The popularity of Electronic Sports (esports) have grown tremendously in the last few years, becoming one of the most popular forms of digital entertainment. Despite continued growth, definitions and classifications of esports remain elusive, and the industry is still considered by many to be in its infancy. Understanding of esports originate from diverse, sometimes conflicting fields, which has created fragmented interpretations of its definition, positioning and core components. This has hindered esports from embracing opportunities afforded by emerging digital technologies and progressing as a distinct field. The purpose of this conceptual paper is threefold, to redefine esports, propose a unified framework to capitalise on esports business potential, and inspire a more structured future esports research agenda. The proposed esports Matrix, presents four distinct realms that distinguish esports; esports as a representation of current physical sports (sports digitalisation), esports as traditional (multi-player) game experience (competitive multiplayer computer games), esports that modify existing sports, player rules and setups through digital augmentations (digitally enhanced sports), and new types of esports involving emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality (immersive reality sports). The esports Matrix was developed incorporating industry expertise thus verifying its suitability and relevance to advance conceptual and empirical understanding, and importantly, facilitating a more structured approach, to enable businesses to realise the potential of esports.
Electronic Sports (esports) is a form of digital entertainment, referred to as "an organised and competitive approach to playing computer games". Its popularity is growing rapidly as a result of an increased prevalence of online gaming, accessibility to technology and access to elite competition.Esports teams are always looking to improve their performance, but with fast-paced interaction, it can be difficult to establish where and how performance can be improved. While qualitative methods are commonly employed and effective, their widespread use provides little differentiation among competitors and struggles with pinpointing specific issues during fast interactions. This is where recent developments in both wearable sensor technology and machine learning can offer a solution. They enable a deep dive into player reactions and strategies, offering insights that surpass traditional qualitative coaching techniquesBy combining insights from gameplay data, team communication data, physiological measurements, and visual tracking, this project aims to develop comprehensive tools that coaches and players can use to gain insight into the performance of individual players and teams, thereby aiming to improve competitive outcomes. Societal IssueAt a societal level, the project aims to revolutionize esports coaching and performance analysis, providing teams with a multi-faceted view of their gameplay. The success of this project could lead to widespread adoption of similar technologies in other competitive fields. At a scientific level, the project could be the starting point for establishing and maintaining further collaboration within the Dutch esports research domain. It will enhance the contribution from Dutch universities to esports research and foster discussions on optimizing coaching and performance analytics. In addition, the study into capturing and analysing gameplay and player data can help deepen our understanding into the intricacies and complexities of teamwork and team performance in high-paced situations/environments. Collaborating partnersTilburg University, Breda Guardians.
Sinds 2020 voldoen steeds minder Nederlanders aan de beweegrichtlijnen opgesteld door de Gezondheidsraad (van den Berg & Schurink-van ’t Klooster, 2023). Hierbij komt duidelijk naar voren dat vooral jongvolwassenen minder vaak voldoen aan deze richtlijnen (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid, 2023). Verschillende factoren liggen ten grondslag aan de reden voor vermindering in fysieke activiteit. Een van deze factoren is de toename in sedentaire schermtijd (Benzing & Schmidt, 2018). Deze toename in schermtijd is deels te verklaren door de toename van beeldschermwerk maar ook door de toename van gaming, oftewel het recreatief spelen van videogames door wereldwijd bijna 3,4 miljard mensen (Newzoo, 2023). Het is hierbij interessant om verder te onderzoeken of de motiverende kracht van videogames kan bijdragen aan het stimuleren van positief gedrag, in dit geval meer sporten en positief bewegen (Bogost, 2007). Om dit te kunnen bewerkstelligen is ‘Exergaming’ uitermate geschikt. Het is namelijk een samensmelting van ‘exercise’ en ‘gaming’. Bij deze vorm van gaming is fysieke activiteit essentieel om het spel te kunnen spelen (Gao, Jung, Pope, & Zhang, 2016). Exergaming is een opkomende trend binnen de fitness sector, onderwijs en gezondheidszorg (Benzing & Schmidt, 2018). Het wordt al breed ingezet bij bijvoorbeeld preventie van obesitas(Gao & Chen, 2014), behandeling van Parkinson (Barry, Galna, & Rochester, 2014) maar ook herstel na kanker (Benzing, et al., 2018). Denk hierbij aan populaire games in Virtual Reality. maar ook aan digitale varianten van traditionele sporten gespeeld in Augmented Reality (AR). Naast VR & AR wordt ook gebruik gemaakt van Extended reality (XR) wat een verzameling is van VR, AR & MR (Mixed Reality).Hierin worden alle zintuigen aangesproken waardoor men als het ware ondergedompeld wordt in een ervaring. Men spreekt hier vaak over immersieve technologie. Onze testcase, de Active Esports Arena van het bedrijf: PWXR, is een perfect voorbeeld van zo een ervaring.
