Analysis Essay: Gaming As A Degree In Today's Society

725 Words3 Pages

Paul Swanson
Analyzing A Text Essay: Gaming As A Degree In Today’s Society
Frank Schoch
Expository English Composition, 1301
15 October 2017

There is a movement in many of today’s colleges where students can attend school on scholarships paid for through internet gaming tournaments. These contests pit players from around the world against one another, with large prize amounts going to the winners. Due to the initial success of these college programs and the additional incomes that can be generated for the schools, these gaming programs will likely continue to expand across the country. Many students are now attending college on scholarships in video gaming while earning a degree at the same time. One of the first things …show more content…

An April 2015 article by Sean Gregory, of Time Magazine entitled “Virtual World, Varsity Sport” makes several great points about money. Sean states that during one event “The championship team will receive $30,000 in scholarship money.”, and at another event “The winning Chinese team each took home a $1 million prize.” Prize money aside, there is the fact that very lucrative endorsement deals can be made from merchandise and sponsors. The author also wrote that “Riot Games, creator of (the game) League of Legends, offered $360,000 in total scholarship money to players…” who won the Final Four competition for that year. Also in the article, it was mentioned that a student had left school for the pro circuit with “players typically earning about $4,000 a month.” With this in mind, it would not be too far of a reach to envision all tuition debts, if any, being paid off in just a few …show more content…

It may be harder for those not at the top of their class to find alternate employment, but those with the aptitude to excel already have the ability to change course easily. In the Time’s article Robert Morris University’s School President, Michael Viollt stated that “Gaming can provide the same life lessons, in areas like teamwork and discipline, as traditional sports such as football and baseball”, which are characteristics of every gamer I know. The mentality is fostered by the actual playing, and losing of games. If a player cannot understand that it is only a game and that no life is truly on the line, then eventually they are weeded out as