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2016-087-NAUM 1
What Motivates Esports Fans? A Data-Driven
Approach to Business and Development
Strategy
Andrew J. Curley, Mark Nausha, John Slocum, and Doug Lombardi
(WarCraft, StarCraft, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and
Executive Summary— This thesis project explores the potential Overwatch), but in recent years more competitors have entered
of analyzing consumer data to determine business and the space [4]. Game developers view esports primarily as a
development strategies for video game studios in the esports 1 marketing tool to drive player engagement and retention, and as
(“electronic sports”) marketplace. The researcher defines esports
such are designed to have a much higher degree of longevity
as competitive video gaming, wherein the primary action of the
sport takes place in digital rather than physical space. The esports compared to other video games [5] [6] [7].
industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, prompting The current problem facing the esports industry is that it is
developers, researchers, and fans to pursue solutions towards still very much a growing arena and therefore largely
creating a more sustainable ecosystem. This thesis project is one unstructured. Business models and profitability vary widely
such effort. from developer to developer [7]. As the esports ecosystem
Using Blizzard Entertainment’s hero-based first-person- continues through this period of uncertainty, all participants
shooter Overwatch as a case study, the researchers created a
survey based on the Motivations Scale for Sports Consumption within (generally considered to comprise developers,
(MSSC), a widely-applied measurement instrument developed to publishers, team owners, players, tournament organizers, talent,
study traditional sports consumers. The researcher distributed the and sponsors) must find reliable ways to engage with esports
survey digitally to fans and players of competitive Overwatch (n = audiences and secure lasting profitability. Blizzard
1120). Out of the ten motivating factors measured in the survey, Entertainment is one such leader in this movement – their
the results indicated that two groups of factors, which the newest game Overwatch, which this thesis project uses as a case
researcher identifies as “Spectacle” and “Human Interest,”
directly corresponded to higher levels of Overwatch esports study, represents what many consider to be the future of esports
content consumption. [8] [9]. In 2017 Blizzard will launch the Overwatch League, a
professional esports league modeled after traditional physical
Index Terms— competitive video games, esports, media sports organizations [10]. In a major departure from existing
consumption, data collection, data analysis, business development esports league precedents, the Overwatch League will be based
on permanent city-based teams that receive guaranteed salaries
for all players involved [9] [10] [11].
I. INTRODUCTION The researcher chose Overwatch as this thesis project’s case
C OMPTETITIVE gaming traces its roots back to the arcade
era in the 1980s, but the global esports (“electronic sports”)
industry as we know it today did not begin to form until the late
study because of its status as arguably the most relevant esports
title of 2017, its large player base of roughly 25 million people,
and its experimentation with traditional sports models [8]. The
2000s [1]. Due in large part to the rise of digital streaming purpose of this study is to provide game developers with
platforms – most notably Twitch.tv – esports has grown rapidly methods to find success within the esports space while
in terms of viewership and events held per year [2]. The global simultaneously promoting sustainable growth, specifically
esports audience is estimated to reach 385.5 million in 2017 and through data collection and analysis. Using the Motivations
grow by 50% towards 2020, with global esports awareness Scale for Sports Consumption (MSSC), the researcher has
reaching upwards of 1.8 billion by 2020 [3]. The esports demonstrated how developers can identify the specific factors
marketplace is currently dominated by three developers: Riot that drive esports engagement, which in turn can be utilized to
Games (creators of League of Legends), Valve (Dota 2 and guide business and development decisions.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive), and Blizzard Entertainment
The researcher submitted this paper for review on April 6, 2017. Doug Lombardi is with Valve Corporation,, Bellevue, WA 98009 USA
Andrew Curley is with SMU Guildhall, Plano, TX 75024 USA (email: (email: lombardi@valvesoftware.com)
ajcurley@smu.edu).
1
Mark Nausha is with SMU Guildhall, Plano, TX 75024 USA (email: The term “electronic sports” is shortened in a variety of styles, some of
mnausha@smu.edu). which include “eSports” and “e-sports.” For the purposes of this thesis paper,
John Slocum is with SMU Guildhall, Plano, TX 75024 USA (email: the researcher will refer to it as “esports” (as styled by most game developers)
jslocum@cox.smu.ed). but will not change alternate spellings in article references.
2016-087-NAUM 2
II. RESEARCH REVIEW
Although esports has existed for many years, it has only
recently emerged as an area of serious research as it establishes
itself as a major industry. As such, a comprehensive body of
literature is still forming. In the process of collecting resources
to inform the methodology and content of this thesis, the
researcher identified three subtopics: the current state of the
esports industry, the impact of livestreaming video on esports
consumption, and a brief overview of Overwatch, the case study
game. To collect these sources, the researcher consulted
conference proceeding, esports-focused media outlets, and
academic databases, applying practical and methodological
screening criteria to each in order to confirm their validity.
THE STATE OF THE ESPORTS INDUSTRY
Analysts at Newzoo Esports identified six rising trends
contributing to the rapid growth of the esports industry in recent
years: 1) games as a service, 2) cross-screen entertainment, 3)
creator & live streaming tools, 4) video platforms &
communities, 5) creation & involvement among consumers,
and 6) consumers entertaining other consumers [12]. As the list
implies, the esports market’s value chain is intricate and has Figure 2. Age and gender breakdown - occasional viewers
many participants. Once a more universal business model
emerges, analysts expect the market to see more vertical The esports industry is expected to generate $696 million in
integration and consolidation [6] [13]. 2017, $517 million of which is comprised of brand spending
The current esports industry is trending towards becoming a (advertising, sponsorship, and media rights) [3]. Game
global mainstream market in the future [3]. This is due in large publishers will invest $116 million in esports, but this share will
part to the value of the esports audience to brands looking to not be recouped by any of the other revenue streams [3]. The
enter the space [12]. The largest demographic for both esports lack of direct profitability does not necessarily indicate that
enthusiasts and occasional viewers is males aged 21 to 35 esports is a poor investment, as these figures do not account for
(Figures 1 and 2), a group notoriously difficult to advertise to game sales or microtransactions generated through esports
due to their lack of engagement with traditional media [3] [14] engagement [3] [6].
[15]. Compared to brands, game developers and publishers view
esports as a long-term investment to drive player retention and
brand recognition [3] [6] [16]. For example, Valve Corporation
hosts The International, the largest annual tournament for Dota
2 (developed and published by Valve itself) and leverages its
Steam digital distribution platform to crowdfund the prize pool
through in-game cosmetic purchases [17]. The most recent
edition of The International awarded a total prize pool of
$20,770,460, the highest in esports history [3] [17]. In addition
to crowdfunding elements, the Steam platform allows Dota 2
players and fans to create and download custom content in the
form of maps, alternate game mods, cosmetic items, etc., and
players also can watch competitive games, including The
International, from within the game client [17]. Studies show a
direct correlation between higher prize pools and larger
audiences for esports events; in Dota 2’s case, the increase in
prize pools was also directly proportional to its active user base
[6].
Esports researchers have identified several emerging trends
that will define the industry in the coming years. The first, and
perhaps most notable, is that esports finds itself at the
converging point of several other industries: game brands,
media, and entertainment companies [3] [15] [18]. A notable
example of this is the recent acquisition of Time Warner by
AT&T for $108.7 billion [19]. Time Warner owns Machinima,
Figure 1. Age and gender breakdown – esports enthusiasts an entertainment network focused on gaming-related content,
2016-087-NAUM 3
as well as Turner, which operates ELEAGUE, a Counter Strike: territory [28]. Following Schutter’s postmortem, MIT Game
Global Offensive and Street Fighter V league broadcast on both Lab data analyst Philip Tan breaks down the user experience of
television and digital platforms [20] [21]. Similarly, traditional esports spectators through the lens of traditional sports
sports organizations and figures have begun to invest in esports broadcasts, as well as televised StarCraft esports events in
teams [3] [22] [23]. With increased levels of investment and South Korea, before concluding with five best practices: 1)
influence from these established industries, the esports balance aesthetics and compression, 2) illustrate invisible
ecosystem will likely stabilize and begin to resemble that of concepts of good play, 3) tell the story of the moment, 4)
traditional sports in the future. support unique individual commentator styles, and 5) build
viewer excitement through timely delivery of information [28].
LIVESTREAMING VIDEO AND ESPORTS As esports audiences continue to grow to a degree that rivals
traditional sports, it is important for developers to keep these
Since livestream video platforms such as Twitch.tv and design considerations for the spectator experience in mind.
YouTube Gaming have emerged as the primary vehicles In addition to studying how fans and players consume and
driving the growth of esports, it is important to study the engage esports content, it is also important to understand why,
characteristics and potential of this medium as it relates to which is the primary focus of this thesis project. In a paper titled
esports audiences. This topic first gained prominence among “What is eSports and why do people watch it?”, researchers
game developers and researchers in 2014 after the Twitch Plays Juho Hamari and Max Sjöblom at the University of Tampere
Pokémon social experiment, in which over one million unique attempted to identify the motivating factors for spectating
users played an emulated version of Pokémon Red controlled esports using the Motivations Scale for Sport Consumption
by Twitch chat commands [24]. Through a study on Twitch (MSSC), a widely accepted instrument for measuring sport
Plays Pokémon by Alex Leavitt, the two largest archetypes of spectator behaviors that identifies ten key motivations: 1)
participants in the game were “watch stream, input some vicarious achievement, 2) aesthetics, 3) drama, 4) escapism, 5)
commands” (59%) and “watch stream, don’t input commands” acquisition of knowledge, 6) skills of the players/athletes, 7)
(19%), implying that Twitch Plays Pokémon is not so much a social interaction, 8) physical attractiveness of the players, 9)
gameplay phenomenon as it is a viewership phenomenon [25]. novelty, and 10) enjoyment of aggression [29]. Hamari and
Twitch’s own statistics confirm this assessment: the original Sjöblom collected 888 usable survey responses, and concluded
Twitch Plays Pokémon stream received over 36 million total that escapism, acquisition of knowledge, and the personas of
views over its sixteen-day run, with a peak simultaneous the esports athletes positively predicted spectating frequency
audience of 121,000 viewers [24]. Twitch Plays Pokémon was [29].
a major impetus for Twitch to invest heavily in its Developer While the researcher of this thesis project agrees with Hamari
Success department, which aims to help game developers and Sjöblom’s assessment that the MSSC is a reliable
design titles specifically with livestreaming audiences in mind instrument for obtaining valuable data on esports consumers,
[26] [27]. Esports is perhaps the most immediately applicable the researcher disagrees with their application of the instrument
genre for this movement, and as such, streaming platforms such [29]. Hamari and Sjöblom targeted the general esports
as Twitch act as the primary content delivery source from audience, which spans a variety of games across several
developers to consumers. different genres, each with their own business and development
Outside of this emerging field, the existing body of work on needs [29]. This approach is akin to polling football, hockey,
improving the eSports spectating experience relates to user basketball, and baseball fans on what they enjoy about sports in
interface (UI) design, such as the 2015 GDC talk “StarCraft II general. In order to obtain meaningful data that can be used to
and GameHeart: Evolving eSports Interfaces with Modders” create action items for game developers, it is necessary to study
[28]. each esports title’s audience in isolation. As such, the researcher
has chosen Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment as the case
study for applying the MSSC.
OVERWATCH AND THE FUTURE OF ESPORTS
Overwatch is the latest game released by Blizzard
Entertainment, a developer and publisher with an extensive
esports history dating back to the early 2000s with the WarCraft
and StarCraft franchises [30]. Overwatch is a team-based first-
person-shooter with a cast of 24 heroes, each of whom occupy
one of four strategic roles: attack, defense, tank (absorbing or
Figure 3. StarCraft II interface with and without GameHeart shielding incoming damage), and support [31]. Unlike other
popular hero-based esports titles, such as League of Legends
In a postmortem for the popular StarCraft II UI mod and Dota 2, players in Overwatch can change their hero at any
GameHeart, creator Ryan Schutter describes an iterative design point during a match, allowing for highly fluid and tactical
process guided by the spectator experience, which led to the gameplay [8] [9] [31]. In January 2017, eight months after the
creation of features such as more pronounced team colors on game’s release, Blizzard announced that Overwatch has over 25
units (Figure 3) and team logos rendered in-game to mark million players – for comparison, its major esports competitors
2016-087-NAUM 4
League of Legends and Dota 2 have roughly 100 million and 13 their affiliates would not stray far from the policies of their
million players, respectively [32] [33]. respective companies. In response to this concern, the
Overwatch officially entered the esports space at Blizzcon researcher shifted focus to esports consumers specifically.
2016 (Blizzard’s annual convention), the site of the game’s first
annual World Cup championship as well as the announcement DATA COLLECTION
of the Overwatch League, a professional esports league that
takes cues from traditional sports [9] [10]. In a major departure The researcher collected the data for this thesis through a
from existing esports league convention, the Overwatch League digital survey distributed amongst fans and players of
will be made up of permanent city-branded teams (see Figure 4 competitive Overwatch. The survey design centered on the
for an example), with all contracted players receiving a Motivations Scale for Sports Consumption (MSSC) [29]. As
guaranteed minimum salary, an attempt to address the esports Hamari and Sjöblom state in their study, there are several
economy’s instability and attract potential team owners [9] [11] advantages to applying the MSSC to esports: the reliability and
[34]. validity of the scale has been tested and proven to a high
standard, the motivating constructs that make up the scale itself
are general enough to be applied to esports with little to no
modification, and its use allows for the results of this study to
be comparable to the larger body of media consumption
research [29]. Because the esports industry has begun
embracing examples from traditional sports, it is both
appropriate and important to also embrace its research and data
collection methods.
For the motivations scale measurement portion of the survey,
participants were asked to rate their level of agreement on a 5-
point Likert scale with ten different statements, each
representing a motivation construct as outlined in Hamari and
Sjöblom’s study. The MSSC has undergone several revisions
since its creation, resulting in variations of the model comprised
Figure 4. Mockup of Potential Overwatch League Geographical of eight or ten motivations [29]. The researcher, in accordance
Structure (Nate Nanzer, Blizzard Entertainment)
with Hamari and Sjöblom’s study, elected to choose the ten-
construct scale:
The Overwatch League will also be the first in esports to
feature a combine – a scouting event where amateur players
1. Vicarious Achievement
participate in a series of tests – to identify future talent [10] [35].
a. “I am emotionally invested in certain
This is similar to how the NFL functions [35]. Because the
Overwatch teams and players and want to
Overwatch League does not begin operation until Q3 2017, it is
see them succeed.”
difficult to say whether or not its experimental structure will
2. Aesthetics
succeed in the esports industry’s uncertain near future, but
a. “I appreciate the aesthetic value of high-
because of its large passionate player and fan base, many
level Overwatch play.”
consider Overwatch to represent the future the esports [9].
3. Drama
These reasons also factor into the researcher’s decision to
a. “I enjoy the drama, uncertainty, and back-
choose Overwatch as the case study for this thesis project.
and-forth nature of Overwatch matches.”
4. Escapism
III. METHODOLOGY
a. “Overwatch esports content gives me an
escape from my everyday routine.”
INTRODUCTION 5. Acquisition of Knowledge
a. “I want to learn how to be a better
The original goal for this research project was to break down Overwatch player by watching the
esports ecosystems into its constituent parts, identifying the professionals.”
risks and challenges of each in order to provide developers with 6. Skill of the Players/Athletes
a set of best practices to not only succeed financially but also a. “I enjoy watching the high level of skill in
promote a sustainable model for growth into the future. The professional Overwatch games.”
researcher sought to do this by interviewing professionals 7. Social Interaction
representing different pieces of the esports ecosystem – a. “I enjoy interacting and socializing with
developers, team owners/managers, players, talent, tournament other people who also support Overwatch
organizers, etc. For this qualitative data to be statistically esports.”
significant and reliable, the researcher needed to interview at
least thirty participants from each category. To complicate
matters further, because the esports landscape is currently
dominated by three developers – Blizzard, Riot Games, and
Valve Corporation – the views of their employees as well as2016-087-NAUM 5
8. Personality of the Players/Athletes 2 Table 1. Descriptive Statistics Results
a. “I enjoy the personas of individual players
and streamers.”
9. Novelty
a. “I enjoy seeing new players and teams enter
the competitive scene.”
10. Enjoyment of Aggression
a. “I enjoy seeing aggressive/hostile attitudes
and behaviors exhibited by players.” [29]
The dependent variable of this data analysis was collected
through the question “On average, how many hours of
Overwatch esports content (tournaments, pro player streams,
educational videos) do you consume?” with the following
options:
1. Less than 1 hour per week
2. 1 to 3 hours per week
3. 3.5 to 6 hours per week
4. 6.5 to 10 hours per week
5. More than 10 hours per week
The survey measured several additional variables for potential
future analysis, including hours of Overwatch played per week,
highest rank achieved in Overwatch’s competitive mode,
primary platform for playing Overwatch, and engagement with
other esports titles and Blizzard properties outside of
Overwatch. The final section of the survey was largely optional The results indicated that on average, Overwatch esports
and allowed participants to voice their opinion on the present consumers were most strongly motivated by the aesthetic value
and future of Overwatch through open-ended questions. of high-level play (VAR2), acquisition of knowledge (VAR5),
After conducting a small pilot study with colleagues (n=8) to and the enjoyment of the professional players’ skills (VAR6).
identify potential problems with the survey as well as determine Conversely, participants were largely unmotivated by displays
an approximate completion time, the researcher distributed the of aggression and hostile behavior among professional players
survey along with a brief explanation of the thesis project (VAR10). A mean of 2.54 for the dependent variable (VAR0)
among various internet communities dedicated to Overwatch. indicates that competitive Overwatch fans consume between 1
Although the survey software (Google Forms) does not provide to 3 hours of esports content per week. These results, while of
tracking data to determine traffic sources, it can be assumed that potential interest to researchers and game developers, do not
most participants came from three Overwatch-related Reddit indicate whether or not each motivation construct is associated
communities, which currently have a total of over 910,000 with esports consumption habits.
subscribers. Additional traffic came from a competitive Next, the researcher ran a correlation test, which indicated a
Overwatch Facebook group as well as Twitter. The researcher high degree of intercorrelation among all motivating scales
did not provide incentives for participation. Over ten days, the except for enjoyment of aggression, as shown in Table 8 (see
survey received 1125 responses, five of which were disqualified Appendix). This result prompted a factor analysis test. As Table
due to the content of their open-ended questions. 2 indicates, Variables 2, 3, 5, and 6 (aesthetics, drama,
acquisition of knowledge, and player skill, respectively)
DATA ANALYSIS displayed a high degree of convergence in Component 1, while
variables 1, 8, and 9 (vicarious achievement, player personality,
The researcher began the data analysis process by isolating and novelty, respectively) displayed a high degree of
the relevant variables to the study – hours of Overwatch esports convergence in Component 2. Variable 10 (enjoyment of
content consumed (labeled VAR0) and each of the motivations aggression) loaded high in Component 3, but because single-
constructs (labeled VAR1 through 10 in the same order listed item scales are notoriously unreliable, the researcher eliminated
in the previous section) – and entering those variables into it from further analysis. Additionally, because Variables 4 and
SPSS. First, the researcher ran a descriptive statistics analysis 7 (escapism and social interaction, respectively) did not load
on all variables, as shown in Table 1: high in any component, the researcher eliminated them from
further analysis.
2
Modified from “Physical Attractiveness of the Players/Athletes” in the
original MSSC model.2016-087-NAUM 6
Table 2. Factor Analysis Results With a two-tailed P value of less than 0.0001, the difference
between average scores for Spectacle and Human Interest is
extremely statistically significant, according to conventional
criteria. As Table 3 shows, respondents were more motivated
on average by Spectacle than Human Interest.
After creating the overarching motivation groups and proving
statistical significance in their difference, the researcher
formulated the two hypotheses of this thesis study:
H1) Overwatch fans who gave high ratings to the motivating
factors that comprise the Spectacle group are more likely to
spend more time consuming Overwatch esports content.
H2) Overwatch fans who gave high ratings to the motivating
factors that comprise the Human Interest group are more
likely to spend more time consuming Overwatch esports
content.
In order to properly discuss the implications of these findings,
the researcher ran several tests to confirm the reliability and
validity of the new variable groups. To prepare MOT1 and
MOT2 for data analysis tests in SPSS, the researcher obtained
the total scores for each of the variables making up the
respective motivations groups. Next, MOT1 and MOT2 were
separately measured against the dependent variable in a null
hypothesis test (see Appendix). As Tables 9 and 10 indicate, the
null hypotheses – the categories of each variable occur with
equal probability – for both MOT1 and MOT2 were rejected,
which indicates that these variables exert significant influence
on each other (p < .001). Next, researcher ran reliability tests on
MOT1 and MOT2, as shown in Tables 4 and 5:
Table 4. Reliability Statistics - MOT1 (Spectacle)
Through the factor analysis results, the researcher created
two new variables: MOT1 (comprised of variables 2, 3, 5, and
6) and MOT2 (variables 1, 8, and 9). The variables that make
up MOT1 share all relate to the enjoyment of the nature of high-
level Overwatch play itself; therefore, the researcher identified
this overarching motivation group as “Spectacle.” In
comparison, the variables that make up MOT2 relate to
attachment to specific teams and players, and thus received the
title of “Human Interest.” With these groups identified, the
researcher conducted a t-test, as seen in Table 3:
Table 5. Reliability Statistics - MOT2 (Human Interest)
Table 3. T-Test Results
Group Spectacle Human Interest
Mean 4.17 3.37
SD 0.77 0.98
SEM 0.02 0.03
n 1120 1120
p < 0.0001
95% confidence interval: from 0.73 to 0.882016-087-NAUM 7
Both MOT1 and MOT2 had high Cronbach Alpha values (α= ratings to motivating factors that comprise the Spectacle (H1)
.76 and .68, respectively), indicating that both motivation and Human Interest (H2) items are more likely to watch more
groups are statistically reliable and internally consistent. Overwatch esports content per week than those who gave low
In order to confirm the hypotheses, the researcher broke ratings.
down the sample group (n=1120) into five subgroups, each
corresponding to the hours of Overwatch esports content IV. CONCLUSION
consumption per week reported by the survey respondents. For
each category, the researcher found the average total Likert This thesis project utilized the Motivations Scale for Sports
score of the motivation constructs that comprise Spectacle and Consumption to demonstrate how developers can analyze
Human Interest, respectively (see Tables 6 and 7). Higher community-generated data to understand what drives
scores indicate a stronger level of agreement with the consumption of esports content surrounding their games. Using
corresponding statements of motivation. Because Spectacle Overwatch as a case study, the researcher analyzed survey data
comprises four motivating constructs, a survey respondent’s from 1120 respondents to compare levels of motivation across
Likert score total could range from 4 to 20. Similarly, Human ten different factors with hours of Overwatch esports content
Spectacle comprises three constructs, resulting in a range of 3 consumed per week.
to 15. The data produced by the survey results (see Table 1)
indicated that Overwatch fans most strongly agree with
Table 6. Arithmetic Mean - MOT1 (Spectacle)
statements corresponding to being motivated by aesthetics,
acquisition of knowledge, the skill level of the professional
players, and the dramatic nature of competitive play.
Spectacle Conversely, fans strongly unmotivated by displays of
Hours of Overwatch Mean Likert aggression from the professional players and slightly
content watched per total for unmotivated by vicarious achievement. Aesthetics and drama
week motivations emerge from design decisions made during development of the
Less than 1 14.18 game, the skill-related motivations emerge from the community
of players and content creators surrounding the game, and
1 to 3 17.19
displays of aggression emerge from the game developer’s
3.5 to 6 17.39 policy towards player conduct, which lies squarely in the
6.5 to 10 17.32 domain of community management. For Overwatch and other
More than 10 17.73 esports titles that see a relatively constant stream of content
χ2 359.92 released after launch, as well as patches to balance the various
p < .001 player characters, fostering a passionate and healthy
community is paramount to achieving longevity, which is a
primary goal for esports titles.
Table 7. Arithmetic Mean - MOT2 (Human Interest) Because the primary purpose of this study was to determine
the effect of certain motivating factors on the degree of esports
content on a weekly basis, deeper analysis of the data was
Human Interest necessary. After a correlation test indicated that all variables
except for enjoyment of aggression (VAR10) were highly
Hours of Overwatch Mean Likert intercorrelated (see Table 8, Appendix), the researcher ran a
content watched per total for factor analysis (see Table 2). The results showed strong
week motivations correlations between two groups of motivating factors across
Less than 1 7.69 two components. The first group was comprised of aesthetics,
1 to 3 10.00 drama, acquisition of knowledge, and the skill of the
3.5 to 6 10.80 professional players. The common thread uniting all four
6.5 to 10 11.58 constructs was the enjoyment of high level play itself,
More than 10 12.15 prompting the researcher to name this group “Spectacle.” The
second group was comprised of vicarious achievement, the
χ2 277.44 personalities of the professional players, and the enjoyment of
p < .001 new players and teams entering the competitive scene. Because
these constructs all related to the professional teams and players
The results from Tables 6 and 7 show a clear difference in rather than the game itself, the researcher named this group
the total score from survey respondents who watch the least “Human Interest.”
amount of Overwatch esports content per week to those who A t-test of these overarching groups revealed that the
watch the most for both the Spectacle and Human Interest difference between the two was extremely statistically
categories. Human Interest displays a greater difference in score significant, with Spectacle returning an average higher score
across each tier of hours watched per week, whereas the (see Table 3). Additional testing showed that the correlations
Spectacle totals indicate diminishing returns as hours watched between each group and hours of Overwatch esports content
per week increases. Nevertheless, the data supports both watched per week was statistically reliable and valid (see
hypotheses. In other words, Overwatch fans who gave high2016-087-NAUM 8 Tables 4 and 5). Furthermore, the researcher confirmed a improvements to its spectator mode over time, including giving positive association between each motivation group and esports users smooth camera movement and the ability to bookmark content consumption levels (see Tables 6-7 and 9-10). The static camera positions throughout each map [35]. motivations of escapism, social interaction, and displays of The results of this project differ significantly with that of aggression produced no significant correlation to esports Hamari and Sjöblom’s study. They reported that escapism and consumption habits in the data. enjoyment of aggression were positively associated with Creating overarching motivation groups by finding patterns esports consumption, while enjoyment of aesthetics was in individual constructs is useful for game developers because negatively associated with consumption [29]. Both studies it allows them to interpret general goals in ways that best found that acquisition of knowledge and enjoyment of novelty leverage their unique strengths and resources. In the case of positively associated with esports consumption [29]. It should Overwatch, the fact that esports fans motivated by human be restated that Hamari and Sjöblom surveyed a general esports interest elements are more likely to consume more content is of audience rather than communities surrounding specific games, particular relevance to the upcoming Overwatch League. This which may explain the sharp variance in the two studies’ results data validates Blizzard’s business decision to create a city- [29]. Compared to other esports titles, Overwatch is praised for based league structure in an attempt to cultivate loyalty to local its vibrant art style and the quality of its characters, team brands. Developers can also analyze the individual environments, and animations. This could explain why constructs that make up motivation groups in order to create competitive Overwatch fans are more motivated by aesthetics more specific action items for design or development decisions. than the general esports audience [9]. Similarly, Blizzard takes For example, one of the constructs that makes up the Human a hardline stance against aggression, commonly referred to as Interest motivation group in this study is novelty, which “toxic behavior,” in its player base, which may also explain describes enjoyment of new players or teams entering the why enjoyment of aggression factors less in Overwatch fan competitive scene. This validates Blizzard’s decision to motivation to consume esports content than other factors. introduce a combine system to the Overwatch League, which provides amateur players an opportunity to rise to the LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH professional level. Based on the data, Blizzard might engage with esports consumers more by creating promotional content The primary purpose of this study was not only to collect data specifically centered around the Overwatch League’s combine, on Overwatch esports, but also to provide the esports industry during which amateur players will compete in a series of tests at large with a model for studying why fans engage with esports to earn spots on the league’s professional teams. content. As such, future research should apply the Motivations While the Human Interest motivation group largely pertains Scale for Sports Consumption other esports games and their to business strategy surrounding Overwatch esports, the communities for comparison with the Overwatch results and Spectacle group involves both business and design strategy. with each other. The aggregate of these isolated studies may The spectator’s experience involves not only the game of result in similarities with Hamari and Sjöblom’s findings. Overwatch itself, but also how the esports media content is Although the MSSC has been proven to be valid and reliable created and presented to them. The aesthetics construct pertains instrument for studying sports spectators, other scales may be to the core art vision of the game – character design, more appropriate for measuring esports motivations environments, and animations – which is solidified prior to specifically. Thus, it is perhaps in the esports industry’s best release. Similarly, the drama construct relates from the game interest to develop its own measurement scale as a counterpart design – in Overwatch’s competitive mode, each match consists to the MSSC, iterating and proving both reliability and validity of an attack and defense round. Because the data from the through many studies over a long period of time. Because the survey validates these design decisions, any future content esports ecosystem is currently growing and experimenting with should follow the precedent Blizzard set in pre-release different structures, it is important that researchers repeat development. studies like this thesis several times per year to track how fans Compared to aesthetics and drama, the latter two motivations engage with esports content over time. that comprise the Spectacle motivation group, acquisition of The fact that the results of this study validate Blizzard’s knowledge and enjoyment of displays of skill, depend entirely esports strategy may originate from the fact that the data used on the community of high-level Overwatch players and content was self-reported by self-selected survey takers. They are likely creators. From a business strategy perspective, cultivating a to be more engaged with Overwatch esports content than the strong relationship with this community is key to increasing the average or casual esports consumer. Thus, future studies could longevity of Overwatch as a new esport and intellectual address this by incorporating data from Overwatch esports properity. This is achieved not only through strong community content on Twitch and YouTube, including time watched per management, but also through the creation of improved user, keyword analysis from chat logs, the number and degree spectator tools that allow commentators and in-game camera of financial transactions during the stream (donations and operators to better highlight important plays and displays of subscriptions), and the content of the videos themselves. skill. Philip Tan’s best practices for designing spectator user As mentioned in the Methodology section, the survey interfaces, is of particular relevance here: 1) balance aesthetics collected data on several variables not analyzed in this study, and compression, 2) illustrate invisible concepts of good play, including age ranges, primary platform, hours of Overwatch 3) tell the story of the moment, 4) support unique individual played per week, highest rank achieved in the game’s commentator styles, and 5) build viewer excitement through competitive mode, and esports consumption outside of and in timely delivery of information [28]. Overwatch has seen addition to Overwatch. Several interesting studies could emerge
2016-087-NAUM 9
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VI. APPENDIX
Table 8. Inter-Item Correlation Matrix
Table 9. Hypothesis Test Summary – MOT1 (Spectacle)
Table 10. Hypothesis Test Summary – MOT2 (Human Interest)You can also read
