Playing Computer Games as Electronic
Sport: In Search of a Theoretical
Framework for a New Research Field
Tanja Adamus
1 Although some authors differentiate between the terms computer games and video games, in this
chapter, they will be used synonymously.
T. Adamus (*)
Chair of Educational Media and Knowledge Management , Faculty of Educational Sciences,
University Duisburg-Essen , Duisburg , Germany Introduction
The impression of a lonely and socially isolated gamer informed the discussion
about the impact of video and computer games 1 on adolescents especially at the
beginning. The actual development with a high increase of multiuser and massive
user games, for example, World of Warcraft , indicates instead that even playing in
and with virtual worlds is bound to a social context and appropriate communities.
Thus, video gaming has formed the basis for the development of various player
cultures. The phenomenon of electronic sports can be described as one of these
cultures with a strictly distinct understanding concerning the purpose of playing
video games.
This chapter deals with a topic which is currently only recognized by a few
scientists even in the fi eld of game studies; thus, besides the discussion about a theoretical
framework for e-sport, it will mainly deal with a detailed introduction to the
world of electronic sport. Referring to the research on gaming cultures conducted so
Chapter 30
Playing Computer Games as Electronic
Sport: In Search of a Theoretical
Framework for a New Research Field
Tanja Adamus
1 Although some authors differentiate between the terms computer games and video games, in this
chapter, they will be used synonymously.
T. Adamus (*)
Chair of Educational Media and Knowledge Management , Faculty of Educational
e-mail: tanja.adamus@uni-duisburg-essen.de
Shot the