Err, I think going much further down that line of reasoning, you will discover something unpleasant: The winning, for some, isn't as important as someone else losing.
Is it really that someone else has to lose? Some people are toxic like that. Others are only that way because they've been antagonized. However, if they are or they aren't, in either case there has to be something at stake.
Which can still happen in a simulated way that minimizes harm but maximizes perceived harm by the inflictor. The gory death of an opponent in an FPS who respawns without incident elsewhere, for instance.
Which can still happen in a simulated way that minimizes harm but maximizes perceived harm by the inflictor.