Next Article in Journal
Robust and Refined Salient Object Detection Based on Diffusion Model
Previous Article in Journal
Design and Analysis of a Long-Stroke and High-Precision Positioning System for Scanning Beam Interference Lithography
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Electronics
Volume 12
Issue 24
10.3390/electronics12244961
electronics-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles thumb_up
...
Endorse textsms
...
Comment
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

How Chinese Media Addresses Esports Issues: A Text Mining Comparative Analysis of Online News and Viewers’ Comments on the Hangzhou Asian Games

by
Linjie Cui
1,
Eun Joung Kim
2,* and
JungYoon Kim
1,*
1
Department of Game and Media, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Republic of Korea
2
Culture Contents Technology Institute, Gachon Universirty, Seongnam 13120, Republic of Korea
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Electronics 2023, 12(24), 4961; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12244961
Submission received: 5 October 2023 / Revised: 4 December 2023 / Accepted: 7 December 2023 / Published: 11 December 2023
(This article belongs to the Section Electronic Multimedia)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
As the esports industry experiences unprecedented growth, efforts to legitimize it as a recognized sport have intensified. This paper explores the transformative changes in China’s esports landscape with focus on the aftermath of its official recognition at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. For this, this study employs a data-driven comparative approach to analyze both online news data and viewer comments on a video platform broadcasting the esports tournament during the Hangzhou Asian Games. For text data, it utilized text mining techniques of the Latent Dirichlet Allocation algorithm (LDA), and for conversion from image to text, it used through the Contrastive Language–Image Pretraining (CLIP) model. The findings reveal that the text and image data in online news emphasize the industry’s positive anticipation of esports becoming a medal sport, but the public who watched esports events showed mixed expectations, doubts, or even negative sentiments about the reevaluation of esports. As evidenced in the paper, the public’s divided stance towards esports might hinder the establishment of a solid consensus in developing the necessary infrastructure or policymaking. Thus, the transition for games to be recognized as an Olympic sport after their inclusion in the Asian Games demands a prolonged period and a comprehensive blend of economic, social, cultural, and educational policies.

1. Introduction

In the midst of the rapid growth of the esports industry, a concerted effort has arisen to grant official recognition to esports as a legitimate sport. Initially, the General Administration of Sports has defined esports in 2003 as a form of intellectual competition among individuals employing advanced software and hardware equipment as their sporting apparatus. In 2018, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) acknowledged esports as a demonstration sport and subsequently esports elevated its status to the that of an official sport at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where medals were awarded in six distinct events. Furthermore, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) organized the Olympic Viral Series as a prelude to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, thereby reducing the barriers for esports to be included in the Olympics. This strategic move served to lower the entry requirements for esports to be considered for inclusion in the Olympics. Consequently, it becomes evident that the growth potential of esports is concurrently on the rise in the broader context of sports and entertainment.
China is currently at the center of the global esports industry. In the year 2021, China’s share of the global esports industry’s revenue amounted to an 44%, equating to USD 360 million. Furthermore, the domestic esports market in China exhibited robust growth with a year-on-year increase of 13.5% [1]. Notably, China also holds the top-ranking position worldwide in terms of video game sales and viewership of esports tournaments. In 2023, the number of esports enthusiasts in China surged past the 480 million mark that constitutes a significant one-fifth of the global esports demographic, so China is on course to dethrone North America as the world’s largest esports commercial market [2]. Nevertheless, despite the considerable strides made by China’s esports industry, several challenges persist. Foremost, Chinese society frequently referred to esports as ‘electronic heroin.’ There was a prevailing belief that video games had detrimental effects on the well-being and education of young students. It often led to concerns about students becoming ‘addicted to gaming,’ disrupted and lazy in their learning. Also, the socialist framework of China’s government has influenced its approach to the esports industry by its regulatory measures rather than protective policies [3]. Despite the unsolved issues, in particular, concerning the government’s strict regulations and socially negative recognition towards esports, the inclusion of esports as an official sport at the Hangzhou Asian Games underscores the impact of government support for esports and the subsequent increase in social awareness, which are together leading to transformative change within the industry.
This rapid rise of esports in China has attracted scholarly attention. Previous research has started on the study of the development history of esports in China [4,5] and extended to Chinese esports consumers including esports spectatorships and their attitudes [6,7,8,9]. Furthermore, research increased with the focus on the governmental policies shaping the Chinese esports industry [10,11,12,13]. However, academic attention has primarily focused on government policy and consumers’ attitudes regarding esports game spectators. There has been limited research conducted on the general public’s perceptions of how they view esports. Not only is public interest in esports crucial for propelling the industry forward, but also transforming the above mentioned prevailing negative perceptions into positive ones is pivotal for shaping national policies concerning esports and its formal recognition as an official sport. In terms of text mining-driven analysis, online news has been the most widely used big data source for analyzing public perceptions [14,15]. However, few research studies have been conducted about media coverage pertaining to esports in China. Online coverage stands as a crucial resource because it significantly influences the public acceptance of esports in China. It is particularly vital to analyze the current stance of the Chinese government towards esports when considering that news reports in the early 2000s labeled sports as ‘electronic heroin’ and harshly criticized digital gaming in general [16].
As shown in Figure 1, the search volume for esports in China has been on a gentle downward trend from 2011 to 2023 [17]. This suggests two possibilities: either the general public has begun to accept esports as a normal part of society or people’s enthusiasm for esports has declined. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 2, according to research released by iMedia Research in 2021, more than 60 percent of Chinese netizens answered that they do not approve of esports because there was too much negative coverage [18]. They argued that esports do not meet the standards of traditional sports and are concerned that the less physical and competitive nature of esports may contribute to the problem of gaming addiction among the youth. Some also questioned the commercialization of esports and the management of events, pointing out that it can lead to unfair competition and excessive capitalism. These surveys indicate that online news significantly influences the public’s perception of esports, so the objective of this paper is to investigate the evolving relationship between online news and public perceptions of esports since its inclusion as a medal sport at the Hangzhou Asian Games. In order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the public’s divergent perspectives, this study conducted a textual analysis of comments and discussions across multiple platforms including news reports, social media, and online forums.
For this, this study applied a data-driven analysis on online news data and the viewers’ comments on the video platform that broadcasted the esports tournament during the Hangzhou Asian Games. In a prior study using text mining analysis, Wenjie and Yang employed social network analysis (SNA) and content analysis to investigate esports based on youth-focused online news data from 2002 to 2019 [19]. In addition, Wang and Fan utilized the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm to scrutinize real-time viewer comments during live streams of esports leagues to understand esports consumers in China [20]. Compared to these previous studies, the key difference in this paper is the comprehensive analysis of all online news distributed nationwide, in contrast to a limited number of news channels. Also, this study incorporates an examination of images embedded in the news. Furthermore, this study compares the online news data that reflect the official stance of the Chinese government with the viewer comments made while observing the esports tournament on the live broadcast platform during the Hangzhou Asian Games.

2. Relative Studies

2.1. Esports Industry

Esports, short for electronic sports, are competitive gaming activities that unfold within a virtual gaming environment. In this realm, participants employ their skill, strategic acumen, and collaborative teamwork to secure victory. The IOC defines esports as a competition in a virtual game world in which players compete by demonstrating superior strategy, skill, and teamwork [21].
As shown in Figure 3, the global esports market was valued at USD 1.42 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to attain around USD 2.24 billion by 2027 [22]. This growth signifies a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.47% throughout the forecast period [23]. Furthermore, esports has solidified its position as an emerging cultural phenomenon, primarily appealing to consumers in their teenage years and early twenties. This cultural wave is expected to gain even greater momentum that is fueled by the continuous development of information technology in regions like the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, which have thus far exhibited relatively low esports penetration in the global market.
Several key factors contribute to the growth of the esports market. They include a surging trend in the live streaming of games, augmented gaming investments, increasing viewership figures, robust ticket sales, heightened engagement in esports activities, and a burgeoning demand for infrastructure to support league tournaments. These elements collectively propel the expansion of the esports industry. Moreover, the market benefits from an influx of revenue opportunities from heightened participation by gamers, organizers, influencers, and game developers. The allure of substantial international prize money and the potential for lucrative incomes have transformed esports into a viable and professional career choice, particularly among the youth. Thus, colleges and universities have initiated dedicated programs designed to nurture and enhance gaming skills among their students. This multifaceted growth underscores the vibrant and dynamic landscape of the esports industry.

2.2. Chinese Esports and Its Industrial Trends

The evolution of esports in China can be traced back to the late 1990s and has encompassed several distinct development stages: exploration (1998–2008), development (2009–2013), maturity (2013–2016), and continued development (2017–present) [24]. Figure 4 provides a visual representation of the important events characterizing each of these stages in Chinese esports.
The exploratory phase marked the genesis of official esports teams often with the backing of corporations as club teams that firstly grouped around PC shops. A significant turning point in the public perception of esports occurred when Chinese players achieved a commendable second-place ranking overall at the inaugural World Cyber Games (WCG) held in Seoul in 2001.
The developmental phase saw the importation of games like StarCraft 2 and League of Legends into China, and it sparked a surge in the formation of esports clubs and the establishment of esports leagues and standards. During this period, both the government and major corporations took an active role in overseeing and managing the esports industry on a national scale.
The maturity phase started with the inauguration of the first League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in China. A distinctive feature of this phase was the entry of live broadcast platforms into the esports market. This development played a pivotal role in standardizing esports communication that shaped the event copyright market and advanced the professionalization of the esports industry.
The subsequent phase is characterized by a sustained but incomplete development of the esports industry chain. This includes government policies geared towards esports, the construction of esports venues, competition management, and the refinement of live broadcast systems. This phase has spanned over a decade to signify the ongoing evolution and maturation of the esports industry in China.
However, it is true that there had been many negative articles about gaming since 1989, peaking in 2000 with a 92% negative coverage rate [16]. Then, a notable shift in public perception occurred around 2010 when esports began to gain acceptance as a novel form of cultural entertainment. This transformation was largely attributed to significant state support. The Chinese government was the first in the world to recognize esports as a sport in 2003, and since then, the General Administration of Sport, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, and other government departments have enacted policies related to esports [19].
To summarize, China has placed significant emphasis on three fields of esports including ‘esports education’, ‘the promotion of science and technology through esports’, and ‘policies aimed at nurturing the esports industry’. Taking this into consideration, this study examines how the Chinese media addresses esports to compare it with the corresponding shift in public interest, particularly in anticipation of the Hangzhou Asian Games since the year of 2021.

3. Method

3.1. Overall Workflow

The diagram in Figure 5 shows the overall process and programs that were used in each step. Initially, the data were collected through web crawling and Textom to gather 11,347 online news articles along with 638 embedded images. For the conversion of the data into a numerical format suitable for computer-based analysis, the images underwent textualization through the Contrastive Language–Image Pretraining (CLIP) Library (ViT-B/32 model). Next, natural language processing techniques were employed for data preprocessing in order to filter out extraneous words and to enhance data quality. Then, frequency and TF/IDF (Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency) were analyzed to extract 20 keywords from the dataset. Following keyword extraction, topic modeling utilizing the LDA algorithm was constructed. To identify the optimal topic model, a performance evaluation was conducted, and finally, the outcomes of the final topic model were effectively visualized to facilitate interpretation and insights.
The tools employed in this study are the Textom text data mining program for news data collection [24]. For conversion from image to text, CLIP library (ViT-B/32 model) was applied, provided by OpenAI, which contains the official code and pretrained models [25]. It involves a combination of vision and language models; in particular, the vision model is a convolutional neural network (CNN) that processes and extracts features from images. In addition, Colab was used as a cloud-based development environment conducive to pipelined programming for data analysis.

3.2. Data Collection and Preprocessing

The primary keyword used for data collection was ‘esports’ and the data sources are described in Table 1. The data collection timeframe spanned from 1 January 2021, which coincided with the inclusion of esports as an official sport in the Asian Games, to 15 August 2023. In total, 11,374 news articles and 638 images were collected. Following the preprocessing steps, the corpus data were refined to consist of 551,172 words for articles and 2484 words. As for the viewer comments, a total of 3629 comments from 972 video clips from Bilibili as shown in Figure 6 were selected and analyzed, resulting in 48,920 words. Among these, 2783 were unique words, without repetition. Established in 2009, Bilibili is a versatile cultural content live broadcasting platform that encompasses a wide range of entertainment genres including music, dance, movies, and digital games. Users are allowed to post their comments directly onto video content, so it gained great popularity for its engaging and interactive viewing experience. Bilibili served as the primary platform for the live broadcast of the Hangzhou esports games [26].
Preprocessing is a crucial step aimed at refining the data for analysis by eliminating irrelevant elements, including special characters and numerical values [25]. In this study, keywords that were considered extraneous for analytical purposes, such as specific names, locations, and countries, were systematically excluded from the dataset. For instance, as shown in Figure 7, terms like ‘是’ (yes), ‘不是’ (no), ‘能’ (can), ‘不能’ (can’t), and ‘你我他她它’ (you, me, he, she, it) were identified and subsequently removed during the preprocessing stage.
Keywords that held significance but cannot be extracted conventionally were treated differently and cataloged in a dedicated user dictionary. For instance, as depicted in Figure 8, the terms ‘electronic (电子)’ and ‘sports (竞技)’ exist as separate words in Chinese, but when combined, they form ‘e-sports (电子竞技)’. Thus, ‘e-sports’ was amalgamated into a single word and incorporated into the user dictionary.

3.3. Image-to-Text Generation with CLIP Model

The quality of the input data is an important aspect of the intelligent analysis system [27,28,29]. Some studies mentioned the quality assessment problems [30,31], while other studies focused on the analysis of subjective and objective quality assessment in audio-visual signals [32,33]. In text mining analysis, support vector machine (SVM)-based quality prediction has been studied [34,35,36]. SVM is effective in handling both linear and non-linear data by using different kernel functions to transform the input space into a higher-dimensional space where the classes become separable. It is commonly used in various fields like image classification, text classification, bioinformatics, and more due to its versatility and ability to handle complex datasets.
In this paper, as for image analysis, Contrastive Language–Image Pretraining (CLIP) was applied as a multimodal model developed by OpenAI that learns to associate images and their descriptions [37]. CLIP consists of a visual encoder and a text encoder. CLIP is trained using a contrastive learning objective. During training, positive pairs are created by combining correct image–text pairs, and negative pairs are formed by combining incorrect image–text pairs. The model is then trained to minimize the distance between positive pairs while maximizing the distance between negative pairs in the embedding space [38]. The model is used in various applications such as image captioning tasks, where it provides rich semantic features for vision–language perception [39].

3.4. LDA-Based Topic Modeling

Topic modeling, a prominent technique in the field of text mining, has proven to be highly effective in extracting meaningful insights, such as trends and issues, from vast volumes of data. This methodology excels in identifying key topics within extensive document collections and associating each document with relevant topics [40,41].
Initially, probabilistic latent semantic analysis (pLSA) techniques were mainly used, but since 2003, when Blei et al. published the LDA algorithm, LDA has been used as a topic modeling technique. LDA is an analysis technique that clusters and classifies documents into topics according to the probability of occurrence of keywords in a large set of documents, and it is widely used in the analysis of news big data and other text-rich domains [42].
In this paper, to determine the most suitable number of topics, topic modeling analyses were tested by varying the number of topics from 2 to 10 [43]. Subsequently, the degree of keyword overlap across topics and the appropriateness of topic classification was compared by using input parameters of alpha = 12.5 and beta = 0.01 [44]. The optimal number of topics was selected because the degree of keyword overlap is low and the keywords are meaningfully categorized by topic.

4. Results

4.1. Keyword Analysis

The results of the frequency analysis are listed in Table 2. The most commonly occurring word is ‘development’ (5124) followed by two words, ‘events’ (4109) and ‘competitions’ (3854), that are closely linked to the Asian Games. Thus, they illustrate the considerable anticipation and optimism surrounding the growth and progression of Chinese esports in the context of the Asian Games. Interestingly, the term ‘physical education’ (3360) reflects a strong move to integrate esports as an integral component of educational initiatives.
TF/IDF is a statistical measure that weighs how important a word is within a particular document. TF (Term Frequency) measures how often a word appears within a document, and IDF (Inverse Document Frequency) gauges how unique or distinctive a word is across a collection of documents. TF-IDF serves as a vital index for discerning the importance of terms frequently discussed in news articles, social media, and other textual sources [45].
In this study, TF/IDF results show that the term ‘E-commerce’ attains the highest TF/DF value, which indicates a growing trend of active online commerce within the realm of Chinese esports. This observation underscores the burgeoning significance of E-commerce in the context of esports-related discussions.

4.2. LDA Topic Modeling Analysis for News Articles

According to Table 3, the results of the LDA analysis are shown. The graphs show the top 20 keywords, key titles, and proportions associated with each of the five topics.
The first topic revolves around the online commercialization of Asian Games esports and is characterized by prominent keywords including ‘Match’, ‘Sports’, ‘Rank’, ‘E-commerce’, ‘Business’, and ‘Company’. This topic underscores China’s strategic vision of leveraging the Asian Games as a platform to advance the commercial aspect of esports. The selection of esports as an official part of the Games presents an opportunity to enhance the influence of the Games’ brand that is related to medal acquisition; thus, the surge in their popularity is expected to catalyze online business within China’s game industry.
The second topic, characterized by keywords including ‘Development’, ‘Sports’, ‘Physical Education’, ‘All people’, ‘Streaming Platform’, ‘Exercise’, and ‘Sport Bureau’, indicates a changed perception of esports among citizens. It reflects that esports may have effectively deleted its negative preconceptions and is now emerging as a sport embraced by the entire nation. Notably, the term ‘Streaming Platform’ underscores the role of Over-The-Top (OTT) and streaming services in democratizing esports, making it more accessible and enjoyable for consumers. This theme highlights the evolving dynamics that position esports as a mainstream and inclusive sporting pursuit in the eyes of the public.
The third topic includes the keywords such as ‘Digital game’, ‘Industrial Chain’, ‘Club’, ‘Digital game industry’, ‘Association’, and ‘Global’. Those terms are key players in the Chinese esports industry chain including professional clubs, game associations, and game developers. It highlights the recognition of esports as a comprehensive industry with interconnected components and their interdependence for moving forward on both domestic and global scales.
The fourth topic delves into the realm of esports education and athletic training with the keywords such as ‘Physical education’, ‘Major’, ‘Health’, ‘Management’, ‘Occupation’, and ‘University’. This topic reveals discussions surrounding the management of esports teams and its morale and the holistic development of players along with player health care and discipline.
The fifth topic centers around consumption driven by esports with keywords like ‘electronic goods’, ‘consumption’, ‘services’, ‘revenue models’, and ‘e-novels’. Various consumer goods related to esports have gained prominence from traditional electronic products like PC hardware, keyboards, and headphones to esports items including chairs, clothing, and bags.
The analysis of these topics reveals a growing trend towards the segmentation and commercialization within the esports ecosystem, which can be summarized with ‘the operation and broadcasting of esports, player training and development, the dissemination of esports culture, and the consumption of related products’.

4.3. LDA Topic Modeling Analysis for Embedded Images in the Articles

According to Figure 9 and Table 4, utilizing the CLIP model, the image was described with text. For example, Figure 9 (left) is captioned as ‘This is a circular graph of the revenue distribution of the esports industry in China from January 2023 to June’.
After preprocessing the caption texts and conducting an LDA analysis, three topics were categorized. The first topic featured graphs illustrating the prevalence of esports in China compared to other countries. These include data on the number of esports clubs, official events by region, and number of audiences. There are also graphs of numerical data that show the industrial revenue potential.
Topic 2 includes ‘companies’ and ‘large-scale’ from the images of vast stadiums adorned with colorful lights and sizable crowds. It illustrates that esports tournaments will be official and national-scale events. Topic 3 includes ‘spectators’, ‘applaud’, and ‘cheering’. Thus, the image is about young Chinese audiences enthusiastically cheering for their players in anticipation of winning medals.

4.4. LDA Topic Modeling Analysis for the Viewers’ Comments While Broadcasting Esports Games at Hangzhou Asian Games

Table 5 shows the outcomes of analyzing the comments provided by viewers during the live broadcast of esports events at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The topics can be classified into three primary categories: valuing Hangzhou esports competition, raising social awareness of esports, and concerns regarding esports.
Topic 1 shows the public’s perspective on the significance of esports at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Through a comparison with well-established esports events like the CS:GO Major Championship and the League of Legends World Championship, which have already garnered widespread popularity, the audience conveyed the view that winning at the Asian Games may not hold the same level of importance for players and teams.
Topic 2 highlights favorable sentiments regarding the Asian Games and its role in elevating esports to the status of a national medal sport. Viewers express positive opinions, considering esports as the foremost favorite activity among today’s young Chinese population.
Topic 3 presents an opposing viewpoint to Topic 2, with online trolls expressing the belief that esports are merely ordinary video games with detrimental effects on the development of Chinese minors.

5. Discussion

It is widely known that the Chinese government played a pivotal role in revitalizing the video game industry through its support for IT development in the early 2000s. However, the government’s support for the esports industry was a double-edged sword. In 2021, for instance, the National Press, Publication, Radio, and Television Administration (NPPA), responsible for regulating online gaming in China, introduced regulations governing underage online gaming. These regulations limited young players to gaming from 8 to 9 p.m. on weekends and holidays. It shows that the concerns persisted that esports could have adverse effects on young students [4]. Additionally, the leading esports league in the country, the KPL, raised the minimum age for competition to 18. These restrictions on underage participation posed significant challenges for esports teams because a majority of Chinese esports players, approximately 54%, are within the age range of 16 to 22 on average [46]. This macro-level surveillance and control exerted by authorities has disrupted the development of the esports industry [47].
After the adoption of esports as an official sport at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the findings from the online news data analysis reveal that designating esports as a medal sport in official international competitions has led many news outlets to shift from the public’s previous negative opinions. Instead, they now hold high hopes for the economic benefits and growth of the esports industry. Furthermore, this move has elevated the expectations that esports should be granted a status akin to that of athletes in traditional sports. Namely, Chinese media addressed that esports is undergoing a transformation as it is considered to be a form of content that can be enjoyed by a broad audience.
In addition to the analysis of news text data, the examination of image data embedded in the news also underscores the anticipated positive impacts of esports, including economic income and industry development, as depicted through graphs and numerical representations. Furthermore, images portraying large-scale stadiums and the enthusiastic cheers of event attendees contribute to elevating the social standing of esports as a national medal sports event.
However, diverging from the online news data, the opinions of individuals who were watching the Hangzhou esports games reveal a significant divide within the public opinion. On one hand, there are positive expectations that esports is gaining acceptance as a legitimate sport through the Asian Games. On the other hand, there exists a group opposed to societal movements and media initiatives aiming to elevate the social status of esports because they still view it as a social addiction detrimental to the mental and physical health of young individuals. Furthermore, among existing spectators who enjoy esports competitions, there are expressed doubts about the level of competition and players’ abilities. This skepticism is often framed by comparisons to other popular international esports competitions rather than accepting its officially gained names.
To summarize, the COVID-19 pandemic’s subsiding impact, coupled with the official recognition of esports as a medal event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, has influenced China’s commitment to elevating esports to the status of a national sport. However, the public continues to exhibit divergent perspectives on the matter. This divergence in the views between online news and the public’s opinions represents a crucial factor for the future development of the esports industry in China and the formulation of national policies.
The implications on these findings are firstly that the Chinese government exhibits a contradictory stance regarding esports. Until as recently as 2021 to 2022, the Chinese government expressed concerns about youth gaming addiction, imposing limitations on online playtime and halting the issuance of new game licenses, which adversely affected game companies like Tencent and Netease. Despite this adversarial stance towards gaming, after esports gained recognition as a medal event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, it garnered substantial media coverage. This coverage primarily emphasized its positive economic impact, promoting national pride and stimulating local economies.
Secondly, despite the notable decrease in negative coverage about games, the public’s perception of esports remains polarized. The lack of comprehensive social policies or systems beyond regulatory measures for gaming-related social issues within the Chinese socialist governance seem to prioritize solely the economic and national aspects.
Thirdly, it is speculated that unless there is a concerted effort to improve public awareness and understanding of esports-related gaming and address pertinent social issues, the public’s divided stance towards the gaming industry might hinder the establishment of a solid consensus in developing the necessary infrastructure for esports.
Indeed, this dichotomy in gaming attitudes is not exclusive to China. Just three years ago, the debate over whether esports constituted traditional sports divided academics, industry players, and governments worldwide. Hence, merely renaming games as esports and granting them status as medal-worthy sports in international competitions does not singularly alter the social perception of gaming. Focusing solely on the advantages to the national economy is not sufficient either. As evidenced in the paper, the transition for games to be recognized as an Olympic sport after their inclusion in the Asian Games demands a prolonged period and a comprehensive blend of economic, social, cultural, and educational policies.

6. Conclusions

This paper employs LDA topic modeling techniques to analyze online news data along with images with the purpose of examining the shifts in Chinese esports-related topics following the recognition of esports as an official sport at the Hangzhou Asian Games. In addition, to compare the general public’s opinions, this study also used the viewer comments made on the live broadcasting platform while watching the tournaments during the Hangzhou Games.
The findings reveal that the text and image data in online news emphasize the industry’s positive anticipation of esports becoming a medal sport, but the public who watched esports events showed mixed expectations, doubts, or even negative sentiments about the reevaluation of esports.
The novelty of this study is as follows. First, as of 2023, there is a scarcity of big data analytics studies concerning the first integration of esports as a medal sport in international competitions. Consequently, this paper can be useful as a foundational reference for the potential adoption of esports as an official sport within the Olympic Games, particularly following the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in 2026. Second, the utilization of LDA for analyzing online news, coupled with integrating image analysis alongside text analysis, presents a novel dimension to research methodologies. Thirdly, its significance is rooted in the focus on China, a central influencer shaping the trajectory of the gaming and esports industry. By monitoring the evolving public perception of esports within China, this study provides crucial insights pivotal not only for the industry’s sustained growth in China but also for informing policymaking and enhancing global social awareness concerning both gaming and esports.
This study primarily relies on online news data that cannot fully reflect the in-depth perspectives of the general public or industry stakeholders. Future research can be conducted with a more balanced approach to incorporate diverse data sources such as interviews with players and esports enthusiasts, feedback from audiences, and research reports to earn a comprehensive understanding of the esports landscape in China.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, L.C. and E.J.K.; methodology, L.C.; software, L.C.; formal analysis, L.C.; resources, L.C.; writing—original draft preparation, L.C. and E.J.K.; writing—review and editing, E.J.K.; visualization, L.C.; supervision, E.J.K. and J.K.; project administration, J.K.; funding acquisition, J.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by Culture, Sports and Tourism R&D Program through the Korea Creative Content Agency grant funded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2023 (Project Name: Cultural Technology Specialist Training and Project for Metaverse Game, Project Number: RS-2023-00227648), Contribution Rate: 100%. and this work was also supported by the Gachon University Research Fund of 2020 (GCU-202106480001).

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

  1. eSports Market in China–Statistics & Facts. Available online: https://www.statista.com/topics/7874/esports-market-in-china/#topicOverview (accessed on 30 September 2023).
  2. eSports User Number in China 2016–2022. Available online: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1018969/china-esports-game-user-number/ (accessed on 30 September 2023).
  3. Zhao, Y.; Li, Q.; Lin, Z. Toward cultural and creative industry: Chinese eSports through a business ecosystem lens. JCE 2023, 16, 260–276. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  4. Yang, H.M.; Lee, S.A. The History of Chinese e-Sports and the Background of Chinese e-Sports. KJS 2023, 12, 683–694. [Google Scholar]
  5. Out, A. The Future of Gaming and Sport: The Rise of the E-sports Industry in China. SSRN 2019. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  6. Zhang, Y.; Cha, H.W. Exploring Factors Influencing the Viewing Intention of E-sports Competitions in China: An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior and Online Social Capital. KJA 2020, 31, 33–62. [Google Scholar]
  7. Zhang, X.; Yoo, C.S. Research on tourism intention of esports event spectators based on value-attitude-behavior hierarchy: Focused on Chinese spectators. J. Korea Game Soc. 2021, 21, 89–98. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  8. Xiuqi, Z. Motivation and Decision Making in Esports Spectatorship in China. Ph.D. Thesis, Loughborough University, London, UK, 2023. [Google Scholar]
  9. Szablewicz, M. A Realm of Mere Representation? “Live” E-Sports Spectacles and the Crafting of China’s Digital Gaming Image. Sage J. 2015, 11, 256–274. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  10. Yue, Y.; Rui, W.; Ling, S.C.S. Development of E-sports industry in China: Current situation, Trend and research hotspot. IJ Esports 2020, 1, 1–11. [Google Scholar]
  11. Zhao, Y.; Lin, Z. Umbrella platform of Tencent eSports industry in China. JCE 2021, 14, 9–25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  12. Kim, Y.; Kim, Y.H. Examining the Impact of Online Media Advertising on Art Exhibition Engagement and Visitor Satisfaction. JDMCT 2022, 2, 87–97. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  13. Xin, W.; Lee, S.; Hwang, O. Policy Evolution and Value Transformation of China’s eSports. IJHMS 2021, 15, 1–13. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  14. Kim, E.J.; Kim, J.Y. Exploring the Online News Trends of the Metaverse in South Korea: A Data-Mining-Driven Semantic Network Analysis. Sustainability 2023, 15, 16279. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  15. Na, J.C.; Kim, E.J.; Kim, J.Y. Big data analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on digital game industrial sustainability in South Korea. PLoS ONE 2022, 17, e0278467. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  16. Hang, C.; Kim, D.W. Analysis of Trends and Contents of Chinese eSports Research Paper. KJS 2022, 20, 521–533. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  17. Baidu Index. Available online: https://index.baidu.com/v2/main/index.html#/trend/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%AB%9E%E6%8A%80?words=%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%AB%9E%E6%8A%80 (accessed on 26 November 2023).
  18. There Is Too Much Negative News That 60% of Chines Netizens Are Unaware of Esports. It Is Just a Game. Available online: https://www.ppsport.com/360news/news/1628451.html (accessed on 26 November 2023).
  19. Zhou, W.; Zhou, Z.Y. E-Sports Report path and mode: A Case Study on China Youth Online. In Proceedings of the WWW ’20: Companion Proceedings of the Web Conference, Taiwan, China, 20–24 April 2020. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  20. International Olympic Committee launches IOC Esports Commission. Available online: https://esportsinsider.com/2023/09/ioc-esports-commission (accessed on 30 September 2023).
  21. Esports-Worldwide. Available online: https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/esports/worldwide (accessed on 30 September 2023).
  22. Revenue of the eSports Market Worldwide from 2018 to 2027, by Segment. Available online: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1308525/worldwide-esports-revenue-by-segment (accessed on 8 December 2023).
  23. Wang, X. The Studies of Status and Improvements in Chinese eSports. ISES 2019, 1, 58–73. [Google Scholar]
  24. Textom. Available online: https://www.textom.co.kr/home/main/main.php (accessed on 30 September 2023).
  25. GitHub-Openai/CLIP. Available online: https://github.com/openai/CLIP (accessed on 14 November 2023).
  26. Bilibili. Available online: https://www.bilibili.com/ (accessed on 14 November 2023).
  27. Min, X.; Ma, K.; Gu, K.; Zhai, G.; Wang, Z.; Lin, W. Unified Blind Quality Assessment of Compressed Natural, Graphic and Screen Content Images. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 2017, 26, 5462–5474. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  28. Min, X.; Zhai, G.; Gu, K.; Zhu, Y.; Zhou, J.; Guo, G.; Yang, X.; Guan, X.; Zhang, W. Quality Evaluation of Image Dehazing Methods Using Synthetic Hazy Images. IEEE Trans. Multimed. 2019, 21, 2319–2333. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  29. Min, X.; Zhou, J.; Zhai, G.; Callet, P.L.; Yang, X.; Guan, X. A Metric for Light Field Reconstruction, Compression, and Display Quality Evaluation. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 2020, 29, 3790–3801. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  30. Min, X.; Zhai, G.; Zhou, J.; Zhang, X.P.; Yang, X.; Guan, X. A Multimodal Saliency Model for Videos with High Audio-Visual Correspondence. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 2020, 29, 3805–3819. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  31. Min, X.; Zhai, G.; Gu, K.; Yang, X. Fixation Prediction through Multimodal Analysis. ACM Trans. Multimed. Comput. Commun. Appl. 2016, 13, 1–23. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  32. Zhai, G.; Min, X. Perceptual image quality assessment: A survey. Sci. China Inf. Sci. 2020, 63, 1–52. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  33. Min, X.; Gu, K.; Zhai, G.; Yang, X.; Zhang, W.; Callet, P.L.; Chen, C.W. Screen Content Quality Assessment: Overview, Benchmark, and Beyond. ACM Comput. Surv. 2021, 54, 1–36. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  34. Min, X.; Gu, K.; Zhai, G.; Liu, J.; Yang, X.; Chen, C.W. Blind Quality Assessment Based on Pseudo-Reference Image. IEEE Trans. Multimed. 2018, 20, 2049–2062. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  35. Min, X.; Zhai, G.; Liu, Y.; Yang, X. Blind Image Quality Estimation via Distortion Aggravation. IEEE Trans. Broadcast. 2018, 64, 508–517. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  36. Min, X.; Zhai, G.; Gu, K.; Yang, X.; Guan, X. Objective Quality Evaluation of Dehazed Images. IEEE Trans. Intell. Transp. Syst. 2019, 20, 2879–2892. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  37. Ramesh, A.; Dhariwal, P.; Nichol, A.; Chu, C.; Chen, M. Hierarchical Text-Conditional Image Generation with CLIP Latents. arXiv 2022, arXiv:2204.06125. [Google Scholar]
  38. Shen, S.; Li, L.H.; Tan, H.; Bansal, M.; Rohrbach, A.; Chang, K.W.; Yao, Z.; Keutzer, K. How Much Can CLIP Benefit Vision-and-Language Tasks? arXiv 2021, arXiv:2107.06383. [Google Scholar]
  39. Mokay, R.; Hertz, A.; Bermano, A.H. ClipCap: CLIP Prefix for Image Captioning. arXiv 2021, arXiv:2111.09734. [Google Scholar]
  40. Na, J.C.; Kim, J.Y. Analysis of issues in the game industry using big data. JDAEM 2022, 9, 299–308. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  41. Bhaskar, P.S.; Reddy, B.D. Big Data in Healthcare: An Investigation into Medical Data Management and Privacy Implications in China. JDMCT 2022, 2, 1–9. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  42. Blei, D.M.; Ng, A.Y.; Jordan, M.I. Latent Dirichlet Allocation. J. Mach. Learn. Res. 2003, 3, 993–1022. [Google Scholar]
  43. Blei, D.M. Probabilistic Topic Models. Commun. ACM 2012, 55, 77–84. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  44. Youm, D.H.; Kim, J.Y. Text Mining Approach to Improve Mobile Role Playing Games Using Users’ Reviews. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6243. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  45. Cui, L.; Kim, J.Y. Status and Issue Analysis on Indie Game in China through CONCOR Analysis. JDAEM 2023, 10, 61–70. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  46. Zhao, Y.; Zhu, Y. Identity transformation, stigma power, and mental wellbeing of Chines eSports professional players. Sage J. 2020, 24, 485–503. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  47. Jing, Z. Relevance Analysis of Hot Topics in E-Sports Industry Based on Text Mining. Int. J. Trend Res. Dev. 2020, 7, 245–249. [Google Scholar]
Electronics 12 04961 g001
Figure 1. Trends in esports-related searches on Baidu from 2011 to 2023.
Figure 1. Trends in esports-related searches on Baidu from 2011 to 2023.
Electronics 12 04961 g001
Electronics 12 04961 g002
Figure 2. Research results about why Chinese netizens do not approve of esports in 2021.
Figure 2. Research results about why Chinese netizens do not approve of esports in 2021.
Electronics 12 04961 g002
Electronics 12 04961 g003
Figure 3. Global esports market revenue from 2018 to 2027.
Figure 3. Global esports market revenue from 2018 to 2027.
Electronics 12 04961 g003
Electronics 12 04961 g004
Figure 4. Chinese esports timeline of key events from 2003 to 2021.
Figure 4. Chinese esports timeline of key events from 2003 to 2021.
Electronics 12 04961 g004
Electronics 12 04961 g005
Figure 5. Overall process.
Figure 5. Overall process.
Electronics 12 04961 g005
Electronics 12 04961 g006
Figure 6. The screenshot of esports live broadcasting and viewer comments during the Hangzhou Games.
Figure 6. The screenshot of esports live broadcasting and viewer comments during the Hangzhou Games.
Electronics 12 04961 g006
Electronics 12 04961 g007
Figure 7. Excluded keywords list.
Figure 7. Excluded keywords list.
Electronics 12 04961 g007
Electronics 12 04961 g008
Figure 8. Registered keywords list.
Figure 8. Registered keywords list.
Electronics 12 04961 g008
Electronics 12 04961 g009
Figure 9. The representative images for each topic (left: Topic 1, middle: Topic 2, right: Topic 3).
Figure 9. The representative images for each topic (left: Topic 1, middle: Topic 2, right: Topic 3).
Electronics 12 04961 g009
Table 1. Media outlet chosen for the analysis.
Table 1. Media outlet chosen for the analysis.
SectionTypeNumber of SourcesSelected Media Outlets
Online NewsOfficial News6People’s Daily Online, Xinhua news network, China Youth Network, China News Service, Guangming Network, China Economic Net
Regional News4Quanlong Network, The East Network, Shenzhen Network, China North Network
New media platform3Sina Weibo, WeChat Public, Baidu
BroadcastingLive broadcast platform1Bilibili
Table 2. Top 20 keywords by frequency and TF/IDF.
Table 2. Top 20 keywords by frequency and TF/IDF.
RankKeywordFrequencyKeywordTF/IDF
1China5124E-commerce8778.141446
2Development4454Match8014.167702
3Event4109Event7362.339659
4Match3854China7103.372306
5Physical Education3360Physical Education6538.258101
6Sports3312Development6174.555084
7Company2467Sports5934.307362
8E-commerce2431Company5680.477424
9Industry2365The Asian Games5460.777182
10Competition2300Consumption5021.619644
11The Asian Games2129Industry4917.879246
12All People2062Rank4785.555129
13Digital Game1984Competition4475.593343
14Exercise1846Service4335.971193
15Occupation1752Digital Game4125.612019
16Club1710All People4012.466727
17Service1643Nationwide3921.807568
18(College) Major1584Exercise3838.649086
19Profession1550(College) Major3798.266112
20Nationwide1529Club3757.254027
Table 3. Top 20 keywords in each topic.
Table 3. Top 20 keywords in each topic.
CategoryTopic 1Topic 2Topic 3Topic 4Topic 5
Title of TopicsOnline CommercializationEsports Enjoyed by All PeopleEsports Industry ChainEsports Education and Athlete TrainingConsumption Driven by Esports
1MatchDevelopmentEsportsEsportsMatch
2SportsSportsChinaPhysical EducationDevelopment
3RankPhysical EducationDevelopment(College) MajorElectronic Products
4Commemorative CoinChinaDigital GameHealthConsumption
5E-CommerceCompanyIndustrial ChainManagementService
6TournamentAll peopleExerciseCompetitionChina Team
7Physical EducationMatchCompetitionOccupationRank
8NationalDigitalizationClubUniversityProfit Model
9BusinessStreamingOccupationSportsChampion
10CompanyConsumptionDigital game industryTop tierFinal Match
11ChinaIndustryOperationTechnologyE-novel
12World ChampionshipExercisePhysical EducationSpiritChina
13Domestic EventSystem ConstructionCultureRegulationsMedical Insurance
14DevelopmentSports BureauAssociationMatchBusiness
15TeamIT IndustryGlobalDisputeRural Area
16ParticipationBeijingMarketDigital GameInternational
17Gold and Silver MedalServiceOfficialCompanyE-Commerce
18Male playerAthleteSportsIssueCompany
19SwimmingNational(College)MajorMarketWorld
20AthleteTalentDigitalizationProductionAsian Games
Proportion26.1%20.3%20.2%20%13.5%
Table 4. Top 3 keywords in each topic.
Table 4. Top 3 keywords in each topic.
CategoryTopic 1Topic 2Topic 3
Title of TopicsGraphInternational CompetitionSpectatorship
1GrowthTournamentSpectators
2ChinaTencentApplaud
3IndustryLightsFlag
4RevenueLarge-scaleCheering
5DistributionChina Electronic sports Association AllianceUniversity student
Table 5. Top 3 keywords in each topic.
Table 5. Top 3 keywords in each topic.
CategoryTopic 1Topic 2Topic 3
Title of TopicsValuing Hangzhou Esports CompetitionRaising Social Awareness of EsportsConcerns Regarding Esports
1CompetitionAsian GamesGaming
2Asian GamesAthletesMatch
3CS:GO Major ChampionshipPopularityAsian Games
4League of Legends World ChampionshipChampionElectronic heroin
5ChampionGold MedalUnder-age
6ImportanceRepresentativeWaste
7HonorYouthInfluence
8AthleteActivityRegulation
9Gold MedalImportantAddiction
10MeaninglessAcquisitionNegative
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Cui, L.; Kim, E.J.; Kim, J. How Chinese Media Addresses Esports Issues: A Text Mining Comparative Analysis of Online News and Viewers’ Comments on the Hangzhou Asian Games. Electronics 2023, 12, 4961. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12244961

AMA Style

Cui L, Kim EJ, Kim J. How Chinese Media Addresses Esports Issues: A Text Mining Comparative Analysis of Online News and Viewers’ Comments on the Hangzhou Asian Games. Electronics. 2023; 12(24):4961. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12244961

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cui, Linjie, Eun Joung Kim, and JungYoon Kim. 2023. "How Chinese Media Addresses Esports Issues: A Text Mining Comparative Analysis of Online News and Viewers’ Comments on the Hangzhou Asian Games" Electronics 12, no. 24: 4961. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12244961

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop