Understanding Professional Gaming
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STOCKHOLM SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION MSC IN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS MASTER’S THESIS Understanding professional gaming A comparative analysis of Korean and Western organisations Kristofer Lindahl (40216) and Cedric Diserens (40218) 10/12/2012 Supervisor : Johan Berglund Examiner : Dag Björkegren Abstract In this thesis we seek to explore how “Professional Gaming Teams” in Korea and the western world are different from each other, and the underlying reasons for those differences. We perform an extensive pre-study that provides a deeper understanding of the eSport environment, identify theoretical frameworks to explain the differences between teams, and apply these frameworks to explain how the external environment affects the internal culture of the teams. In order to do this, we conduct critical interviews with game developers, tournament organizers, and team managers. We combine these sources with podcasts, news articles, and other types of media produced by the very active eSport community to create a foundational understanding of a market that has received next to no attention in academic circles. We employ McKinsey’s 7s framework to show how the internal workings of Professional Gaming Teams in Korea are different from those in the west. We also utilize PESTLE model, as well as Porter’s Five Forces to analyze the external environment of the eSport market. These three models provide a holistic approach and a broad understanding of forces that were, until recently, unexplored in the eSport industry. The results of our thesis show that it is external influences that cause Korean and Western teams to focus on different dimensions of their organizations. In particular we identify two critical success factors “Player performance” and a “Sustainable Value Offer” imposed by external forces as absolute requirements in respectively the Korean and Western environments. Although both of these factors are of importance for all eSport teams, in Korea player performance is an indispensable requirement to success whereas in the Western scene providing a “Sustainable Value Offer” is the number one requisite. This major difference in market requirements is identified as a root explanation for most of the internal contrasts between Korean and Western teams. Our findings also show that given the increasing bridges being built between both scenes, Korean and Western professional gaming teams will find the need to evolve their organizations into being able to handle both critical success factors simultaneously if they are to remain successful in the long-run. 1 Acknowledgements First of all we would like to thank our supervisor, Johan Berglund. You have been critical in helping us frame the problem and pointing us in the right direction. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the very cooperative eSport community who has aided us in finding credible sources in a highly undocumented industry. Finally, our warmest thanks for the time, energy, and patience of the individuals we interviewed. The insightful knowledge and exceptional cooperation provided by you allowed us to write this thesis. 2 Glossary Term Meaning Barcraft A term that refers to watching StarCraft at bars. The predecessor of Starcraft 2, released in 1998 and hugely popular on the Korean Brood War eSport-scene. A loosely organized group of people with similar interests that share their interest Community via online message-boards Cyber athlete A practitioner of eSport. Electronic sport is an area of sport activities in which people develop and train eSport mental or physical abilities in the use of information and communication technologies. Foreigner A player that is not of Korean descent. Constructs of rules and systems that defines how the player interacts with the Game mechanics game. Gameplay The way in which players interact with a game to achieve the game objective. GomTV GOMTV hosts the StarCraft 2 Leagues GSL, GSTL and AOL in South Korea. Global Starcraft II League, a Starcraft II tournament hosted by GomTV and Blizzard GSL Entertainment in Seoul, Korea. It is widely considered the most prestigous eSport tournament. Professional Gaming Team, an organized team that is composed of eSport PGT atheletes. Progamer Professional Gamer, someone who makes a living of playing video games. A game-genre in which opponents play real-time against one another. Often the Real-Time Strategy (RTS) goal is to manage resources and armies in order to achieve military domination. Spectating The action of observing eSport A strategy game produced by Blizzard Entertainment, in which players manage Starcraft resources and armies in order to achieve military domination. Showing live gameplay footage via internet-tv services (such as twitch.tv or Streaming uStream.com) 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 2 Glossary .................................................................................................................................................. 3 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................. 7 1.1.1 A high potential industry ................................................................................................ 7 1.1.2 The emergence of eSports .............................................................................................. 7 1.1.3 Professionalization of the scene ..................................................................................... 8 1.1.4 Korea, the Mecca of eSports ........................................................................................... 8 1.1.5 The “foreign” scene ........................................................................................................ 8 1.2 Problem Discussion ................................................................................................................ 9 1.2.1 Stronger finances, weaker performance ........................................................................ 9 1.2.2 Internal organisation and business environment ........................................................... 9 1.2.3 Business models in development ................................................................................. 10 1.2.4 Crossovers and barriers ................................................................................................ 10 1.2.5 Summary....................................................................................................................... 11 1.3 Purpose and Research Question ........................................................................................... 11 1.3.1 Explain the business models ......................................................................................... 11 1.3.2 Understand environmental pressures .......................................................................... 11 1.3.3 Reconcile financial power and organisation performance ............................................ 12 1.3.4 esearch question .......................................................................................................... 12 1.3.5 Purpose ......................................................................................................................... 12 1.4 Limitation and scope ............................................................................................................ 12 1.5 Thesis outline ....................................................................................................................... 13 2 Introduction to the eSports scene ................................................................................................ 15 2.1.1 Understanding the Scene ............................................................................................. 15 2.1.2 A Brief History of e-Sports and Future Expectations ..................................................... 15 2.1.3 Future Expectations of the e-Sports Scene ................................................................... 16 4 2.1.4 The Competitive Gaming Community ........................................................................... 17 3 Theory .......................................................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Professional Gaming Teams (PGTs) ...................................................................................... 19 3.2 Choice of Theory ................................................................................................................... 20 3.2.1 Understanding the organisation ................................................................................... 20 3.2.2 Understanding causality ............................................................................................... 21 3.2.3 Understanding the environment .................................................................................. 21 3.3 Analysing the Organisation ................................................................................................... 22 3.3.1 The 7s Framework ........................................................................................................ 22 3.3.2 The factors in detail .....................................................................................................