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How Society’s Negative View of Videogames Can Discourage Brands from Sponsoring eSports

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Videogame Sciences and Arts (VJ 2019)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1164))

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Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify the main motives that contribute to society’s negative view of videogames and that present a risk to the eSports sponsors’ image. To achieve this, an exploratory, qualitative, and integrative literature review was conducted. According to the theoretical data, there are four main reasons why society has a negative perception of videogames. It is commonly believed that: (1) gaming is an unproductive activity, (2) violent videogames incite aggressive behaviors, (3) videogames lead to gaming-addiction, and (4) eSports lead to eSports-related gambling addiction. However, while the literature presents convincing evidence that gaming can create addiction and that eSports can promote gambling addiction, there is no conclusive evidence to assume that violent videogames lead to aggressiveness and there is evidence showing that playing videogames can be a productive activity. Nevertheless, these four beliefs are a threat to the eSports sponsors’ image and may lead them to cancel their existing sponsorships or lead other brands to not want to sponsor eSports to prevent being associated with these negative notions. This research will help expand the minor literature on eSports sponsorships and advance the knowledge of why some eSports sponsorships are terminated and why some brands may be reluctant to sponsor eSports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Spain

    Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas & Ruth Sofia Contreras-Espinosa

  2. University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal

    Pedro Álvaro Pereira Correia

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  1. Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas
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  2. Ruth Sofia Contreras-Espinosa
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  3. Pedro Álvaro Pereira Correia
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Correspondence to Bruno Duarte Abreu Freitas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Nelson Zagalo

  2. University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Ana Isabel Veloso

  3. University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Liliana Costa

  4. University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Óscar Mealha

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Freitas, B.D.A., Contreras-Espinosa, R.S., Correia, P.Á.P. (2019). How Society’s Negative View of Videogames Can Discourage Brands from Sponsoring eSports. In: Zagalo, N., Veloso, A., Costa, L., Mealha, Ó. (eds) Videogame Sciences and Arts. VJ 2019. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1164. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37983-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37983-4_11

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