Purpose: In this study we investigate why do people spectate eSports on the internet. We define eSports (electronic sports) as a form of sports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by electronic systems; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces. In more practical terms, eSports refer to competitive video gaming (broadcasted on the internet).Methodology: We employed the MSSC (Motivations Scale for Sports Consumption) which is one of the most widely applied measurement instruments for sports consumption in general. The questionnaire was designed and pre-tested before distributing to target respondents (N=888). The reliability and validity of the instrument both met the commonly accepted guidelines. The model was assessed first by examining its measurement model and then the structural model.Findings: The results indicate that escapism, acquiring knowledge about the games being played, novelty and eSports athlete aggressiveness were found to positively predict eSport spectating frequency.Originality: During recent years, eSports (electronic sports) and video game streaming have become rapidly growing forms of new media in the internet driven by the growing provenance of (online) games and online broadcasting technologies. Today, hundreds of millions of people spectate eSports. The present investigation presents a large study on gratification-related determinants of why people spectate eSports on the internet. Moreover, the study proposes a definition for eSports and further discusses how eSports can be seen as a form of sports.

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What Is eSports and Why Do People Watch It

Corporate sponsorship of events contributes significantly to marketing aims, including brand awareness as measured by recall and recognition of sponsor‐event pairings. Unfortunately, resultant advantages accrue disproportionately to brands having a natural or congruent fit with the available sponsorship properties. In three cued‐recall experiments, the effect of articulation of sponsorship fit on memory for sponsor‐event pairings is examined. While congruent sponsors have a natural memory advantage, results demonstrate that memory improvements via articulation are possible for incongruent sponsor‐event pairings. These improvements are, however, affected by the presence of competitor brands and the way in which memory is accessed.

Sponsorship-linked marketing: The role of articulation in memory

eSport: Construct specifications and implications for sport management

eSports–organized video game competitions–are growing in popularity, with top tournaments drawing crowds of spectators rivaling traditional sporting events. Understanding the extent to which eSport operates similarly to traditional sport is vital to developing marketing strategies for the eSport industry and informing academic research on eSport. Prior research has examined eSports in isolation from traditional sports, overlooking direct comparisons to understand the degree to which eSport spectators are motivated similarly to traditional sport spectators. The current study measures widely-used sport consumption motives to examine their influence on eSport spectatorship and game attendance frequency. In South Korea, spectator motives across one traditional sport (soccer) and two eSport contexts (FIFA Online 3 and StarCraft II) were measured. MANOVA results identify similar patterns for 11 out of 15 motives across the three. Significant differences between contexts include vicarious achievement, excitement, physical attractiveness, and family bonding. Multiple regression analysis results show that spectators across contexts have distinct sets of motives influencing game attendance. The current study demonstrates that traditional sport and eSports are similarly consumed, suggesting that sport industry professionals can manage and market eSport events similarly to traditional sport events.

eSport vs sport: A comparison of spectator motives

This study explored and evaluated the dimensions and consequences of esports online spectator demand In doing so, we identified preliminary dimensions of esports online spectator demand based on s

Beyond the Game: Dimensions of Esports Online Spectator Demand:

Esports, competitive video game competitions, are a leading digital innovation at the nexus of sports, business, and technology. Given their prominent position, esports have received extensive media and academic attention. In particular, esports fans, primarily tech-savvy and affluent young adults, have been the foci of this attention. Accordingly, a large number of studies has centered on these influential consumers, examining their motives to spectate, support, and follow esports teams and players. To date, esports have been examined very broadly, neglecting differences in the multitude of games, genres, and platforms which influence their consumption. In particular, the platform (or medium), plays a substantial role in how consumers engage with esports teams and players. These platforms include personal computers (PCs) and video gaming consoles. The purpose of this study is to identify differences in how fans of PC and console based esports teams engage with their favorite esports team. We collected data from both PC and console esports team fans via an online survey (N = 514), analyzing said data using structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis. Our results highlight that fans of console-based esports teams value both emotional engagement and management cooperation, underscoring the more intimate and personal experience afforded by consoles (vis-à-vis PCs). Overall, our study elucidates differences in esports fan engagement and helps to further identify critical differences that influence esports consumer behavior.

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Esports Fan Engagement: A Comparison of PC and Console Esports Team Fans

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of hypercasual and hybrid-casual video gaming and their influence on digital leisure. Existing sport and leisure scholarship on video gaming has focused primarily on competitive video gaming, namely esports. However, among the most popular competitive video games are simple and easy to play titles – hypercasual and hybrid-casual games. In this conceptual article, a digital leisure perspective is used to examine hypercasual and hybrid-casual gaming. To address the study’s purpose, the growth, gameplay, and consumption practices of hypercasual and hybrid-casual games are outlined. The current article supports that the intuitive nature and design of these games increases their appeal and adoption, particularly by those marginalized by the digital divide. Hypercasual and hybrid-casual video games reflect trends in digital leisure activities, including participant preferences favoring simplicity over sophistication, providing a novel perspective in contrast to increasingly complex forms of digital leisure. 

Hypercasual and Hybrid-Casual Video Gaming: A Digital Leisure Perspective

Abstract Esports—a professionalized, commercialized, and spectatorial form of video game competition—is a burgeoning industrial sector that has relied on entrepreneurial community support and multi-platform media distribution modalities to catalyze its growth. In particular, the esports industry is increasingly turning towards grassroots crowdfunding to gain access to financial resources that can be used to facilitate tournament prizes. However, what remains unclear is which factors contribute to grassroots esports crowdfunding campaigns’ success. We used social exchange theory to identify important social and economic attributes that may influence the outcomes of esports crowdfunding projects. For methods, we scraped crowdfunding data from Matcherino using Octoparse 8. A total of 14,497 esports crowdfunding projects were analyzed by using multiple regression analysis, as well as robustness checks that were estimated through machine learning techniques. We find that equal distribution of prize rewards, the endorsement of big brand sponsors, and genres of games significantly influence the success of esports crowdfunding. This contributes to our theoretical understanding of 1) the process of esports crowdfunding campaigns as a complex mechanism that incorporates financial incentives and social values, 2) esports as an emerging industry that is institutionalizing, 3) the heterogeneity of genre-based community, and 4) the importance of distributive justice of prize rewards for organizing grassroots esports tournaments and events. Furthermore, we discussed methodological implications regarding the use of econometrics approach and machine learning for future crowdfunding and esports research as well as managerial implications for esports entrepreneurs, esports teams and organizations, and sponsors and investors in terms of developing strategies tailored to the dynamics of esports communities. 

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Anthony D. Pizzo

Papers

Esports Fan Engagement: A Comparison of PC and Console Esports Team Fans

Hypercasual and Hybrid-Casual Video Gaming: A Digital Leisure Perspective

The dynamics of esports crowdfunding campaign success: a social exchange perspective

The evolution of psychological involvement and customer loyalty: a longitudinal analysis of fitness facility members

The dovetailing of the sport and esports industries: three essays on the strategic management of sport organizations