An Exploration of Esports Consumer Consumption Patterns, Fandom, and Motives

Esports, or competitive gaming, has become a large market in the entertainment industry, with a total market value approaching $1 billion USD in 2019. An understanding of esports consumers has become increasingly important as the industry continues to grow and evolve. Using a sample of 374 university students at a large public university, this study examines the motivations and fandom of esports consumers using a modified version of the Sport Fandom Questionnaire (SFQ) and the Motivation Scale for Sports Consumption (MSSC). Survey respondents were asked about their consumption of esports in relation to viewership, event attendance, social media usage, and spending. Three stepwise regression analyses were employed to examine the predictive capabilities of esports fandom and esports motivations on esports consumption variables. The results reveal a wide variety of relationships between esports fandom, motivation for consumption, and consumption behaviors.

Book Review - This Is Esports (And How to Spell It) - An Insider’s Guide to the World of Pro Gaming

The review critiques 'This Is Esports (And How to Spell It): An Insider’s Guide to the World of Pro Gaming', a book written by Paul Chaloner and Benjamin Sillis. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the history of the esports industry, right from the emergence of arcade games to the evolution of esports into a billion-dollar industry. Further, the authors highlight some of the issues of concern in the contemporary esports landscape, including gender representation, player salaries, cheating allegations, and retirement in esports. The review critically analyzes the authors' perspective on the esports industry as well as the effectiveness of the writing style incorporated in the book.

Comparison of reaction time between eSports players of different genres and sportsmen

Quick reactions are considered important in both, traditional and electronic sports and research findings suggest that reaction time can be optimized by both sports activity and playing action video games. In this study, reaction and motor times of 18 professional and 21 non-professional eSports players from different genres and 36 non-professional traditional sportsmen were compared using the Vienna Test System. No differences between the groups were found in simple visual, acoustic, and choice reaction times. Differentiated by game genre, players from sports simulations had significantly shorter reaction times than MOBA players in the acoustic and choice reaction test. The results of this study suggest that traditional sports and eSports may improve reaction times to a similar amount. Furthermore, various game genres require different reaction times or may affect related abilities in different ways.

Comparison of Multiple Object Tracking Performance between Professional and Amateur Esport Players as well as Traditional Sportsmen

High performance in multiple object tracking paradigms is associated with well-trained visuo-spatial abilities, visual memory and divided attention. These abilities are essential for both traditional sport and esport. The present study compared the tracking performance of professional as well as amateur esport players and traditional sportsmen. Professional esport players outperformed amateurs, while no other group differences were found. Positive association of esport playtime and tracking performance as well as elevated tracking scores of the entire study cohort compared to normal population indicate a connection of esport and sport activity and tracking performance.

Comparison of reaction time between eSports players of different genres and sportsmen

Quick reactions are considered important in both, traditional and electronic sports and research findings suggest that reaction time can be optimized by both sports activity and playing action video games. In this study, reaction and motor times of 18 professional and 21 non-professional eSports players from different genres and 36 non-professional traditional sportsmen were compared using the Vienna Test System. No differences between the groups were found in simple visual, acoustic, and choice reaction times. Differentiated by game genre, players from sports simulations had significantly shorter reaction times than MOBA players in the acoustic and choice reaction test. The results of this study suggest that traditional sports and eSports may improve reaction times to a similar amount. Furthermore, various game genres require different reaction times or may affect related abilities in different ways.

Comparison of Multiple Object Tracking Performance Between Professional and Amateur eSport Players as Well as Traditional Sportsmen

High performance in multiple object tracking paradigms is associated with well-trained visuo-spatial abilities, visual memory and divided attention. These abilities are essential for both traditional sport and esport. The present study compared the tracking performance of professional as well as amateur esport players and traditional sportsmen. Professional esport players outperformed amateurs, while no other group differences were found. Positive association of esport playtime and tracking performance as well as elevated tracking scores of the entire study cohort compared to normal population indicate a connection of esport and sport activity and tracking performance.

Comparison of Multiple Object Tracking Performance between Professional and Amateur Esport Players as well as Traditional Sportsmen

High performance in multiple object tracking paradigms is associated with well-trained visuo-spatial abilities, visual memory and divided attention. These abilities are essential for both traditional sport and esport. The present study compared the tracking performance of professional as well as amateur esport players and traditional sportsmen. Professional esport players outperformed amateurs, while no other group differences were found. Positive association of esport playtime and tracking performance as well as elevated tracking scores of the entire study cohort compared to normal population indicate a connection of esport and sport activity and tracking performance.

Comparison of Reaction Time Between eSports Players of Different Genres and Sportsmen

Quick reactions are considered important in both, traditional and electronic sports and research findings suggest that reaction time can be optimized by both sports activity and playing action video games. In this study, reaction and motor times of 18 professional and 21 non-professional eSports players from different genres and 36 non-professional traditional sportsmen were compared using the Vienna Test System. No differences between the groups were found in simple visual, acoustic, and choice reaction times. Differentiated by game genre, players from sports simulations had significantly shorter reaction times than MOBA players in the acoustic and choice reaction test. The results of this study suggest that traditional sports and eSports may improve reaction times to a similar amount. Furthermore, various game genres require different reaction times or may affect related abilities in different ways.

Book Review

The review critiques 'This Is Esports (And How to Spell It): An Insider’s Guide to the World of Pro Gaming', a book written by Paul Chaloner and Benjamin Sillis. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the history of the esports industry, right from the emergence of arcade games to the evolution of esports into a billion-dollar industry. Further, the authors highlight some of the issues of concern in the contemporary esports landscape, including gender representation, player salaries, cheating allegations, and retirement in esports. The review critically analyzes the authors' perspective on the esports industry as well as the effectiveness of the writing style incorporated in the book.

The Rise of eSports

The availability and affordability of increased Internet bandwidth, video memory, and processing speed has enabled Electronic sports (eSports) to become a flourishing global sensation and college students are helping to drive this phenomenon. This mixed-methods study focuses on feedback from 159 college students regarding the eSports phenomenon across both gender and educational classification. Findings from the study include their eSports-related gaming and spending habits, and perceptions of personal and academic benefits of playing eSports such as social interaction, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. Included are the perceived risks of playing eSports that encompassed eSports gaming addiction, mental, social, emotional risks, lack of physical activity, and physical disorders associated with playing eSports.