View, play and pay? – The relationship between consumption of gaming video content and video game playing and buying

Consuming live-streamed or pre-recorded gaming video content through video sharing services such as YouTube and Twitch has become a significant aspect of the modern gaming and online media culture. Although it has been argued that watching such content may replace some first-hand gaming activities, it has also been argued that consuming gaming video content may further increase both gaming activities and purchases related to gaming. This study provides the first empirical evidence on how the consumption of three popular types of gaming video content (game reviews, let’s plays and esports) affect the gameplay activity and game related purchasing behaviour and therefore extends our knowledge about digital consumer behaviour and its latest forms. Results indicate that all three forms of gaming video content have a positive association with time spent playing games. Moreover, gaming video consumption, especially the consumption of review video content, is positively associated with game purchasing behaviour

Introduction to the Minitrack on Streaming Media in Entertainment

publishedVersionNon peer reviewe

Play, Playbour or Labour? The Relationships between Perception of Occupational Activity and Outcomes among Streamers and YouTubers

The increasing digitalization and gamification of different aspects of our lives has blurred the line between what we consider work and play. Therefore, our productivity may increasingly depend on how we negotiate and view our occupations and work. Through an online survey (n=382), this study examines the relationship between the perception of online video content creation as either work, play or equally as both, and the activities and income of these video content creators (streamers and YouTubers). The results indicate that those who view their content creation as work had the highest levels of activity and income, whereas those who associated their content creation with play, earned more income than those who regard their content creation equally as play and work. The results demonstrate the emergence of new forms of digital entrepreneurial practices in the work-oriented group, but also the highlight the increasing workification of our play activities

Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

Consuming live-streamed or pre-recorded gaming video content through video sharing services such as YouTube and Twitch has become a significant aspect of the modern gaming and online media culture. Although it has been argued that watching such content may replace some first-hand gaming activities, it has also been argued that consuming gaming video content may further increase both gaming activities and purchases related to gaming. This study provides the first empirical evidence on how the consumption of three popular types of gaming video content (game reviews, let’s plays and esports) affect the gameplay activity and game related purchasing behaviour and therefore extends our knowledge about digital consumer behaviour and its latest forms. Results indicate that all three forms of gaming video content have a positive association with time spent playing games. Moreover, gaming video consumption, especially the consumption of review video content, is positively associated with game purchasing behaviour. </p

Current issues of sustainability in esports

Aims: The aim of the paper is to explore emerging themes, which support the development of a sustainable esports industry. Methods and results: This study is based on a workshop methodology, which aims to identify and explore topics perceived as most pertinent by individuals with an intimate understanding of the dynamics of the esports context. Two workshops were held with a total of 64 participants, representing both academia and industry stakeholders. Interpretations of the sustainability of esports were thus recorded, developed, critiqued, and refined through social interaction with experts. The results indicate three critical themes to address regarding the development of sustainability of esports, namely a) health and inclusiveness, b) the incomplete industry structure, and c) the immature business logic. Conclusions: Sustainability refers to the ability of esports to survive or persist. We argue that sustainability is dependent on how well industry stakeholders can address the identified themes. Currently, social sustainability is the primary concern of both practitioners and researchers of esports. Economic sustainability mostly deals with securing business growth, while environmental sustainability is not yet perceived as a relevant topic (e.g., using sustainable technologies and energy-saving related to gaming and competitive events). Structures and processes within esports presently constitute the focus of sustainability in esports.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

The Professionalization of Play: Examining the convergence of play and labour in online video content creation

Ihmisten työ- ja vapaa-aika ovat muuttuneet merkittävästi viime vuosikymmenten aikana. Digitalisaation, kehittyneiden digitaalisten ratkaisujen ja alustojen yleistyminen ja arkipäiväistyminen on mahdollistanut vapaa-ajan ja työn yhdistämisen – ja jopa vapaa-ajan muuttumisen työksi. Työn ja huvin yhdistyminen näkyy mm. uusien palvelumallien ja ideoiden, kuten digitaalisten vaihtotalouspalveluiden, kehittymisenä, mutta myös ihmisten tapana uppoutua sosiaalisen median kanaviin. Niissä sisällön kuluttamisesta on tullut vaivattomasti myös sisällön tuotantoa yksinkertaisten ja jopa leikillisten toimintojen, esimerkiksi tykkäämisen, sisällön jakamisen ja kommentoinnin, kautta. Modernista, digitaalisen ja sosiaalisen median kuluttajasta on kehittynyt ns. tuluttaja, eli kuluttaja, joka myös tuottaa digitaalista sisältöä. Digitaalisten alustojen kehittymisen myötä vapaa-ajan mediakäyttäytyminen on muovautunut ammatillisemmaksi. Tässä väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan työn ja huvin yhdistymistä, etenkin videosisällön tuottajien – kuten yksityisten striimaajien ja tubettajien - toiminnassa. Väitöskirja tarkastelee viiden erillisen julkaisun kautta videosisällön tuottajien käyttäytymistä, motivaatioita ja käytäntöjä sekä niiden vaikutusta vapaa-ajan toiminnan ammatillistumiseen. Väitöskirjassa hyödynnetään aiempaa konseptuaalista ja teoreettista ymmärrystä mm. mediatutkimuksesta, pelitutkimuksesta ja sosiaalipsykologiasta. Tutkimukset pohjautuvat pääasiassa määrälliseen tutkimusdataan induktiivisia ja deduktiivisia lähestymistapoja hyödyntäen. Väitöskirjan ensimmäinen julkaisu tarkastelee aiempaa kirjallisuutta vapaa-ajan videosisällön tuotannon ammatillistumiseen liittyen ja pyrkii näin luomaan pohjan aihealueen ymmärrykselle. Toinen julkaisu analysoi sisällöntuottajien omia näkemyksiä toiminnastaan vapaa-ajan aktiviteettina, työnä tai niiden välimuotona, ja tämän näkemyksen vaikutusta toiminnan tuloksiin. Kolmas julkaisu taas tarkastelee videosisällön tuottajien motivaatioita tuottaa sisältöjä ja motivaatioiden vaikutusta toiminnan tuotoksiin. Neljäs ja viides julkaisu tarkastelevat videosisällön tuottajien käytäntöjä, erityisesti heidän tapaansa lisätä suosiotaan toiminnan parissa, ja suosituimpien videosisällön tuottajien käytäntöjä pelisisältöihin erikoistuneessa suoratoistopalvelu Twitchissä. Väitöskirjan tuloksissa näkyy vapaa-ajan videosisällön tuotannon ammatillistuminen, mutta myös huvin merkitys toiminnassa ja sen kehittymisessä. Väitöskirjan toisessa julkaisussa havaitaan, että sisällöntuottajat, jotka suhtautuivat toimintaansa työnä, olivat selvästi tuotteliaimpia kolmesta arvioiduista ryhmästä ja saivat myös toiminnastaan eniten hyötyä mm. taloudellisesti. Kuitenkin nekin sisällöntuottajat, joille toiminta oli pääasiassa hupia, saavuttivat hyviä tuloksia, vaikka he näkivät selvästi vähemmän vaivaa tuloksen eteen. Heillä oli myös pisin kokemus toiminnasta. Kolmannessa julkaisussa havainnot olivat samankaltaisia. Vaikka ulkoisilla motivaatioilla, kuten ansioilla ja uran kehittymisellä, oli selkeä yhteys tuottajan viikoittaiseen tuotteliaisuuteen, oli toiminnan jatkuminen kuitenkin yhteydessä sisäisten motivaatioiden, kuten nautinnon ja sosiaalisen vuorovaikutuksen, kanssa. Neljännessä ja viidennessä julkaisussa sama teema toistui. Vaikka molemmissa julkaisuissa havaittiin strategisia käytäntöjä ja työkaluja, joilla on yhteys toiminnan ammatillistumiseen, tuloksissa näkyi myös selvästi sosiaalisen vuorovaikutuksen merkitys toiminnassa ja sen käytännöissä. Myös mm. autenttisuuden ja samaistumisen merkitys korostui. Näiden tulosten perusteella voidaan väittää, että sisällöntuotannon ammatillistuminen kehittyy eri käytäntöjen, käyttäytymisen ja motivaatioiden kautta, mutta toiminnan yhteydellä vapaa-ajan nautintoihin ja toiminnan tuottamalla huvilla on tärkeä merkitys videosisällön tuotannon jatkumisessa ja kehittymisessä.The way in which we approach work and our free time has changed rapidly during the last few decades. The increasing digitalization of our everyday lives and routines, and the development of innovative digital platforms and solutions, has made it possible for us to merge our work and leisure and even turn our leisure into work. This merger of leisure and work can be seen in the emergence of concepts and ideas such as online peer-to-peer trading and resource sharing on digital platforms, but it can also be examined in the way we immerse ourselves into social media formats and casually turn our social media consumption into media production through simple interactions such as posting, sharing media content, and commenting. The modern consumer of digital and social media has rapidly turned into a prosumer of content, a consumer who also produces, and through sophisticated, platform developed incentive programs and changes in our digital economy, these activities are also taking more professionalised forms. This dissertation will examine the increasing convergence of our labour and leisure lives through the activities of video content creators, in whom this new marriage of work and, playful leisure is representatively present. The dissertation will specifically focus on the behaviours, motivations, and practices of private individuals as video content creators and their effect on the professionalization of these activities, through five studies. The dissertation will utilize theoretical and conceptual understanding from media studies, social psychology, and game research and is primarily based on quantitative data and both on inductive and deductive research approaches. The first study of the dissertation examines the existing literature on the topic of professionalised and commercialized video content creation, which provides an insight into the topic. The second and third studies of the dissertation aim to elucidate the behaviours and perceptions of the content creators by examining the ways in which the perceptions of the activity as either leisure or labour affects the activity and its outcomes, and the actor’s motivations to generate video content online. The fourth and fifth studies examine the practices of video content creators by examining the formulation of popularity in video content creation and the practices of the most popular video content creators on the video sharing platform, Twitch. The findings of the dissertation reveal various professionalised aspects through the examination of the behaviours, motivations, and practices of video content creators, and also underline the significance of the recreational nature of the activity. The findings of study two discovered that work-oriented video content creators had the highest activity levels and outcomes (e.g., income) from the activity, of the examined groups (work-oriented, play-oriented and playbour-oriented), while the play-oriented content creators were also found to gain good outcomes from their activities with the least amount of effort and the longest tenure from the activity. Similarly to study two, the findings of study three indicated that extrinsic motivations to create video content, such as income and career development, were associated with weekly activity levels of a content creator, while continued engagement with the activity was seen to be related to intrinsic motivations such as enjoyment, and social interaction. The findings of studies four and five also discovered strategic practices and tools that can be associated with the more professionalised aspects of video content creation, including a new category of tools used purely for revenue generating purposes (such as donation and subscription links and pop-ups). The findings also emphasized more intrinsically significant aspects of the activity, such as the importance of social interaction and the relatability of the online persona. Based on these findings, it could be argued that specific behaviours, motivations and practices of video content creators are associated with the professionalised aspects of the activity, but the intrinsic nature of the activity seems to remain as a significant contributor in the continued engagement in the activity as well as an instrument for increased authenticity and relatedness for video content creators