E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım

Ali Tekin; Gülcan Tekin

doi:10.17155/omuspd.1693122

EN TR

E (Sport)? A Critical Approach

Abstract

Although esport has given its name to an increasingly popular and rapidly growing industrial sector, it is at the center of many debates in terms of naming and conceptualization. Whether the acceptance of esport as a sport branch is consistent needs to be explained in detail. In this study, the concepts of sport and esport were examined according to the definitions attributed to them in literature and compared in terms of their common and differentiating features. This qualitative study was based on critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis. First, it was concluded that esport is conceptually a game type and not a sports branch. In addition, considering the lack of physical activity, the lack of national and local organizations, as well as a global central administration, the fact that the rules are set by game publishers, the fact that it appeals to a limited part of society due to its limited prevalence, and its low individual and social penetration potential, it seems unlikely for now to be accepted as a branch of sports that has historically proven and created a deep-rooted culture.

Keywords

digital games, video, cyber, physical exercise, esport

Ethical Statement

The research was conducted using qualitative methods and involved a critical process consisting of document analysis, evaluation, and synthesis, and therefore did not require an ethics committee report.

E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım

Abstract

Espor, gittikçe popülerleşen ve hızla büyüyen bir endüstriyel sektöre adını vermiş olsa da adlandırma ve kavramsallaştırma açısından birçok tartışmanın odağında yer almaktadır. Esporun bir spor dalı olarak kabul edilmesinin tutarlı olup olmadığı detaylı şekilde açıklanmaya muhtaçtır. Bu çalışmada, spor ve espor kavramları literatürde kendilerine atfedilen tanımlara göre incelenip ortak ve ayrışan özellikleri açısından karşılaştırılmıştır. Nitel yöntemle yapılan bu çalışma; eleştirel düşünme, analiz ve senteze dayanır. Öncelikle esporun kavramsal olarak bir spor dalı değil oyun türü olduğu yargısına varılmıştır. İlaveten esporun fiziksel aktivite yoksunluğu, küresel merkezi bir yönetim yanında ulusal ve yerel teşkilatlanmasının olmaması, kurallarının oyun yayıncıları tarafından konulması, kısıtlı yaygınlığı, düşük bireysel ve toplumsal nüfuz etme potansiyeli göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, kendisini tarihsel olarak kanıtlamış ve köklü bir kültür oluşturmuş sporun bir dalı olarak kabulü şimdilik olası gözükmemektedir.

Keywords

dijital oyunlar, video, siber, fiziksel egzersiz, espor

Ethical Statement

Araştırma nitel yöntemle yapılmış olup döküman analizi, değerlendirme ve sentezden oluşan eleştirel bir süreç içerdiğinden etik kurul raporu gerektirmemektedir.

References

Adamus, T. (2012). Playing computer games as electronic sport: In search of a theoretical framework for a new research field. In J. Fromme & A. Unger (Eds.). Computer games and new media cultures: A handbook of digital games studies (pp. 477-490). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
Australian Sports Commission. (2025, April 30). What is sport? Clearinghouse for Sport. https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/kb/what-is-sport
Banyai, F., Griffiths, M. D., Kiraly, O., & Demetrovics, Z. (2019). The psychology of esports: A systematic literature review. Journal of Gambling Studies, 35(2), 351-365. doi: 10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1
Borggrefe, C. (2018). Esport gehort nicht unter das dach des organisierten sports [eSport does not belong under the umbrella of organised sport]. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 48(3), 447-450. doi: 10.1007/s12662-018-0532-1
Bouchet P., & Sobry. C. (2005) Management et marketing du sport: du local au global. Sport et seiences sociales. [Sports Management and Marketing: From Local to Global. Sport and Social Sciences]. Paris: Presses Universitaires Sptentrion DOI : 10.4000/books.septentrion.117573
Busch, T., Boudreau, K., & Consalvo, M. (2015). Toxic gamer culture, corporate regulation, and standards of behavior among players of online games. In S. Conway & J. DeWinter (Eds.), Video Game Policy (pp. 176-190). DOI:10.4324/9781315748825-13
Cambridge University Press. (2025, March 11). Sport. In Cambridge English Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sport
Campbell, W., Goss, A., Trottier, K., & Claypool, M. (2021). Sports versus esports-a comparison of industry size, viewer friendliness, and game competitiveness. In D. Y. Jin (Ed.), Global esports: Transformation of cultural perceptions of competitive gaming (pp. 1-12). London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Caspersen, C. J., Powell, K. E., & Christenson, G. M. (1985). Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: definitions and distinctions for health-related research. Public Health Report, 100(2), 126-131. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1424733/
Chaffee, J. (1994). Thinking critically. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Clavio, G. (2017, May 31). Are esports the next major league sport? The conversation. https://theconversation. com/are-esports-the-next-major-league-sport-74008.
Coakley, J., & Dunning, E. (2000). The handbook of sports studies. London: SAGE Publications.
Çokluk-Bökeoğlu, Ö., & Yılmaz, K. (2005). The relationship between attitudes of university students towards critical thinking and research anxieties. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 11(41), 47-67.
Council of Europe (1992). European sports charter. An innovative reference text for the development of sports policy in Europe. https://www.coe.int/en/web/sport/the-european-sports-charter
Cunningham, G. B., Fairley, S., Ferkins, L., Kerwin, S., Lock, D., Shaw, S., … et al (2018). eSport: Construct specifications and implications for sport management. Sport Management Review, 21(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2017.11.002
de Zoeten, M., & Könecke, T. (2024). Esports, video gaming and their fuzziness: a conceptualization and categorization. Sport, Business and Management, 14(1), 99-116. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-10-2022-0097 Dewey, J. (1934). Art as experience. New York: Minton, Balch & Company.
Dixon, P. (2022). Esports as entertainment: A comparison to traditional sports. [Senior Theses, Princeton University].
Dreher, C. (2005). Staatsziele im bundesstaat am beispiel des sports [State goals in the federal state using the example of sports]. Göttingen: Cuvillier Verlag.
Dunning, E. (1986). Sport as a social phenomenon. In J. Coakley & E. Dunning (Eds.), Sport in society: Issues and controversies (pp. 45-66). McGraw-Hill.
Dura, C. (2005). Düşünme, araştırma ve yazma yöntemleri: ekonomiden ve diğer bilimlerden örneklerle. Bursa: Ekin Kitapevi.
Eberhardt, H. (2017). IOC-Chef Bach: eSport=Sport? 21. https://www.sponsors.de/ioc-chef-bach-esport-sport Entertainment Software Association. (2017). Essential facts about the computer and video game industry. 07.02.2025. http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/EF2017_Final Digital.pdf.
Faust, K., Meyer, J., & Grifths, M. D. (2013). Competitive and professional gaming: Discussing potential benefts of scientifc study. International Journal of Cyber Behavior Psychology and Learning, 3(1), 67-77. DOI: 10.4018/ijcbpl.2013010106
Frenzel, M. (2005). Politik für Darmstadt, Peter Benz and seine Zeit 86. Justus-von-Liebig-Verlag
Gisbert-Pérez, J., García-Naveira, A., Martí-Vilar, M., & Acebes-Sánchez, J. (2024). Key structure and processes in esports teams: a systematic review. Current Psychology, 43(23), 20355-20374. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05858-0
Graham, B. A. (2017, April 18). Esports to be a medal event at 2022 Asian Games. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/ 2017/apr/18/esports-to-be-medal-sport-at-2022-asian-games.
Grifths, M. (2017). The psychosocial impact of professional gambling, professional video gaming and eSports. Casino & Gaming International, 28, 59-63. https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30079
Guttmann, A. (1978). From ritual to record: The nature of modern sports. Columbia University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/gutt13340
Ha, N. (2020). Electronic sports and traditional sports: a comparative analysis. [Master’s thesis, Oulu University]. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202006182523
Hamari, J., & Sjöblom, M. (2017). What is esports and why do people watch it? Internet Research, 27(2), 211-232. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-04-2016-0085.
Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2017, 6-9 January). Does gamification work? A literature review of empirical studies on gamification [Conference presentation]. HICSS 2014, Waikoloa, HI, United States. DOI: https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/hicss/2014/12OmNyYm2wy
Hamilton, W., Kerne, A., & Robbins, T. (2012, 7-10 October). High-performance pen+touch modality interactions: a real-time strategy game eSports context [Conference presentation]. ACM 2012, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. https://doi.org/10.1145/2380116.238015
Hargreaves, J. (1986) Sport, power, and culture: A social and historical analysis of popular sports in Britain. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hemphill, D. (2005). Cybersport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 32(2), 195-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2005.9714682
International e-Sports Federation. (2017). Member nations. 26.02.2025. http://www. ie-sf.org/about/#member-nations.
Jenny, S. E., Manning, R. D., Keiper, M. C., & Olrich, T. W. (2016). Virtual(ly) athletes: Where eSports fit within the definition of “sport.” Quest, 69(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2016.1144517
Jin, D. Y. (2010). Korea’s online gaming empire. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Johri, A. (2020). Cashing in on the esports phenomenon: Increasing awareness on ethical issues and governance challenges. Journal of Sport, Law, Policy Governance, 2(1), 41-60.
Kane, D., & Spradley, B. D. (2017). Recognizing ESports as a Sport. The Sport Journal, 19(5), 1-9. https://thesportjournal.org/article/recognizing-esports-as-a-sport/
Karhulahti, V. M. (2016, August 1-6). Prank, troll, gross and gore: Performance issues in esport live-streaming [Conference presentation]. DiGRA/FDG 2016, http://www.digra-old-site.local/digital-library/forums/13-digra-fdg2106/
Kökdemir, D. (2004). Eleştirel düşünme: Kapsamı ve eğitimi. Popüler Bilim, 12(130), 42-45.
Llorens, M. R (2017). eSport gaming: The rise of a new sports practice. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 11(4), 464-476. https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2017.1318947
Lüschen, G. (1980). Sociology of Sport: Development, Present State, and Prospects. Annual Review of Sociology, 6, 315-347. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2946011
Ma, H., Wu, Y., & Wu, X. (2013). Research on essential difference of e-sport and online game. In W. Du (Ed.), Informatics and management science V. lecture notes in electrical engineering (pp. 615-621). London: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4796-1_79
Maguire, J. A., Guttmann, A., Rowe, D. C., & Luebering, J. (2025, April 1). Sports. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/sports/sports
Market Research Reports. (2025, January 30). Esports market size, share, and trends 2025 to 2034. https://www.precedenceresearch.com/esports-market
Martinelli, J. (2018). The Challenges of implementing a governing body for regulating esports. The University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review, 26, 499-524. https://repository.law.miami.edu/umiclr/vol26/iss2/8
Matveev, L. P. (2005). The general theory of sport and its applied aspects. 4th Correction and add. Lan: SPb Publishing House.
Max, B. (2018, September 24). What is a sport? https://globalsportmatters.com/business/2018/09/24/what-is-a-sport/
McFee, G. (2004). Sport, rules and values: Philosophical investigations into the nature of sport (1st ed.). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203299876
Merriam-Webster. (2025, May 1). Joint venture. https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/joint%20venture Moosa, T. (2017, August 11). ESports are real Sports. It’s Time for the Olympic Video Games. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/11/ esports-olympic-video-games-ioc-gaming.
Naria, O. (2008). Géographie dusporàla Reunion. Cultures sporditions and theoristoires. [Geography of Sport in Reunion. Sports Cultures and Theories]. Paris: L’Harmattan. http://digital.casalini.it/9782296192775
National Institutes of Health (1995). Physical activity and cardiovascular health. NIH Consensus Development Panel on Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health. JAMA, 1996, 276(3), 241-246. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8667571/
NewZoo. (2020). Global esports market report 2020. 01.01.2025. https://newzoo.com/ insights/trend-reports/newzoo-global-esports-market-report-2020-lightversion/
Office of Sport. (2021). Definition of key terms. 13.03.2025. https://www.sport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-04/office-of-sport-definition-of-key-terms.pdf
Owen, K. B., Foley, B. C., Wilhite, K., Booker, B., Lonsdale, C., & Reece, L. J. (2022). Sport participation and academic performance in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 54(2), 299-306. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002786
Parry, J. (2019). E-sports are not sports. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 13(1), 3-18. doi:10.1080/17511321.2018.1489419 Parry, J. (2022). On the definition of sport. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 17(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2022.2077814
Pedraza-Ramirez, I., Musculus, L., Raab, M., & Laborde, S. (2020). Setting the scientific stage for esports psychology: a systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology 13(1), 319-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2020.1723122
Peng, Q., Dickson, G., Scelles, N., & Grix, J. (2020). Esports governance: Exploring stakeholder dynamics. Sustainability, 12(19), 8270. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12198270
Polley, M. S. (1998). Moving the Goalposts: A History of Sport in Society since 1945. Londra: Routledge. Purewal, J., & Davies, I. (2016). The esports explosion: Legal challenges and opportunities. Landslide, 9, 24.
Raedeke, T. D., & Smith, A. L. (2001). Development and preliminary validation of an athlete burnout measure. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 23(4), 281-306. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.23.4.281
Rapaport, D. (2017). What to expect from the booming eSports industry in 2017. https://www.si.com/tech-media/2017/02/09/esports-industry-expectations-billion-dollar(open in a new window
Reitman, J. G., Anderson-Coto, M. J., Wu, M., Lee, J. S., & Steinkuehler, C. (2020). Esports research: a literature review. Games and Culture, 15(1), 32-50. doi: 10.1177/1555412019840892.
Scholz, T. M. (2019). Esports is business: Management in the world of competitive gaming. Palgrave Pivot Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11199-1
Schubert, M., Drachen, A., & Mahlmann, T. (2016, March 11-12). Esports analytics through encounter detection. [Conference presentation]. MIT 2016 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. http://www.sloansportsconference.com/?p=17536
Seo, Y. (2013). Electronic sports: A new marketing landscape of the experience economy. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(13-14), 1542-1560. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.822906
Shilling, C. (1991). Educating the body: Physical capital and the production of social inequalities. Sociology, 25(4), 653-672. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038591025004006
Siwek, E. S. (2017). Video games in the 21st century. https://www.theesa.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/03/2017-EIR-National-Report.pdf.
Summerley, R. (2020). The development of sports: A comparative analysis of the early institutionalization of traditional sports and e-sports. SAGE Open, 10(1), 215824402090272. https://doi.org/10.1177/215824402090272
Terret, T. L. (2006). Le genre dans l’histoire du sport. [Gender in the history of sport]. Clio, 23, 209-238. https://doi.org/10.4000/clio.1906
Thiel, A., & John, J. M. (2018). Is eSport a ‘real’sport? Reflections on the spread of virtual competitions. European Journal for Sport and Society, 15(4), 311-315. https://doi.org/10.1080/16138171.2018.1559019
Tiedemann, C. (2021, May 20). “Sport”-a suggested definition. https://sport-geschichte.de/tiedemann/documents/sportdefinitionEnglish.html
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (1996). Physical activity and health: A report of the Surgeon General. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11223
UNESCO. (2015). International charter of physical education, physical activity and sport. https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/international-charter-physical-education-physical-activity-and-sport
United Nations. (2003). Sport for development and peace. https://archives.un.org/fr/content/sport-development-and-peace
United Nations. (2025). International Day of Sport for development and peace 2025-IDSDP. 09.03.2025. https://social.desa.un.org/issues/sport-for-development-and-peace/events/2025
van Ditmarsch, J. (2013). Video games as a spectator sport: How electronic sports transforms spectatorship. [Master’s thesis, Utrecht University].
Vealey, R. S. (1994). Knowledge development and implementation in sport psychology: a review of the sport psychologist, 1987-1992. The Sport Psychologist, 8(4), 331-348. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.8.4.331
Vorderer, P., Hartmann, T., & Klimmt, C. (2003, September 30-October 3). Explaining the enjoyment of playing video games: the role of competition. [Conference presentation]. ICEC 2003 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.5555/958720
Wagner, M. G. (2006, June 26-29). On the Scientific Relevance of eSports. In International conference on internet computing [Conference presentation]. ICOMP 2006 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, https://researchr.org/publication/ic%3A2006
Webb, K. (2019). Professional gamers like ninja use this music game to practice their aim and improve their mouse skills-here's how you can play for free. 18.03.2025. https://www.businessinsider.com/osu-game-pro-gamers-practice-aim-improve-mouse-skillsesports-2019-8
Weinberg, R., & Gould, D. (2023). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (8th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Weiss, M. R., & Wiese-Bjornstal, D. M. (2009). Promoting positive youth development through physical activity. President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest Series, 10(3), 1-8.
Whalen, S. J. (2013). Cyberathletes’ lived experience of video game tournaments. [Doctoral thesis, University of Tennessee].
Witkowski, E. (2012). On the digital playing field: How we “do sport” with networked computer games. Games and Culture, 7(5), 349-374. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412012454222
Yuan, S. (2024). The ecosystem of eSports and traditional sports: A comparative analysis. Asian Journal of Sport History & Culture, 3(3), 266-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/27690148.2024.2380307

Details

Primary Language

Turkish

Subjects

Physical Training and Sports

Journal Section

Review

Authors

Ali Tekin ^*
0000-0003-4029-5424
Türkiye

Gülcan Tekin
0000-0003-1630-4562
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

August 20, 2025

Publication Date

August 20, 2025

Submission Date

May 6, 2025

Acceptance Date

July 28, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 16 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.17155/omuspd.1693122

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA94AU89UX

APA

Tekin, A., & Tekin, G. (2025). E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım. Spor Ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi, 16(2), 373-391. https://doi.org/10.17155/omuspd.1693122

AMA

1.Tekin A, Tekin G. E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım. Spor ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2025;16(2):373-391. doi:10.17155/omuspd.1693122

Chicago

Tekin, Ali, and Gülcan Tekin. 2025. “E (Spor) Mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım”. Spor Ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi 16 (2): 373-91. https://doi.org/10.17155/omuspd.1693122.

EndNote

Tekin A, Tekin G (August 1, 2025) E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım. Spor ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi 16 2 373–391.

IEEE

[1]A. Tekin and G. Tekin, “E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım”, Spor ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 373–391, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.17155/omuspd.1693122.

ISNAD

Tekin, Ali - Tekin, Gülcan. “E (Spor) Mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım”. Spor ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi 16/2 (August 1, 2025): 373-391. https://doi.org/10.17155/omuspd.1693122.

JAMA

1.Tekin A, Tekin G. E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım. Spor ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2025;16:373–391.

MLA

Tekin, Ali, and Gülcan Tekin. “E (Spor) Mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım”. Spor Ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi, vol. 16, no. 2, Aug. 2025, pp. 373-91, doi:10.17155/omuspd.1693122.

Vancouver

1.Ali Tekin, Gülcan Tekin. E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım. Spor ve Performans Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2025 Aug. 1;16(2):373-91. doi:10.17155/omuspd.1693122

E (Sport)? A Critical Approach

Abstract

Keywords

Ethical Statement

E (Spor) mu? Eleştirel Bir Yaklaşım

Abstract

Keywords

Ethical Statement

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Early Pub Date

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

DOI

IZ

Cite