on. Even for a lot of armatures out there it could be fun to compete on the lower tears. But I wouldn't dedicate your life to it, especially for money, unless you are really good.

        However like a lot of competitions, what it takes to win, often comes at the expense of the details of the task.

        A competitive Coder, doesn't always equate a good Software Developer. As the code is often too condensed to be read and altered later on.
        A compet

    • Obese unshaven smelly man with ahegao shirt, 10GB lolicon folder, and no job: "I'm a professional e-sports athlete!"

      Dunno what decade you're from, but the average "athlete" has changed a bit.

      Ritalin is a helluva dru, er I mean study aid, er I mean diet pill.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Reminds me of darts. People said that wasn't a proper sport, not least because many of the athletes were overweight middle aged men who drank between throws.

      https://youtu.be/vqxXNZcIdwM?t... [youtu.be]

  • This is one gym that needs a fully stocked bar!
  • Oh boy! I can't wait for the Cartman-like NEET to ask for more Hot-Pockets and an urgent call to use the bathroom like RIGHT NOW!
    I wonder if that's an extra charge for a charge-nurse to rush to a chair with a bedpan and call them a good boy!

    Then there will always be that one kid that plays Hello Kitty's Island Adventure!

    PS: Butters is my favorite character. He's always getting the crap end of the deal and I want to just root for him. But he still hasn't stopped making that face, so he's never be not-ground

  • by kackle ( 910159 ) on Monday May 03, 2021 @12:51PM (#61342442)
    You won't find a girl that way.
    • You won't find a girl that way.

      That doesn't matter.

      A real nerd wouldn't find a girl in a real gym either.

      • A real nerd wouldn't find a girl in a real gym either.

        There are three potentially "real" things in this sentence.

        Pick one, and forget about that other imaginary shit.

    • by tomhath ( 637240 )
      Wait...this is Esports? I though it said Escorts Gym. I'll leave now.
  • Esports "Gym"? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by newslash.formatblows ( 2011678 ) on Monday May 03, 2021 @12:52PM (#61342454)
    No, they've opened their millionth internet cafe.
    • An internet cafe, but now with coaches you can pay for the privilege of telling you all the things you're doing wrong.

  • This feels like the evolutionary step for the Nintendo Power Line from the 80s and 90s that the Nintendo Power magazine advertised.

  • by Joe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) on Monday May 03, 2021 @12:58PM (#61342508)

    Why is an transit company doing this?
    Are they having an hard time finding drivers and want people pay to play an game as part of the training?

    • Maybe it's the idiot son-in-law of major business owner trope? Reality is kind of sad and boring, instead this could make for a very standard 90's overly contrived movie plot where the plucky working-class guy proves his wife's rich family they were doing business wrong this entire time. As a twist, Pauly Shore will play the snooty father-in-law that has a big change of heart in the end (spoiler!).

  • Where is a space where I can get coaching and train for darts, billiards(cue sports), or regional incarnations of bowling? I mean other than going to a bar (or bowling alley), because that seems like cheating when there is no mobile app or exorbitant membership fee.

    • because that seems like cheating when there is no mobile app or exorbitant membership fee.

      You like darts or billiards, someone else like League of Legends or Counter Strike.
      You pay to go to a bar or alley to play your thing, they pay to go to the esports gym to play their thing.
      How is it any different?

  • Sure they're a bit out dated here in the US but has Japan never had internet cafes because that is almost exactly what this is.

    Calling it a gym kind of sounds pathetic to me too and I'm a gamer.

    • This is geared toward teens and young adults. The kind that "know" they will be the next big esport champion. Sadly, esports seems a lot like other professional sports. Hopefully while they are trying to master these games they get some real education when this pipe dream falls though.

      • by skam240 ( 789197 )

        This is geared toward teens and young adults

        So were the cafes I saw in the US in the 90's.

        The kind that "know" they will be the next big esport champion.

        There's no way they can support their business just on esport dreams any more than I could run batting cages that only catered to people who wanted to go pro in baseball. This shop is just an arcade.

    • Japan and Korea pretty much invented the internet cafe.
    • Sure they're a bit out dated here in the US but has Japan never had internet cafes because that is almost exactly what this is.

      Every Internet Cafe I've been (in dozen's of countries) have consisted of a shitty little room with the cheapest PC's possible for simply checking your webmail/social media. Where this differs is that it is more like a business class lounge, and the PC's and peripherals are gaming quality, and the staff are knowledgeable about specific games and can help you improve at them.

      Calling it a gym kind of sounds pathetic to me too and I'm a gamer.

      Well it might not be a gym, but nor is it a 'cafe'. The training aspect makes it closer to a gym, since you are training, so despite not being weights or cardio, it does require vastly improved dexterity than normal to be good at it.

      • by skam240 ( 789197 )

        To be fair none of the internet cafes I have ever been to (which admittedly is probably only a half dozen) have ever served food that didnt come in a bag or did anything terribly cafe like.

        Really though "arcade" would be the accurate term as I would imagine the pro scene is not big enough to support a whole shop and the bulk of its business would likely be just people having fun. In fact, I don't see how a business like this would attract many pros at all as I don't see an angle on getting them to leave the

        • Really though "arcade" would be the accurate term as I would imagine the pro scene is not big enough to support a whole shop and the bulk of its business would likely be just people having fun.

          Count how many Gyms you have in your town. How many people who train their are pro?

          I don't see how a business like this would attract many pros at all

          It's not attracting pros, it's attracting people who like playing games that want coaching and/or to be around like-minded people, just like every club/gym/library/cafe/arcade whatever terminology you're most comfortable with.
          My dad like woodworking so he pays money to go to the community college to use their tools, learn from experts, and hang out with like minded old dudes. This is exactly the same concept but for gamers.

  • from a money-making potential.... this one could be huge

    with the right location and demographic targeting, oh yeah.... many would pay up

    so what if it's not appealing to you? given today's marketing and PR ability to convince us that certain things are 'must have' or similar, like an iPhone being not just a phone, but an accessory like jewelry and a nice car, I'm sure an untapped 'need' can be nurtured into a nice revenue stream

    not too hard to get people to conflate 'want' with 'need'; happens all the time

  • That's what Japan needs, more social isolation.
  • ...to the decline of Western Civilization. Yay!

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