Sports? Arguably massively more toxic. People being murdered over sporting events is a truly ancient phenomenon and even destabilized empires clear back into ancient times (Nearly Half of Constantinople was burned down to the ground in the Greens vs Blues Nika riots).
I've not heard of the Nika riots, but from a brief reading it seems that it was about a bit more than sports:
> The team associations had become a focus for various social and political issues for which the general Byzantine population lacked other forms of outlet
And:
> Some of the senators saw this as an opportunity to overthrow Justinian, as they were opposed to his new taxes and his lack of support for the nobility. The rioters, now armed and probably controlled by their allies in the Senate...
As if video game controversies are untouched by politics. And murder in sports continues to this day even when there isn't an emperor to overthrow.
If you want to bring politics into sports, then i'll just say videogames are just as political as sports are, and the death count is still way way lower (hypothesis, but I'm pretty confident).
I'm not saying "Video game toxicity is not a problem." it is, it's a big problem. But lets dispense with easily disprovable hyperbole like "it's the MOST toxic enthusiast culture"
If you want to draw a rigorously serious comparison you need to mathematically compare audience sizes and base rates. Don't know how it shakes out but my money is definitely on sports, if for no other reason than that video game fans don't congregate in huge arenas with heavy drinking as often as sports fans do
Completely agree. Though I can see a future where gaming gives it "competition" in this area. Especially with esports on the rise. Multi million dollar prizes and loyalties forming around these teams.
