Spectating play - Investigating motivations for watching others play games
Loading...
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Science |
Doctoral thesis (article-based)
| Defence date: 2019-04-18
Unless otherwise stated, all rights belong to the author. You may download, display and print this publication for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Authors
Date
2019
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
79 + app. 100
Series
Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS, 51/2019
Abstract
The games industry has, during the past decades, evolved into one of the largest forms of entertainment on the planet, surpassing previous entertainment industry giants such as the movie industry. While video games have existed for 60 years, a more recent phenomenon is the cultural activity of watching others play. While one might easily comprehend the reasons for choosing to engage in active playing of video games, the motivations for watching others do so, is one that perplexes many. Thus, this dissertation aims at investigating the motivations for spectating others playing video games. The first topic that this dissertation covers is that of competitive video games, more commonly called esports (electronic sports). Through a seminal publication on esports, we help both define what the concept means, as well as empirically investigate motivations for spectating esports through the internet. This is then continued with a comparative study, utilizing data for both online spectating and live attendance of esports to further our understanding of what drives people to consume esports content. The second approach of this dissertation is to look at the cultural phenomenon of video game live streaming, in this dissertation simply referred to by the term streaming. Streaming has become a popular pastime for many people, and for many also a career path on the Twitch platform, often in tandem with other forms of content creation on platforms such as YouTube. This dissertation studies the phenomenon of streaming through three separate studies. The first looks at motivations for consuming streaming content through the lens of uses and gratifications, while the second study delves deeper into the specifics of different types of streaming content and game genres. The third study focuses particularly on the social motivations present, and how these influence modes of engagement on the Twitch platform. All of the five studies within this dissertation employ quantitative analysis methods, using large-scale international survey studies as the primary data collection instrument. This approach enables us to generate high level understanding of behavioral motivations related to these phenomena. Through the use of sophisticated statistical modelling methods in the form of partial-least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), we are able to investigate which motivational factors predict continued usage, among other factors. Through five distinct scientific studies, this dissertation is able to effectively describe the motivations for consuming content in relation to two forms of spectating play: esports & game streaming. This dissertation, and the publications within, serves as one of the first empirical and quantitative investigations into the realm of spectating play.Description
Supervising professor
Hämäläinen, Perttu, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Media, FinlandHamari, Juho, Prof., Tampere University, Finland
Keywords
esports, streaming, media consumption
Other note
Parts
-
[Publication 1]: Hamari, J., Sjöblom, M. What is eSports and why do people watch it? Internet research, 2017, 27(2), 211-232.
DOI: 10.1108/IntR-04-2016-0085 View at publisher
-
[Publication 2]: Sjöblom, M., Hamari, J. Why do people watch others play video games? An empirical study on the motivations of Twitch users. Computers in Human Behavior, 2017, 75, 985-996.
DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.019 View at publisher
-
[Publication 3]: Sjöblom, M., Törhönen, M., Hamari, J., Macey, J. Content structure is king: An empirical study on gratifications, game genres and content type on Twitch. Computers in Human Behavior, 2017, 73, 161-171.
DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.03.036 View at publisher
-
[Publication 4]: Hilvert-Bruce, Z., Neill, J.T., Sjöblom, M., Hamari, J. Social motivations of live-streaming viewer engagement on Twitch. Computers in Human Behavior, 2018, 84, 58-67.
DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.02.013 View at publisher
- [Publication 5]: Sjöblom, M., Macey, J., Hamari, J. Digital athletics in analogue stadiums: comparing gratifications for engagement between live attendance and online spectating of esports. Internet Research. Revision under review.
- [Errata file]: Errata of publication 2 and publication 3