Thesis (M.A.)--California State University, Fullerton, 2018
Includes bibliographical references
Through interviews, research and a theoretical framework, this study examines "e-sports", or electronic sports, and considers whether e-sports should be categorized as a sport and its players categorized as athletes. E-sports is the term used to describe professional/competitive video games. In the present study, discourse analysis used two primary interviews from two participants---one involved in e-sports, the other in traditional sports. The study used literature to compare the different aspects of both e-sports and traditional sports and noted where the two overlapped. Additionally, this was backed with existing literature and the theoretical framework of play theory to provide insight into sports entertainment. Results revealed interesting first-hand insight on the future of e-sports and in what way traditional sports fit into the equation. By isolating the terms "athlete" and "sports" as a basis for analysis, the traditional and current definitions can be fully understood. The research also revealed that like play theory, both traditional sports and video games originated from a common place---play, and it is because of this similar trajectory, they are what they are now
This study offers novel insight into how the distinction between traditional sports and the characteristics of athletes has become increasingly unclear; thus, with the amount of overlap between the two, traditional definitions, are changing and moving forward, and as a result, all sports and all athletes will be looked at through the same lens
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest, 2018
