Does esports spectating influence game consumption?

Abstract

Contemporary digital technologies have facilitated practices related to games whereby users often produce and consume content for free. To date, research into consumer interactions has largely focused on in-game factors, however, the intention to both play the game and to make in-game purchases are influenced by outside factors, including game streams and game-centred communities. In particular, the growth of competitive gaming, known as esports, offers a new channel for consumer engagement. This research explores the potential for esports to be a significant factor in understanding both intentions to play and spend money on games. Our study draws from Motivations Scale of Sports Consumption to empirically investigate the relationship between esports spectating motivations and game consumption: Watching Intention, Gaming Intention, and Purchasing Intention. This survey uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse data collected from a sample of video game players (n = 194). This research contributes empirical evidence of the relationship between esports spectating and game consumption, with the relationship between Watching Intention and Gaming Intention found to be particularly strong. Finally, while the MSSC is an adequate measure for esports spectating, additional aspects specific to esports require further investigation, consequently, there may be more optimal measures which can be developed.

Effect of Prior Gameplay Experience on the Relationships between Esports Gameplay Intention and Live Esports Streaming Content

“…This may explain price value's significance in the low frequency group. The in-game items usually attract gameplay consumers because the gameplay is convenient [35]. For example, some of the popular in-game items are the "boost" items that save game users time and effort in reaching the in-game achievements.…”

Clustering Esports Gameplay Consumers via Game Experiences

“…The proposed four clusters in this study contribute to the esports literature by explaining esports consumers more holistically. The behavioral prior experience of esports consumers (esports gameplay, viewing esports content, and hardware enthusiasm) aligned with focal esports consumption based on the esports context's unique features (Jang and Byon, 2020a;Jang et al, 2020;Macey et al, 2020). As the proposed four clusters categorized esports consumers based on their behavioral prior experiences, we believe the clusters are considered more appropriate and benefit practitioners to explain and segment esports gameplay consumers.…”

“…Those in-game items usually do not affect the gameplay performance, because pay-to-win system can be seriously harmful to fair competition based on players' skills or teamwork. Macey et al (2020) found gameplay intention positively influences purchasing intention of in-game items. While it is unnecessary to buy cosmetic items for gameplay, consumers might want to buy those for their favorite characters or weapons when esports consumers play a lot.…”

Assessing Esports Participation Intention: The Development and Psychometric Properties of the Theory of Planned Behavior-Based Esports Intention Questionnaire (TPB-Esport-Q)

“…The study found that the three forms of gaming video content (game reviews, let’s play, and Esports) have a positive relationship with time spent on playing video games [ 3 ], and gaming video consumption is also positively linked to game purchasing behavior. In another study that investigated how watching Esports impacts game consumption (both playing and spending money on games), the researchers also found there is a strong relationship between Esports spectating and gaming intention and consumption [ 4 ]. These findings suggest within the context of Esports, watching Esports has a significant impact on Esports gameplay and spending on games.…”