Forget swimming goggles and running cleats. As athletes gather for Asia’s biggest sporting event in Jakarta this week, much of the attention will be on computer mice and chunky headphones.

For the first time, the Asian Games -- the Olympics equivalent for the world’s most populous continent -- will include computer game competitions alongside swimming and track-and-field. Contestants from Saudi Arabia to Japan will battle for national pride and bragging rights across six titles, including League of Legends and StarCraft II in a huge marketing coup for publishers like Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Activision Blizzard Inc.....

Critics say it’s about greed. The Olympic Charter historically stated that mental or mechanical-driven activities were not permitted as sports, one reason chess and car-racing were never included. But with Olympics attracting fewer viewers, especially among younger audiences, officials may be willing to bend the rules to welcome the $140 billion video game industry, which commands the attention of teenagers and millennials.

“They’ve got Olympic ideals and they use all these slogans, but at the end of the day this is a big money-making machine,” said Mathew Jessep, a sports and esports lawyer. “If the Olympics want to continue making the sort of money they’ve been making, they need to supplement the content. From a content play, esports is a definitive opportunity."