1
What is eSports and why do people watch it?
What is eSports and why do people watch it?
Juho Hamari
Game Research Lab, School of Information Sciences, University of Tampere
Max Sjöblom
Game Research Lab, School of Information Sciences, University of Tampere
Abstract
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.
Keywords: media consumption; online video; uses and gratifications; streaming; eSports; games
2
What is eSports and why do people watch it?
1. Introduction
eSports is 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 commonly refer to competitive (pro
and amateur) video gaming that is often coordinated by different leagues, ladders and tournaments,
and where players customarily belong to teams or other ‘sporting’ organizations who are sponsored
by various business organizations. During recent years, eSports (electronic sports) have become one
of the most rapidly growing forms of new media driven by the growing provenance of (online)
games and online broadcasting technologies. It has been estimated that more than 70 million people
watched eSports during 2013 (Warr, 2014).
Like other media, media content consumption and information technology adoption research, the
research on sports consumption and spectatorship is commonly interested in the motivations of why
people consume it, how they consume it, as well as what kinds of needs the given form of
media/technology might gratify. Thus far, sports consumption research has been mostly conducted
in the area of sports management. However, with the rise of eSports, sports are increasingly
becoming a computer-mediated form of media and information technology which may entail novel
ways of information technology use. This is especially so because eSports media content is
conveyed through computerized broadcasting (such as internet streaming), and because the sporting
activity itself is computer-mediated. This makes eSports an increasingly interesting subject of study
for the area of information technology in general.
In this paper we seek to progress both the conceptual understanding of eSports by discussing what
eSports is, as well as the understanding of the motivations of eSports consumers by empirically
investigating which sports consumption motivations predict how much time people are likely to
3
What is eSports and why do people watch it?
spend on watching eSports. We employ data from on an online survey that was conducted amongst
people who have watched eSports online (n=888).
2. Background
2.1. Defining eSports
eSports have only recently enjoyed wide international adoption, and there is still resistance as to
whether eSports can truly be considered as a sport. This conceptual conundrum is a pertinent issue
for not only defining eSports, but also for drawing the boundaries of what we understand as being
sports in general. It appears that many (especially the fans of ‘traditional’ sports) are of the opinion
that eSports can’t be called a sport, simply because the player competence is not measured via
either their physical prowess or finesse as the eSports athletes appear to be simply sitting riveted to
their chairs. In reality, the body and physical activities of the player are still an important part of the
overall sporting activity (e.g. Witkowski, 2012). Although the outcome-defining events of the sport
occur within the confines of an electronic, computer-mediated environment, it does not in any way
imply that eSports cannot be physically taxing for the players (see also Taylor and Witkowski,
2010; Witkowski, 2009; Witkowski, 2012). How taxing eSports is physically depends on the modus
of human-computer interaction that is required to control the game states of the game’s software or
system. In dancing (video)games for example, players are physically drained from interacting with
the computer. eSports are commonly organized around specific genres of games, such as
Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (e.g. League of Legends, Dota 2), First-Person Shooters (e.g.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), Real Time Strategy (e.g. Starcraft 2), Collectible Card Games
(e.g. Hearthstone) or Sports games (e.g. FIFA-series), therefore they form many sub-cultures within
eSports, in the same way that ‘traditional’ sports do. However, eSports are not commonly perceived
as ‘electronic’ versions of ‘traditional’ sports such as soccer, basketball, or track and field sports
even though such simulations of ‘traditional’ sports are also played as eSports (such as the FIFA
and NHL games).
4
What is eSports and why do people watch it?
While some conceptual and qualitative literature on eSports has emerged, only a few definitions
have been proposed regarding eSports. Perhaps the oldest and most explicit definition by Wagner
(2006) leans heavily on a definition of traditional sports originally provided by Tiedemann (2004),
as: “an area of sport activities in which people develop and train mental or physical abilities …”. In
defining eSports, Wagner (2006) extends this general definition of sports with the addition of “in
the use of information and communication technologies”. However, we believe that this definition
might leave too much room for interpretation and does not therefore solve the looming question of
what sporting activities can be defined to be either an electronic sport or ‘traditional’ sport. This is
mainly because when considering any current sport, many aspects of it are computer-assisted or
computer-mediated (see e.g. Witkowski, 2012). The definition by Wagner (2006) also poses another
problem since it refers to such a large set of activities that even office-based software training could
be included as a sport. We also subscribe to the criticism presented by Witkowski (2012) that the
definition might define electronic systems too narrowly in covering only “information and
communication technologies”, and that the definition might divert attention from the complex
mixture of both physical and electronic aspects in eSports.
We believe that in a quest to define eSports we should focus more deeply on what constitutes the
“e” in eSports (for more cultural descriptions of eSports please see: Taylor, 2012; Taylor &
Witkowski, 2010; Witkowski, 2009; Witkowski, 2012). The crucial question is then what portions
or aspects of the sport has to be electronic and / or computer-mediated for a sporting activity to be
counted as an eSport. We argue that the main difference between a sport and an eSport comes down
to where the player or team activities that determine the outcomes of the sport/play are manifested.
In traditional sports, all outcome-defining activities can be seen to happen in ‘the real world’, even
though the sport’s practitioners may employ electronic and computerized systems to aid the
sporting activities. However we observe and argue that in eSports, the outcome-defining activities
happen in a ‘virtual world’
i
, or in other words within electronic/digital/computer-mediated
5
What is eSports and why do people watch it?
environments. The outcome-defining activities are coordinated, orchestrated and operated by human
beings in the ‘real world’, however it is not the physical and practical circumstance that the player
inhabits that ultimately defines the outcome of play, but rather the system states that exist within the
confines of the electronic system (which is controlled by the player and governed by the rules of the
eSport’s software and technology). Given that the playing humans occupy the ‘physical world’, but
the outcome-defining events of eSports happen in the ‘virtual world’, then eSport athletes are
always required to use or otherwise interact with a human-computer interface that connects their
bodies to the electronic system (See Table 1).
Table 1 Conceptualizing the difference between sports and eSports
What space
does the
athlete
occupy?
What sporting equipment do the athletes primarily use?
‘Where’ do the
outcome-defining
events happen? (field
of play)
eSports
The ‘real
world’
Human-computer interface (Human input: e.g. mouse,
keyboard, EEG, microphone, motion sensors, weight sensors,
acceleration sensors. Computer output: e.g. display devices,
haptic feedback, audio devices.)
Within electronic
systems
Sports
The ‘real
world’
Human-physical object interface or no sporting equipment
required
In the ‘real world’
Based on these notions, we define eSports 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.
Spectating on eSports can be superficially seen as a similar activity to spectating on any sports.
Most commonly, eSports are being consumed by watching live streams on the internet, where in
addition to watching the event, spectators can participate in surrounding social interaction, for
example in the form of chat features. As eSports are computer-mediated, spectating can never be
without computer-mediated aspects as spectators watching an eSport event ‘live’ have to eventually
watch events from a computer-output such as a video screen or a monitor.