from the article said:
While debates continue over whether games belong under the rubric of art or if they can play a role in education, the question of whether they can serve as a spectator sport seems resolved: No - or at least not yet.
A few hundred thousand gamers beg to differ (especially South Koreans). What about StarCraft? They have TV channels dedicated to StarCraft and other gaming tournaments. What about WCG? Millions of people already been there, some of them even attended the tournament. You can watch matches of a wide variety of games online, even with commentator voiceovers. This may seem insignificant compared to the rest of the world, but games, especially RTSs, have developed a real spectator sport side of their own. I myself watch StarCraft and C&C 3 matches from time to time online. Gaming have become a spectator sport already, just some people are not aware of it.
IMHO, the whole article is a little racist. Don't get me wrong, but I don't think racial diversity and segregation is that big of an issue in gaming. Yes, some people are throwing around racial slur and thrash-talk during gaming, but it's not a matter of racism, it's a matter of education and upbringing.
I myself had no problem playing with other people belonging to a wide variety of human subgroups, blacks, asians, latinos, philippinos...etc. They are just people too, wanting to play a game and have fun. I even made friends with some. On the other hand, I did meet some obnoxious douchebags, who threw around racist remarks and thrash-talk, but they were like this towards everyone, not just the (other) minorities. These people are usually sorry losers and have self confidence issues or whatever. They are like this because they are protected by the anonymity of the internet and huge distances. They won't say these things in person. As for picking characters in a game, usefulness, playing style and power is what matters, not the character's race.