Video Games as a Spectator Sport

Abstract

The question discussed in this thesis is: What does eSports tell us about how to think of spectatorship when combined with media enabling participation? First, eSports and spectatorship are theorised. Second, the history of the origins of eSports spectatorship up to the present day is discussed, revealing how practices of the participatory culture surrounding eSports have been of major influence in shaping eSports and showing how various forms of game systems, video games and technologies, such as networked gaming and video game live streaming, are of influence on spectatorship. ESports spectatorship is so intertwined with media that eSports and media cannot be studied separately. Especially the aspect of participation, which is enabled by media, is of influence on transforming spectatorship. Third, a formal analysis is conducted of two platforms that provide eSports to spectators, showing how technological qualities and the design of media influence eSports spectatorship and enable or restrict participation. ESports spectatorship entails aspects of an active audience and fan practices, but also includes active participation, and often blurs boundaries between being a spectator or a fan on one hand, and being a player, and sometimes a producer of eSports content, on the other.