Research
The Popularity and Profitability of Electronic Sports in Comparison to Conventional Sports
Leo Yang1, Thomas J. Kosnik2
1. Lynbrook High School
2. Department of Management Science & Engineering
Abstract
For most of human history, sports has always played a prevalent role in entertainment, social status, and the economy. However, in recent years, the massive traditional sports industry is slowly declining in its social influence and market capitalization. On the other side of the spectrum, the eSports industry has been rapidly expanding. Since the first introduction of professional gaming in 1999, eSports spectatorship has grown at nearly 7.7 percent every year, totaling to an audience of over 577 million. This study draws a comparison between the digital and traditional sport system in the aspects of popularity and profitability. Multiple regression analysis results show that the growth of eSports and the growth of livestreaming are heavily correlated (r ~ 0.91). Furthermore, the market opportunities for players, organizations, game developers and investors are analyzed. It’s demonstrated that within genres of eSports such as MOBA and FPS, retention rates are over 95 percent, making them the most lucrative ways to continue drawing in customers and incentivizing growth. This study concludes with the potential ways for eSports to continue its growth, and in what areas in terms of infrastructure and revenue model it is most likely to expand and evolve.
View the entire paper at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gYSKiwo13kh3HHRR0WpI6XzbBQZhtz_S/view?usp=sharing