2024
Lefebvre, Florian; Malinen, Ville; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti
Sociohistorical Development of Sim Racing in European and Asia-Pacific Esports : A Cross-cultural Qualitative Study Journal Article
In: Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, vol. 30, iss. 5, pp. 1779-1796, 2024, ISSN: 1354-8565.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Development stages, Esports, Gaming, History, Motorsports, Video games
@article{Lefebvre2024,
title = {Sociohistorical Development of Sim Racing in European and Asia-Pacific Esports : A Cross-cultural Qualitative Study},
author = {Florian Lefebvre and Ville Malinen and Veli-Matti Karhulahti },
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565231222172
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13548565231222172},
doi = {10.1177/13548565231222172},
issn = {1354-8565},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-04},
urldate = {2024-01-04},
journal = {Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies},
volume = {30},
issue = {5},
pages = {1779-1796},
abstract = {With the accelerated growth of the sim racing industry over the last few years, research on the phenomenon has started to emerge. Nonetheless, the history of sim racing remains unmapped. This study aims to fill the gap by investigating the development in sim racing in Europe and in Asia-Pacific between 1997 and 2021. Twenty four semi-structured interviews were carried out with experts representing sim racing associations, event organizers, and teams from Europe and Asia-Pacific. Data were analyzed using an inductive-deductive codebook approach. The results show the evolution of sim racing throughout five sociohistorical stages, which demonstrate how sim racing emerged as a hybrid of esports and motorsports and has kept evolving since ‘in-between’ their respective actors until today. The findings suggest that the slow evolution of sim racing has been particularly dependent on networked sociocultural actors, while positively affected by uncontrollable events like the COVID-19 pandemic. As a key implication, we find that the history of sim racing differs from that of esports by its multifaceted dependence on the motorsports ecosystem.},
keywords = {Development stages, Esports, Gaming, History, Motorsports, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
With the accelerated growth of the sim racing industry over the last few years, research on the phenomenon has started to emerge. Nonetheless, the history of sim racing remains unmapped. This study aims to fill the gap by investigating the development in sim racing in Europe and in Asia-Pacific between 1997 and 2021. Twenty four semi-structured interviews were carried out with experts representing sim racing associations, event organizers, and teams from Europe and Asia-Pacific. Data were analyzed using an inductive-deductive codebook approach. The results show the evolution of sim racing throughout five sociohistorical stages, which demonstrate how sim racing emerged as a hybrid of esports and motorsports and has kept evolving since ‘in-between’ their respective actors until today. The findings suggest that the slow evolution of sim racing has been particularly dependent on networked sociocultural actors, while positively affected by uncontrollable events like the COVID-19 pandemic. As a key implication, we find that the history of sim racing differs from that of esports by its multifaceted dependence on the motorsports ecosystem.
2023
Malinen, Ville
Green Capital of Simulated Entertainment: The Reformed Relationship Between Motorsports and Sim Racing and Their Sustainability Proceedings Article
In: Rantanen, M. M.; Westerstrand, S.; Sahlgren, O.; Koskinen, J. (Ed.): Proceedings of the Conference on Technology Ethics 2023: Tethics 2023, RWTH Aachen University, 2023, ISSN: 1613-0073.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Bourdieu, Esports, Greenwashing, Motorsports, Sustainability
@inproceedings{Malinen2023,
title = {Green Capital of Simulated Entertainment: The Reformed Relationship Between Motorsports and Sim Racing and Their Sustainability},
author = {Ville Malinen },
editor = {M. M. Rantanen and S. Westerstrand and O. Sahlgren and J. Koskinen},
url = {https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3582/FP_02.pdf
https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/92871},
issn = {1613-0073},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-10-19},
urldate = {2023-10-19},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Conference on Technology Ethics 2023: Tethics 2023},
number = {3582},
publisher = {RWTH Aachen University},
series = {CEUR Workshop Proceedings},
abstract = {This article suggests that the rising visibility and status of sim racing may lead to new challenges owing to its increased synergy with motorsports. Risks are accelerated because of the position of sim racing between motorsports and esports, and the lack of institutional resources and sustainable, healthy ecosystem faced by sim racing. These lacks also increase the tendency for image–cleaning actionssuch as greenwashing. The position and status of these sports were viewed through Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts, including capitals and doxa. The collaborations and status that sim racing has achieved has allegedly subjected it to more criticism for its ethical aspects, namely environmental friendliness and accessibility. Further adoption of traditional sports institutionalization to compensate the lack of a clear structure for sim racing might not be ideal. This is due to the possibility of ethical conflicts of the motorsports world emigrating to sim racing.
},
keywords = {Bourdieu, Esports, Greenwashing, Motorsports, Sustainability},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
This article suggests that the rising visibility and status of sim racing may lead to new challenges owing to its increased synergy with motorsports. Risks are accelerated because of the position of sim racing between motorsports and esports, and the lack of institutional resources and sustainable, healthy ecosystem faced by sim racing. These lacks also increase the tendency for image–cleaning actionssuch as greenwashing. The position and status of these sports were viewed through Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts, including capitals and doxa. The collaborations and status that sim racing has achieved has allegedly subjected it to more criticism for its ethical aspects, namely environmental friendliness and accessibility. Further adoption of traditional sports institutionalization to compensate the lack of a clear structure for sim racing might not be ideal. This is due to the possibility of ethical conflicts of the motorsports world emigrating to sim racing.