FiT Publishing

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...Read more

A plethora of research has examined sport spectator motives (James & Ridinger, 2002; Robinson & Trail, 2005) yet much of this research has focused on spectators watching their favorite team. Thus, this research sought to expand the current motives literature by comparing spectators’ motives for watching their favorite team versus watching games in which their favorite team is not involved. Participants’ motives were assessed using Trail and James’s (2001) Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption (MSSC). Results revealed the motives of drama, skill, and social were rated the highest...Read more