Live Streaming, Playing, and Money Spending Behaviors in eSports

Abstract

Live streaming has enabled eSports to become more accessible, ranging from professionally organized tournaments to individuals hosting from their bedroom. While different aspects of eSports have been investigated in separate contexts, in this article, we report findings of two survey studies to explore eSports as a holistic media ecosystem that includes playing, streaming, viewing, and spending. Study 1 looks at cross-platform patterns between playing and spending within the game as well as between viewing, streaming, and spending on live streaming platforms in the context of Fortnite. Study 2 examines the relationships between viewing and spending patterns on live streaming platforms. Results indicate that playing, viewing, and in-game spending are strongly related. Yet none of these behavioral metrics explain why people spend money on live streaming platforms to support streamers. Rather, psychological factors such as emotional attachment to the streamer and appreciation of the streamers’ talents are what drive streamer support.

The societal impact of electronic sport: a scoping review

“…This can be fostered by attending live events or LAN-parties Jansz & Martens, 2005;Whalen, 2013), which also contribute to the findings that esport is a platform for socializing opportunities. This can occur in dedicated live events Jansz & Martens, 2005;McCauley et al, 2020;Whalen, 2013) or generally by engaging in the esport environment both online and offline (Baltezarević & Baltezarević, 2019;Fiskaali et al, 2020; Freeman & Wohn, Wohn & Freeman, 2020;Xiao, 2020). However, esport enthusiasts try to distinguish themselves based on the game they play (Karakus, 2015;, which results in tribal behavior among the different player bases (Hayday & Collison, 2020).…”

“…There are motives that initially developed through esport and gaming context which go beyond traditional sport consumption motivation, like chat rooms included in the stream, personality traits of the streamer, virtual rewards, or the quality of streams (Qian et al, 2020a, c). Streamers as a distinctive feature of esport consumption is also mentioned by Wohn and Freeman (2020). Furthermore, Xiao (2020) observes that spectators tend to watch esport alone, rather than in company.…”

“…Quantitative data shows how, along with esport, streaming is developing into an essential economic field, which esport players use to earn money from fans by donations or sponsors (Karakus, 2015;Wohn & Freeman, 2020).…”

Identity transformation, stigma power, and mental wellbeing of Chinese eSports professional players

“…There are ‘host unions’ that mentor streamers on their streaming performance to cultivate ‘internet celebrities’, who can receive significant attention and wealth (Chen and Xiong, 2019). The interaction between viewers and streamers has created bonding effects and fosters a sense of community (Hu et al, 2017; Wohn and Freeman, 2020). A 2018 report shows that the top ten game streamers in China each made over US$ 3 million that year from virtual gift donations (Sohu, 2019).…”

A Swiftly Changing Tide: Fantasy Sport, Gambling, and Alternative Forms of Participation

“…If alternatives to TFS participation could aptly be dubbed "fantasy gaming on steroids" in 2017 (Billings, Ruihley, & Yang, 2017, p. 732), the variety and magnitude of new gaming formats in the following years represent an industry in hyperdrive. Although scholars have uncovered the main reasons why one gravitates toward certain online-based and computer-mediated gaming formats (e.g., for communities of common interest, social connectedness, and an overall sense of belonging (Vella et al, 2019;Wohn & Freeman, 2020;Zimmerman, 2019)), few research studies in this domain have focused on the deterrents that may possibly dissuade someone from participating in a virtual gaming activity. Within this motivational continuum, the latter line of research could be as instructive as the former.…”