Abstract
Sports video games rank among the most successful products of the game industry. Yet, very little is known about the players of sports video games resulting in a blind spot for media and video game research. Little is known about how sports video game players fit their games into a larger sports-related context, and about how their video game play informs their media usage and general sports fandom. The following empirical online investigation is an answer to this research gap, providing one of the first large-scale data sets detailing who the sports video game players are. Through an online survey of 1718 participants, general demographics of sports video game players, their habits and activities were investigated in the early 2011. While, until now our knowledge about players of sports video games has been based on anecdotal evidence or extrapolated from wider surveys of game players, this study demonstrates that there are interesting and important differences demanding further study.
Introduction
In 1958, William Higginbotham created the first game to run on an analog computer and named it Tennis for Two. One of the earliest arcade video games was another tennis-themed game – Pong – released in 1972. On the list of video game franchises that have sold more than 100 million copies is the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) series (Business Wire, 2010). Over the last several decades, game players have actively and enthusiastically played games featuring sports. But despite their popularity, little attention has been given to understand sports video games or the players who engage with them.
This omission is glaring, given the large share of the market that sports games command. Overall, sports video games accounted for 16.3% of all games sold in 2010 in the United States, with Madden NFL 11 being ranked number 2 in sales looking at games of all genres. (ESA, 2011). Indeed, the Madden franchise has sold more than 85 million copies of its games since it began in 1988 (Zuniga, 2010). Similarly, the FIFA soccer series has sold more than 100 million copies in its 18-year history (McHugh, 2010). Yet, we know very little about the people who have bought and played such games on a research-based level.
With this in mind, we endeavored to conduct a study that would help to identify and characterize the players of sports video games. It is important to note that we chose not to engage in the complicated discourse of what constitutes a ‘sports video game’ or for that matter how to define ‘sports’ in general. These are certainly important theoretical questions to explore, but we felt for our purposes with this study that it was optimal to allow respondents to define ‘sports’ and ‘sports video games’ in their own personal way.
This study is the first large-scale research of its kind examining sports video game players. These findings should raise more questions and promote further research on this very active video game play community.
Sports and video games: literature review
Some early work has been done examining groups and individuals who play fantasy sports, both online and offline. Shipman (2001) investigated the history of fantasy sports and its evolution from pen-and-paper hobby to online activity. Shipman argues that for its players, the rhetoric of such games is ‘one of empowerment and role-playing. It asks the player to imagine himself or herself as the coach, with all the power to make decisions for the team’ (p: 4). Yet, such games rely on positioning the player solely as a coach or a general manager, rather than as a player, since their focus is on managing a team rather than actually playing the sport.
Smith et al. (2006) also found that the play of online fantasy sports primarily focused on decision-making and mathematical skills. However, they found ‘few (if any) instances of formal decision-making [in forums about roster building] relying on extensive computation. Most players seem to create their rosters by relying on domain-specific knowledge of NBA athletes and applying this knowledge in various ways’ (p: 356). Farquhar and Meeds (2007) attempted to categorize different types of online fantasy sports players, identifying the most common types as casual players, skilled players and isolationist thrill-seekers. They further concluded that the motivations for play fell into two categories: players who were either ‘highly involved and enjoyed the statistics, knowing that they outsmarted those who did not win, or they were less involved and sought the thrill of victory and subsequent bragging rights’ (p: 1224).
Thus, for fantasy sports players, research demonstrates that such games center on the managerial tasks, such that a coach or a general manager might undertake, with players responding in different ways to those challenges. Although such research sheds light on one aspect of sports game activity, it did not help us to understand why players would enjoy sports video games that allow them to control players and build and manage teams. Neither do such studies go beyond more surface motivations for play to delve into player's interests and activities beyond their gaming activity.
With respect to games that do offer more direct play, researchers have made the important claim that sports video games are one of the few places that racial minorities are present as primary characters, in contrast with most other genres of video games (Leonard, 2003; Williams et al., 2009). In a textual analysis of several video games relative to their racial representations, Leonard (2003: 6) argues that such representations are ultimately racist and ‘sports games legitimize stereotypical ideas about black athletic superiority and white intellectual abilities’. Yet, we do not have studies of players of such games that ask about race, in order to determine whether players are making the same assessments of the games and sports stars within them.
Studies of players of sports video games are even fewer in number than those that focus on the games. In a study of professional and college athletes that play video game versions of themselves and their teams, Silberman (2009) argues that for those athletes, at least, playing sports video games affords them the opportunity to learn better how to play their particular sport, particularly when they play by themselves.
Garry Crawford has contributed importantly to the domain of sports video game studies, looking at a variety of topics. In his book Consuming sport: Sport, fans and culture, he positions sports video game play in relation to sports fandom (Crawford, 2004). He has also explored topics relating to sports video games and gender (Crawford, 2005), the culture of football management simulations (Crawford, 2006) and even the comparison of sports films and sports video games (Crawford, 2008). Crawford’s work has been important in developing the study of sports video games from the sociological and cultural perspectives, placing sports video game play into a larger context of player identity and culture.
Similarly, Conway (2010) investigated the players of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, trying to determine how the game fits into the larger contexts of players’ lives. Through interviews and observations, he learned that the players’ gameplay was ‘a highly social, intertextual and immersive experience for the user. Whether alone or in a group, public or private, online or offline, the game-playing event is defined not only through what happens in-game, between teams, but also in what happens between the players, the spectators, the wider games-playing community and the culture of sport’ (p. 351). Conway further argues that such games are not simply activities unto themselves but should be contextualized as ‘an authentic extension of football culture’ (p: 352). As such, players were just as likely to talk about ‘footballers’ lives, current team news, the analysis of statistics, and other topical sporting issues’ (p: 352). Crawford’s and Conway’s works inform our own study of sports video game players.
This study seeks to advance Conway’s findings and investigate how much and in what ways sports video games play a role in players’ lives. Specifically, we began this study to investigate how playing sports video games could be one expression of an overall interest in sports, and how that interest was expressed across various media as well as through physical-sporting activities. We were interested in how sports gamers expressed their interest in various mediated forms of sport, and also what meanings they made, and what manner of play they are engaged in, when playing sports video games. We also sought to study whether sports gamers were more isolated in their gameplay – concentrating mainly on sports games and sport activities – or whether they also played other types of video games and how they managed those various interests. Thus, this study sought to answer the following research questions, given the exploratory nature of this project: RQ 1: Who plays sports video games, and how are sports video game players similar to – or different from – ‘typical’ video game players? RQ 2: In what ways do sports gamers express their interest/interests in various sports? RQ 3: How do players of sports video games play such games? RQ 4: How do players attach meaning to their sports video games?
To answer these research questions and to conduct the first large scale quantitative study in the field, the following methods of investigation and interpretation were used:
Methods
To gain the widest possible picture of sports games, this research opted to recruit a broad, multinational and diverse play community, which presented unique challenges in organizing and developing the study. We designed a mixed methods approach that would give us a broad but representative snapshot of who the sports video game players are, as well as a deeper, more interpretive component to investigate how players make meaning through playing sports video games. Those choices helped us gain a greater perspective on a variety of players and their multiple interests and activities.
The central component of the study was a web survey that included open-ended and closed questions. We included questions about general gameplay habits, sports game activities and preferences, personal play experiences, how players categorized certain sports games, how they defined their sports fandom, and how they related their sports fandom to their sports video game play experiences. We also gathered basic demographic data to see how sports gamers compared with other types of video game players across various genres. Furthermore, meaningful gameplay experiences were collected. The survey was anonymous with the option to include an email address at the conclusion, should respondents be willing to be interviewed for a planned follow-up study. We limited the survey to respondents aged 18 years or older, focusing our study on adult players. All the questions were optional on the survey, and the respondents were allowed to skip the questions or to answer survey questions in any order. After pilot testing the format and questions and making necessary clarifications, we launched the Web site on a local server and began recruiting participants.
To garner respondents, we utilized social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, posting a link and a brief description of the survey. With the help of site administrators and forum moderators, we also posted links to the survey on popular sports video game blogs and Web sites. 1 The survey was open from 7 March to 5 April 2011. A total of 1718 respondents took the survey.
In analyzing the data, we were largely interested in identifying significance in the frequencies of responses. We also checked basic relationships looking for significant patterns. We kept an eye toward finding characteristics that help to explain the relationship between sports fandom and sports video game play behaviors. To examine the open-ended responses, we categorized them by recognizable themes emerging from the responses themselves. We also used basic content analysis, such as word frequency, to help get a picture of overall trends.
Results
RQ 1: Who plays sports video games?
Before exploring more detailed facets of sports gamer identity and players’ various activities, it is helpful to know who currently plays sports video games. In terms of basic demographics, survey respondents were overwhelmingly male. Of the 1309 respondents who answered, 98.4% were identified as males and only 1.6% were identified as females.
The reported ages ranged across a spectrum, although just under half of the respondents were 18–24 years old (49%), with declining numbers of older respondents: 32% were 25–31 years old; 14% were 32–38 years old and only 5% were aged 39+ years. The average age of respondents is 26 (SD = 6.54). 2 Of course for gender as well as age, it is difficult to say whether this is indicative of the larger sports game-playing community, or whether this is more reflective of a subset of sports gamers who go online and read related forums and blogs (Figure 1).
The age breakdown of survey respondents.
With regard to race and/or ethnicity, we asked the individuals to choose from racial/ethnic categories used in the US census data, although our survey gathered results globally. Overall, 80% self-identified as white, 8.4% as Black/African American, 8% as Asian, 6% as Hispanic/Latino, 1.5% as American Indian/Alaskan Native and 0.9% as Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. A total of 11% skipped the question. Such racial ethnic breakdowns are compared with census data from 2010 in the chart given in Figure 2.
The racial/ethnic breakdown of respondents compared with that of the US census.
White players are over-represented compared with their actual numbers in the United States, as are Asian players, while Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino players are under-represented. This finding is particularly curious, given that sports games are one of the few places we can find significant numbers of non-White characters, particularly those that are playable characters that drive the action of the game (Williams et al., 2009). However, previous research on African American video game players also suggests that many of these individuals prefer to play offline among friends and family, and thus may not have seen our survey, which was distributed via various internet sports gamer forums (DiSalvo and Bruckman, 2010).
In terms of nationality, most respondents came from North America and Europe. About two thirds or 64% of individuals listed a nationality from North America, while 21% were European. Further breakdowns are listed in Figure 3.
The breakdown of nationalities for survey respondents.
Overall, respondents to this survey were overwhelmingly male, on an average of 26 years old, White and from either North America or Europe. This diverges more from diverse accounts of player demographics as detailed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which claims the average game player is 37 years old, and 29% of players are older than 50 years. Similarly, the ESA reports that 42% of game players are now female, and ‘women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game playing population (37%) than boys age 17 or younger (13%)’ (ESA, 2011).
RQ 2: In what ways do sports gamers express their interest/interests in various sports?
Because sports are significant cultural phenomena outside their simulated play in video games, we wanted to explore how sports video game players relate to sports in general. A major question we investigated with our study pertains to how sports video game players express their interest in sports through activities other than video game play. We wanted to learn in what ways the community engaged professional and amateur sports, whether as active participants, as spectators and/or as consumers. We also hoped to learn how sports video game players relate their sports video game play to their general sports interest. Results from the study show conclusively that our respondents are actively, and predominantly interested in sports across media, and are in fact fitting their sports video game play into a larger sports-related context.
An overwhelming majority of respondents (93.5%) were self identified as sports fans. This statistic indicates that for most sports video game players, there is a larger sports-related context in which, or possibly against which, they understand their sports video game playing. An additional 76.4% of players were also able to list a professional or amateur team that they support. Naturally, the teams listed varied greatly. The indication of support for a team does not articulate to what degree their fandom influences their lives; however, it does suggest that on even a superficial level, sports video game players are likely to have a rooting interest in one team or another.
Furthermore, respondents indicated that they watch sports on television with a high regularity, and nearly 95% said they watch sports on television. That group, when asked how much of their television viewing was of sports contests or sports-related content, responded with an average of 3.71 on a scale of 1 (occasionally) to 5 (most of the time), suggesting sports viewing is a central component of their overall television diet. Television is still the dominant medium for sports consumption, and the survey respondents are certainly a part of that audience. Interestingly, 81.4% of respondents indicated that they had attended a live-sporting event as a spectator in the past year. The respondents clearly extend their sports viewing beyond just that on television.
We wondered whether sports video game players also participated in sports as an athletic activity. When asked, 74.6% of the respondents indicated that they did in fact play a sport. As it was not directly relevant to the study, we did not go to great lengths to define what constitutes a ‘sport as an athletic activity’; although we did ask what sports they played and we received a variety of responses ranging from the expected major sports like football (33%), soccer (22%) and baseball (19%) to some less common sports like ultimate frisbee (2%), badminton (1%) and bowling (1%). When asked what their ‘favorite’ sport was in general, the top responses were football (37%), baseball (19%), basketball (16%) and soccer (12%).
Players’ preferences for sports in general translated directly to their preference for sports video games as well. Respondents who listed basketball as their favorite sport in general also listed it as their favorite sport to play as a video game. Similarly, respondents who prefer baseball, football, soccer or hockey listed their preferred sport as their favorite to play as a video game. There was, however, a fairly even distribution of other major sports video games for each of the groups with the exception of respondents who listed soccer as their favorite sport. Almost all (93.6%) players who prefer soccer listed soccer video games as their favorite to play, with the next highest distributions going to basketball at 24.8% and American football at 24.1%. This suggests that players who are soccer fans – from which 48.1% are Europeans – may be less interested in playing other sports video games like baseball, basketball, American football or hockey. While it may seem intuitive that the fans of a sport favor playing a video game version of that sport, this raises interesting questions about how their preference for a sport is actualized, how fans consume sports media and how their fandom is culturally situated (Figure 4).
A comparison of the distribution of preferred sports video games for respondents who list American football and soccer as their favorite sports.
RQ 3: How do players of sports video games play such games?
Reflecting a diversity of options that players now have, our respondents listed a range of preferred systems for their gameplay activities. The most common systems that players used included the Playstation 3 (60.3%), Xbox 360 (60%) and the personal computer (PC) (58%). After that, there was a large drop-off in the most common systems used by players, with 32.4% reported to use the Wii, 31.2% an iPhone or iPad, 22% a Nintendo DS, 16.1% a Playstation Portable (PSP), 15.6% an Android phone and 10% a Mac. These systems are used for all types of games (not just sports games), but it does indicate that Sony and Microsoft capture the majority of console gamers, and an impressive number of players do use PCs for gaming. It is also particularly interesting that about one third report using a mobile device such as an iPhone or iPad for gameplay, which is nearly equal to the number who play games on the Wii.
In terms of frequency, respondents reported playing quite frequently. More than half (56.5%) said they played every day, while approximately another third (37.4%) reported playing a few times a week. In contrast, only 2.8% stated they played only on weekends, 2.4% a few times a month and 0.9% said they played video games ‘only occasionally’. This is a group that obviously plays on a regular basis.
When we asked individuals whether they played sports video games, 92.6% responded that they did. Yet, when asked which genres of video games they liked to play, the respondents offered a diversity of opinions that ranged far beyond sports games. The leading choice was (not surprisingly) sports games at 89.8%, although it is somewhat intriguing that 10.2% would not list sports games as a preferred genre, given the nature of this survey. Following sports games, individuals reported enjoying shooter games (68.3%), action games (59.4%), action role-playing games (RPGs) (50.1%), adventure games (48.1%), RPGs (46.2%), strategy games (42.9%), racing games (42.0%), fighting games (32.5%), puzzle games (26.8%), music games (25.9%) and massively multiplayer online games (16.4%).
When asked to estimate how much of their total video game playing time was centered on sports games on a scale of 1–5, the most frequent response (30.4%) was 5 or ‘most of the time’, and the average rating given was 3.63. Only 8.2% said that they played sports games ‘occasionally’ (Figure 5).
Sports video game as a portion of total video game playtime.
In terms of what types of sports video games they play, almost three-quarters (73.8%) responded with ‘American football’, followed by basketball (62.5%), baseball (53.9%), soccer (48.6%), hockey (38.1%), racing (38.0%), boxing (26.1%), tennis (17.6%), golf (5.9%), mixed martial arts (4.3%), cricket (2.3%) and rugby (2.3%).
Respondents are creating content for use in games with a high level of frequency. When asked whether they have ever edited a roster in a sports game, a vast majority (90.5%) answered that they had. This matches up with their response to how important do they consider accurate rosters are to their sports video game playing experiences – 78.1% indicated that accurate rosters are ‘very important’ with an additional 18.0% marking ‘somewhat important’ as a response. Respondents are also creating playable characters, with 95.2% saying that they had created a playable character in a sports game and 87.3% indicating that they had created themselves as playable characters. This high majority of players creating content for use in games is striking and suggests that sports video game players are interested in the role-playing scenarios offered by sports video game designers. However, rather interestingly, only about one third of the respondents (33.1%) indicated that they have ever used a created player in online play. Also a small selection of only 15.3% indicated that they have paid for the downloadable content to boost or improve a created players attribute scores. Given the emphasis of these features to many modern sports video games, these numbers are compelling.
When asked whether they had ever simulated a real game or a series of games with a sports video game, the majority (82.5%) answered ‘yes’. Additionally, 89.0% indicated that they have played a full season (franchise/General Manager mode) with a team. While this may not come as a surprise given expectations and assumptions surrounding the genre, these statistics reinforce the notion that the sports video game players are situating their play in a greater sports fan context. While we now have responses indicating that the players simulate real games and seasons, it is important to explore how players are simulating real-sporting events with video games. This is an important question to investigate with further study.
Online, statistics-based fantasy sports are also popular with sports video game players. Many (62.1%) indicate that they participate in fantasy sports online.
When asked about playing games on social network sites such as Facebook, 81.9% responded that they did not play such games. Of the 18.1% who reported doing so, almost half (43%) of the games reported were sports related titles such as Madden Superstars, ESPN U and FIFA. By breaking down things further, a range of games were identified, including Madden Superstars (16%), Mafia Wars (12%), Farmville (12%), Cityville (10%) Family Feud (10%) and FIFA Superstars (10%).
On a somewhat related note, players were asked whether they had ever played Wii Sports. About three quarters (75.4%) reported that they had done so. Yet, when asked whether they considered Wii Sports ‘a sports video game’, only 38.3% said yes, with 61.7% responding no. Such questions are interesting to explore in future studies, to determine why so many players consider Wii Sports (and similar titles) as dissimilar from other sports-themed video games. Similarly, why so many players did not play Facebook games, despite many sports-themed games available on that platform.
We were particularly interested to find out the contexts of gameplay beyond favorite genres, frequencies of play and who plays such games. As such, we asked about play with friends and family as well as online gameplay. A significant majority (80.1%) reported that they play sports video games against (or with) friends or family. Yet, such gameplay is not as frequent as one might imagine. On a scale of 1–5 from ‘occasionally’ to ‘most of the time’, the majority of respondents said that they played in such a manner only occasionally: (Figure 6).
Frequency of play with friends and family.
Similarly, many players reported playing sports video games online, yet did not do so very frequently. More than half (60.6%) said that they played such games online, but most did so only occasionally (Figure 7).
Frequency of play onilne.
RQ 4: How do players attach meaning to their sports video games?
We also included an optional, open-ended question ‘Please describe a meaningful or memorable sports video game experience you have had’ to our survey in order to better assess how players felt about such games, and whether or not those experiences were significant in some way. We expected a few replies, but amazingly 56% of all the respondents answered the question, in many cases in great detail. Only 6% offered answers that suggested they had never experienced such moments.
I play them for the fun and as an escape. I don't look for ‘meaningful moments’ in sports games and I've played so many hours of sports games that no particular moment stands out. Participant #939: Male, 29, USA
When analyzing the phrases and words that were mentioned most frequently in single answers, top terms included ‘friends’ (294) and ‘team’ (246), followed by specific sports and games. By matching similar word groups (e.g. ‘friend’ or ‘friends’), the word-cloud given in Figure 8 represents the most frequent labels.
A word cloud of meaningful experiences.
Although analyzing different answers, stories and memories, certain patterns were mentioned repeatedly. After reading through different replies and discussing repetitions and patterns, we coded the answers into the following 11, nonexclusive categories: ‘Social experiences’, when relationships to other players, friends and families (online and offline) were essential; ‘Single player’, when the experience focused on the single-player mode; ‘Victory’, whether winning was the core of the activity; ‘Narrative’, when the response included a specific narrative explaining a situation in the sport game; ‘Mastery’, when the player mentioned his/her skills developed in the game as specifically meaningful; ‘Online’, whether the gameplay focused on online usage; ‘Passion’, whether the players mention their passion for a particular game; ‘Personal connection’, whether the reported story included a particular subjective framing of the play experience; ‘User-generated content’, whether the significance of the experience was related to user-generated content, such as character design and development or creating new teams; ‘Mix real and virtual’, when the connection to real sport events or players was central; ‘Lack of meaningfulness’, whether the response neglected to answer or criticized the question.
Most answers included combinations of categories and 1996 category codes were assigned to the answers with an average of 2.07 categories per reply. By comparison, the graph shown in Figure 9 demonstrates the central patterns found in the players answers.
Categories of meaningful experiences.
In total, 41% (404) of the experiences reported as the most meaningful and significant to the players are related to social experiences. A similar number (40%) describes their meaningful experience as single player events and 35% experienced winning a specific game or beating an opponent as most meaningful to them. While these three patterns were mentioned most often and include 56% of all assigned categories, 19% of the answers focused on ingame narratives, and 17% mentioned their mastery of a game as most meaningful and fulfilling to them. Thirteen percent of the respondents wrote about online experiences, 11% mentioned their passion for a particular game as the main trigger, and 8% gave insights into personal contexts that made their play experience meaningful. User-generated content was mentioned in 8% of the answers, while 6% found the relationship between specific real sport events and their gameplay experiences. Six percent could not recall any meaningful experiences related to their sports video game play.
To offer deeper insights, we next focus on responses to the two largest categories found: social experiences and single player experiences, and include how such responses also touched on other categories.
As mentioned before, 80.1% of the participants reported that they play sports video games against (or with) friends or family. In total, 41% of the meaningful experiences and 23.5% of all the participants find those sports video game experiences as the most meaningful. Many of these experiences reach far back into a player’s past and are surprisingly precise and rich. The following example is typical of hundreds of others:
The most meaningful memory I have of sports video gaming has to be how I got my start. It was 1993; I was 10 years old and I remember going to my grandmother's house for Sunday dinner every week. After dinner; my uncles, cousins and family friends would all huddle around the upstairs TV with the Sega Genesis connected and take turns playing John Madden Football ‘93. I was a little kid amongst the older kids and adults; so no one ever took me seriously. I got beat at the game, sometimes badly, because I was young and the older kids and adults were all much better than me. I started to play solo at home; at first to get better to be able to beat them, but then I started to enjoy it myself. I had always casually played sports games but before this point other genres had piqued my interests more. After training to beat the older kids and the adults; I became hooked on sports games. Even though the Sunday dinners and games around the TV have stopped, I still play fanatically, Participant #1104: Male, 28, USA
Accounts often focus on victories against someone specific (21.5%) or a particular moment in the game, which was related to a larger narrative (14.9%). While some players, for example participant #1104, do not recall a specific point in time when they played a game but instead a larger play period, others attach their experiences to particular moments in games. For example, participant #854 provides a typical example of how a moment in the game shaped the meaningfulness of the experience:
It was in NBA 2K11. I was the lakers and my friend was the heat. The game close throughout the whole game but in the fourth Kobe Bryant got injured. He was my main scorer and I had no other choice but to use my other players. The score was 67 to 65 and I was down. There was 00:10 left on the clock and Fisher brought the ball up the court. I passed it to Artest and he shot a three with two seconds on the clock. And as the buzzer sound the ball went in and Artest ran to the sideline and celebrated with Kobe as if he won the game for him. That was the most meaningful game I have ever played, Participant #854: Male, 24, USA
The two examples show – and turned out to be significant in all stories told – that the experiences were very emotional and deep for the players. Overall, we know that in the case of social experiences, it is not just about winning a game, but it is the experience of winning against someone in particular (22%), in a specific game at a certain time in the player’s life. Additionally, just under a quarter (24.8%) – of these social meaningful experiences were related to a player or a group of players online, indicating that the online bond between the players can provide unique meaningful experiences, in addition to more traditional face-to-face encounters. The graph shown in Figure 10 summarizes the categories that social experiences in sport games relate to.
Categories related to social play experiences.
Single player experiences
A total of 40% (386) of the players reporting meaningful experiences and 22.5% of all the participants outline single player experiences as being the most significant to them. This group relates the meaningfulness of their experiences more strongly to victories (34%), to master a specific challenge (17%) and to a detailed narrative in the game (18%). To highlight this, we have drawn two additional examples from participants #1318 and #1034:
In College Hoops 2K8, a college baskeball simulation game made by 2K Sports, I played a full Legacy mode while playing/simming all games [Please check the spelling of the terms ‘baskeball’ and ‘simming’ in the extract ‘In College Hoops 2K8, a college baskeball . . . .’] over 30 seasons . . . . I created myself as a coach at a small conference school, and worked my way through my career, winning various awards and achievements including winning the NCAA tournament with Boise State and a Perfect Season. Also in MLB The Show I play a mode call Road to the Show which I created a minor league prospect, myself fully detailed, as a Starting pitcher. My greatest moment in that was being called on in relief in a deciding playoff game with a 1-run lead with my job to stop the other team from scoring. I was able to lead my team to victory and got called up to the Majors the next season. Sports games unique in that you feel you could do what the players on the court or field are doing. And that when something amazing happens you feel like ‘I did that’. Participant #1318: Male, 23, USA
In some cases, it was not even about winning the game, but about the relationship between real and virtual sports (7%) and about experiencing something unique that shapes future sports video game experiences:
I was playing NFL Football 94 on my Sega Genesis. I had played through a season of games to reach the Super Bowl. But my favorite team, Cleveland Browns, was not in the game. So I picked the team of my favorite QB. So I took the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre to the Super Bowl. We were matched against the Denver Broncos, which was the only other team I would have picked. The game was a lot of fun, there was no defense, but a lot of fun nonetheless. It ended up tied at a really goofy score 98-98, and went into overtime. I won the coin toss and waited in the end zone to take the kick. I got it, ran back into the end zone and promptly lost the Super Bowl by a score of 100-98. The replay showed my player started at the 1 yard line, which made my run back a 2 point safety for the Broncos. I learned never to do that again and I learned more about football to get better at the game and enjoy the real game more. This happened in late 1997. The real Super Bowl that followed featured the Denver Broncos beating the Green Bay Packers. And I still smile thinking about it. Participant #1034: Male, 22, USA
To summarize, the graph in Figure 11 shows the division of the nine other categories that focus mainly on winning, mastering the game and on narratives in the game.
Categories related to single player experiences.
If we compare the two strongest patterns that we find in the meaningful play experiences, it can be shown that the social experiences (41%) and the single player experiences (40%) differ in their relationship to the importance of winning (22/34%) and mastery (11/17%). While it appears logical that online experiences were mainly related to social experiences (25%), for those players who play in single-player mode, winning and mastering are the most important. Similarly, user-generated content (7%) and the relationship between real and virtual sports (7%) are more important for single players than for the social group (user-generated: 3% and real/virtual: 2%). The final example that we want to highlight is one of the online experiences (13%) that shows how relationships established through online networks can also offer unique and meaningful experiences.
Wow, I don't know how to pick just one. I guess if I had to pick, I'd say my best moment in sports gaming occurred when I was playing online vs. a friend I met online. I was losing by a field goal with under 10 seconds and no timeouts remaining. We were playing NCAA Football 10. I can't recall the team he had but I was playing as USC. All he had to do was kneel the ball and the game was over, but instead he calls a running play. I user controlled Rey Maualuga trying to make a play since he was an impact player in the game. Well the ball goes through the middle and I used the hit stick trying to force a fumble and I did. I picked it back up with Maualuga jumping out of my chair and raced for the endzone. By this time the clock had already expired so it was TD and victory or I lose. His WR or RB is gaining on me towards the end it was gonna be close. With 2 yards to go I dive in the endzone and win the game, I couldn't believe it. What made it that much sweeter was that he had never beaten me, and all he had to do was kneel the ball and the game was over. That's probably #1 for me. Participant #860: Male, 23, USA
Conclusions
Until now, much of what we have known about the players of sports video games has been based on anecdotal evidence or extrapolated from wider surveys of the game playing population. This study demonstrates that some of what we assumed was correct, but with interesting and important exceptions. Although our survey was distributed only online and was disseminated in a way that encouraged those more invested in sports games to participate (based on its posting in various sports games forums and via Kotaku’s promotion), the large response does offer some insights into who is currently playing sports video games and the role such games play in their daily lives.
Our survey found that the majority of those who play sports video games are male (98.4%), White (80%) and in their mid-20s (average of 26 years). In comparison with other representative video game player demographics, the field is less diverse and the average player is younger (compare ESA, 2011). Based on the data about the larger game-playing population, it seems that the sports gamers are drawn from a more traditional demographic of game players, at least in relation to console and certain PC-based video games.
Perhaps one of the biggest findings to emerge from this study is obvious, but finally documented: the overwhelming majority of sports gamers’ (93.3%) self-identify as sports fans and that identity pushes beyond the playing of sports-themed video games. Attending sporting events, watching them on television, participating in those activities themselves as well as following certain teams or sports were regular parts of their daily lives.
Furthermore, survey data suggest that sports video game players are situating and understanding their sports video game play as part of a broader sports context. The players are sports fans, but the emphasis on accurate rosters and its significance to the players and their propensity for recreating real-sporting events digitally suggest that their sports video game play is necessarily experienced as part of a broader sports context; they want their sports video game experiences to be simulative or at least closely related to the sports they experience through other media. Players are passionate about the video games that suit their interest in sports in general and watch sports they play digitally. The frequency of playing sports video games – with more than half of the players playing every day and 94% playing a few times a week – indicates that sports video game players invest a lot of their free time and most of their video game playtime on these sports games.
A characteristic of sports video game players that will need more examination in the future is the significant interest in character creation. The vast majority (95%) created a playable character or themselves as a player (87%), but only one-third of the respondents indicated that they used the character online. Interestingly, only 15% of all respondents ever paid for downloadable content, while 24% of the players using their created characters online invested money to boost or improve their character. How and why sports video game players include digital versions of themselves in the sports games they play needs to be researched further.
While an expected number of 62% play fantasy sports, a new audience may be emerging in the areas of Facebook games, Wii Sports-themed games, and perhaps mobile games as well. These newer platforms also suggest a flash point for tensions emerging in terms of the sports playing audience – many ‘traditional’ sports gamers do not consider Wii Sports a real sports video game (59%), and the large majority do not play sports-themed games on Facebook (77%). Conversely, those who play games on social network sites such as Facebook are more likely to have played Wii Sports (84% vs. 75.4% for all players), and Facebook players are more likely to consider Wii Sports a sports game: 47% considered it a sports game when compared with 38.3% of the general population. Interestingly, Facebook players are more likely to have played fantasy sports online – 74.1% have done so when compared with 62.1% of the general population. Such differences need to be further explored, to determine whether newer audiences for sports games are emerging, or whether certain types of players are branching out to feed their interests in sports games.
Additionally, the stereotype of the sports gamer as interested only in Madden or hockey proved false. Players reported a wide diversity of genres of video games they enjoy playing beyond sports games – with shooter, action, RPGs, adventure and strategy games being among the top choices. Thus, sports gamers play a wider variety of games than previously thought, demonstrating that their interests do go beyond one or more types of sporting activity.
Another key finding was evidenced that although sports gamers do enjoy playing games online and with friends and family, such activities are engaged only occasionally for the majority of respondents, rather than most of the time. We did not ask why this was so, but will be pursuing reasons in future research. However, even if such activities are not frequent, they are often among the most meaningful for players. Some of our most interesting data came from the open-ended responses, asking players to recount their most meaningful or memorable experience while playing a sports video game. Although the players spend less time playing with others, these experiences shape their passion for sport games significantly. Such responses demonstrate the importance of games as facilitators for social interaction among friends and family, as well as systems that offer players a way to compete and engage in competitions that they feel as a challenge to their skills and abilities. The study makes obvious that the players are relating their game experiences to a specific biographical and social context and connect their gameplay to real life sport events and competitions with others. A quarter of the players experienced their most meaningful gameplay online. When playing in single-player mode, winning (34%) and mastery (17%) are the strongest components of meaningfulness. User-generated content (7%) and the relationship between real and virtual sports (7%) are the more important for the single players than to the social group.
Clearly, playing sports video games are one additional way for the individuals to express their interests in a variety of sports. Therefore, a reduction in sports video games to a secondary or a subordinate ‘extension’ of television consumption (Nesbit and King, 2010) or of sport culture (Conway, 2010) appears to underestimate the importance of video games as a driving factor for the enhancement of sports fandom in general. This finding suggests that it may be worth exploring in more detail how theories of sports fandom might overlap with sports video game play experience. In addition, we need more insights into why there is little diversity in the player demographics, and why female players and Black/African American players are in a minority. Furthermore, the fact that online playing appears to happen seldom and that players create characters but hardly use them online requires further investigations. While this study provides novel insights into who sports video game players are and what they play and why, we still lack knowledge on how these players relate their passion for video games to their sports fandom in general. Therefore, further qualitative studies are needed to help inform the empirical findings.