Pioneering eSport: The Experience Economy and the Marketing of Early 1980s Arcade Gaming Contests

Authors

  • Michael Borowy Simon Fraser University
  • Dal Yong Jin Simon Fraser University

Keywords:

e-sport, professional gamer, arcade, experience economy, event marketing, video games, public events

Abstract

This article sets out to historicize the development of e-sport (organized competitive digital gaming) in the early 1980s using three new conceptual frameworks. We identify e-sport as an accompaniment of the broader embryonic gamer culture, a hallmark of the “experience economy” concept, and as a succession of consumer practices whose development was coterminous with the rise of event marketing as a leading promotional business strategy. By examining the origins of e-sport as both a marketized event and experiential commodity, we see this period as a transitory era bridging different phases in the areas of sports, marketing, and technology, resulting in the expansion of competitive cyberathleticism.

Author Biographies

Michael Borowy, Simon Fraser University

M.A. CommunicationResearcher, Centre for Policy Research on Science and TechnologySimon Fraser University

Dal Yong Jin, Simon Fraser University

Associate Professor, School of CommunicationSimon Fraser University

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Published

2013-10-15

Issue

Vol. 7 (2013)

Section

Articles

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