<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This article starts with a literary review of the conceptual frames through which esport has been labeled academically. It shows how the concept of “electronic” has been taken as the core term for labelingesport, often accompanied by a strong emphasis on “professionalism.” The literary review is followed by the submission of an alternative conceptual frame based on the economic notion of <italic>executive ownership</italic>, which provides a theoretical grounding for esport as a cultural phenomenon. In accordance with the above, the article concludes with a reframed look at the history of esport and suggests commercial analog gaming (especially <italic>Magic: The Gathering</italic>) as its point of origin.</p></abstract>

This article starts with a literary review of the conceptual frames through which esport has been labeled academically. It shows how the concept of “electronic” has been taken as the core term for labelingesport, often accompanied by a strong emphasis on “professionalism.” The literary review is followed by the submission of an alternative conceptual frame based on the economic notion of executive ownership, which provides a theoretical grounding for esport as a cultural phenomenon. In accordance with the above, the article concludes with a reframed look at the history of esport and suggests commercial analog gaming (especially Magic: The Gathering) as its point of origin.

Reconsidering Esport: Economics and Executive Ownership

Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Reconsidering Esport: Economics and Executive Ownership"}

This article starts with a literary review of the conceptual frames through which esport has been labeled academically. It shows how the concept of...

Reconsidering Esport: Economics and Executive Ownership

Published Online: Jun 15, 2017

Page range: 43 - 53

Received: Jan 28, 2017

Accepted: Mar 15, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/pcssr-2017-0010

Keywords
Esports, economics, games, theory, history, politics

© 2017 Veli-Matti Karhulahti, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Reconsidering Esport: Economics and Executive Ownership

Published Online: Jun 15, 2017

Page range: 43 - 53

Received: Jan 28, 2017

Accepted: Mar 15, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/pcssr-2017-0010

KeywordsEsports, economics, games, theory, history, politics

© 2017 Veli-Matti Karhulahti, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Esports, economics, games, theory, history, politics