University Students’ Participation and Opinions on Esports in China: An Empirical Research

Esports experienced a rapid development in China during the past twenty years and it is a controversial topic in public discussion. The aims of this paper are to find out participation reality, participation reasons and understanding of university students on esports. Semi-structured interviewing and thematic analysis are used to collect and analyse data. Twenty-three undergraduate students spread across four grades participate in the study. This paper finds that university students participate in various types of esports in general, while female students are more inclined to role-playing fantasy and simulation games, as male students are more inclined to tower-defense, shooting, sports, competitive and tactics games. Secondly, the main reasons why college students are involved in esports are for fun, for relaxation and way of life, for identity recognition and group inclusion, for experiencing different life, and escaping reality and finding fulfilment in the digital world. Thirdly, understandings on esports are themed by the good (practice reaction, team spirit, and cooperation; an opportunity for experiencing different life, cultivate a holistic mindset and promote economic and technological development), the bad (game addiction, cause negative impact on health) and the ugly (illegal and unethical behaviours such as gambling and cheating). This paper provides timely insights in esports participation, motivations, and understandings of potential esports consumers in China, and calls for the stakeholders to understand the real situation of esports and play their respective roles and functions to promote the orderly and legal development of the entire esports industry.