What\u27s in a Stream? Understanding Video Gamers\u27 Perceptions regarding Streaming and its Legitimacy

Video game streaming – live interactive broadcasts of gameplay on online platforms such as YouTube, has emerged as an important phenomenon in the world of video games, with leading streamers attracting the viewership of millions. The public’s perception of streaming, and its legitimacy, is still very much undecided. We seek to understand gamers’ and streamers’ normative perceptions of streaming. Employing an extreme case study methodology, we analyze the Reddit discussion threads and streamers’ video-blogs following the decision of a game producer, Altus, to restrict streaming of its Persona 5 game. We reveal ambiguities amongst community regarding the nature of streaming, with perceptions ranging between streaming as a broadcast of game, a creative performance, or a community activity. Further, we discover the factors that influence gamers’ perceptions regarding streaming legitimacy. We discuss implications for HCI and IS research and practice

The Effects of Co-Creation and Word-of-Mouth on Content Consumption – Findings from the Video Game Industry

Video games offer users rich experiences that extend beyond the producers’ original design, to include complementary products and services that are provided by online communities, namely, ‘mods’ (game modifications) and streaming (live-broadcasting). Notwithstanding their potential benefits, complementary products and services may also negatively affect gamers’ experiences. To date, our understanding of how the interplay between firm-based and community-based platforms shapes consumers’ experiences is limited. Our conceptual framework describes how co-creation (i.e. modding) and word-of-mouth (WoM; i.e. streaming) affect games’ consumption. Our empirical study shows that co-creation: (a) directly increases game consumption and (b) indirectly affects consumption by driving WoM, which in turn increases game consumption. Additionally, two game characteristics – play mode (online multiplayer vs. offline single player) and plot (open-world vs. linear) moderate the relationships between co-creation, WoM, and game consumption. These findings inform our understanding of how consumption of firm-produced online content is affected by activities on community-based complementary platform