TY - JOUR
T1 - Dimensionalizing esports consumption
T2 - alternative journeys to professional play
AU - Huston, Clarice
AU - Cruz, Angela Gracia B.
AU - Zoppos, Eloise
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - Much of the extant literature on esports consumption has characterized esports consumers as striving for mastery of their gaming skills, with a focus on professional esports players. Through a hermeneutic analysis of the esports literature, insider immersion, and in-depth interviews, this study applies a qualitative research design to illustrate the various journeys that non-professional esports consumers embark upon that incorporate multiple consumption practices. We advance the axes of ‘skills versus culture’ and ‘serious versus casual’ as ways to dimensionalize different consumer journeys. We also demonstrate that consumer journeys in the esports field are fluid, with consumers moving across the different dimensions according to their broader life context.
AB - Much of the extant literature on esports consumption has characterized esports consumers as striving for mastery of their gaming skills, with a focus on professional esports players. Through a hermeneutic analysis of the esports literature, insider immersion, and in-depth interviews, this study applies a qualitative research design to illustrate the various journeys that non-professional esports consumers embark upon that incorporate multiple consumption practices. We advance the axes of ‘skills versus culture’ and ‘serious versus casual’ as ways to dimensionalize different consumer journeys. We also demonstrate that consumer journeys in the esports field are fluid, with consumers moving across the different dimensions according to their broader life context.
KW - esports
KW - gaming
KW - consumer journeys
KW - qualitative research
KW - consumer culture theory
KW - consumption community
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128445890&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1469540520982364
DO - 10.1177/1469540520982364
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85128445890
SN - 1469-5405
VL - 22
SP - 456
EP - 475
JO - Journal of Consumer Culture
JF - Journal of Consumer Culture
IS - 2
ER -