The eSports industry has undergone remarkable growth over the past decade, evolving from a niche activity into a billion-dollar entertainment phenomenon with over 500 million viewers. This paper examines the digital gaming culture within eSports, focusing on the transition from gaming spaces to places of cultural significance. We explore how semi-professional and professional players experience, perceive, and construct a digital gaming culture, which is characterized by high engagement with digital technologies, physical and virtual spaces. This study highlights the historical origins of eSports, the conceptual challenges they present to media studies, and the digitalization that defines the industry. Employing qualitative methodologies including semi-structured interviews and participant observation, we delve into the relationship between players and their environments, both virtual and physical. Our findings reveal that eSports athletes transform different spaces into meaningful places, thereby contributing to the creation of a distinct digital gaming culture devoted to competition. The study addresses the integration and renegotiation of traditional physical concepts within the eSports industry, challenging the existing academic discourse and suggesting a unique cultural framework. The paper contributes to media and organizational studies by providing insights into the spatial aspects of eSports and their cultural implications. We discuss the materiality of space, the impact of technology on spatial experiences, and the formation of digital gaming culture as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Finally, we outline the implications for practice and offer directions for future research in understanding the complexities of the rapidly evolving eSports landscape.
ESports as Cultural medium: Navigating the Spatiality of Competitive Digital Gaming
Luigi Maria Sicca
2024-01-01
Abstract
The eSports industry has undergone remarkable growth over the past decade, evolving from a niche activity into a billion-dollar entertainment phenomenon with over 500 million viewers. This paper examines the digital gaming culture within eSports, focusing on the transition from gaming spaces to places of cultural significance. We explore how semi-professional and professional players experience, perceive, and construct a digital gaming culture, which is characterized by high engagement with digital technologies, physical and virtual spaces. This study highlights the historical origins of eSports, the conceptual challenges they present to media studies, and the digitalization that defines the industry. Employing qualitative methodologies including semi-structured interviews and participant observation, we delve into the relationship between players and their environments, both virtual and physical. Our findings reveal that eSports athletes transform different spaces into meaningful places, thereby contributing to the creation of a distinct digital gaming culture devoted to competition. The study addresses the integration and renegotiation of traditional physical concepts within the eSports industry, challenging the existing academic discourse and suggesting a unique cultural framework. The paper contributes to media and organizational studies by providing insights into the spatial aspects of eSports and their cultural implications. We discuss the materiality of space, the impact of technology on spatial experiences, and the formation of digital gaming culture as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Finally, we outline the implications for practice and offer directions for future research in understanding the complexities of the rapidly evolving eSports landscape.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
