I’m not much of anEsportsperson. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever watched a second of a competitive Esports tournament in my life. I’m much more of astory-driven gamerand prefer to play my games solo. That might be about to change, though.
InJapan, the Care Esports Association has introduced competitive gaming, specificallyTekken 8, to seniors aged 60 to 90, who reside in care homes, with full-blown tournaments, casters, and fans.
Senior Esports Is A Thing In Japan, And It Makes For Incredible Viewing
TheCare Esports Associationaims to “create a tournament that the elderly residents of the Amigo Club nursing care facility can freely participate in”. These tournaments are streamed yearly on YouTube and spare no expense.
This year’s competition featured four hotly contested first-round match-ups, with Norio Nakakita taking on Yoshie Murabe, Sanae Hattori battling Yasuko Mori, Sadayuki Kato against Machie Maki, and Shigeko Hasegawa versus Kinuko Watanabe. The winner of each round progressed through the bracket until a champion was eventually crowned.
While the competition could be viewed as a bit of fun, things are taken pretty seriously. This year’s almost three-hour stream featured competitor profiles, hosts, and a pair of casters who called each and every match as if they were commentating at EVO.
The tournament was eventually won by Yoshie Murabe, playing as Kuma, and she was presented with a trophy for her efforts.
Speaking toGame Sparkin Japan, following the tournament, its organizers were asked what advice they gave the competitors. “This was the first time we held an online Tekken tournament, so we started by explaining what online means,” it said. For future tournaments, the organizers shared they are deciding between another fighting game or GeoGuessr.
While some of the care home residents had “a strong aversion to fighting”, the tournament was considered a resounding success.
Game Spark also interviewed eventual winner Murabe-san, who told the site that she chose Kuma because she loves pandas, adding in a bold statement of intent that “I was happy to win. I didn’t feel like it was particularly difficult.”
I was happy to win. I didn’t feel like it was particularly difficult. - Murabe-san
I truly believe that I’d have been knocked out in the first round of this tournament, but it warmed my cold heart watching these seniors get so into the game. You owe it to yourself to give it a look.
