Abstract
The esports industry is increasing in popularity and is now played at the professional level. We hypothesized that esports players may have a significant advantage over the general population in terms of psychological and cognitive characteristics, which may be similar to that of professional baseball players. We recruited three participant groups: esports players (n = 55), pro-baseball players (n = 57), and age- and sex-matched healthy comparison subjects (n = 60). We assessed psychological status using the Korean versions of Temperament and Character Inventory and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory and cognitive functions using the modified Tower of London, Emotional Perception, and Mental Rotation tests. Esports players had similar psychological characteristics to pro-baseball players (higher novelty seeking [p < 0.01 *, ŋ = 0.818], self-directedness [p < 0.01 *, ŋ = 0.757], and self-transcendence scores [p < 0.01 *, ŋ = 0.853], and decreased state anxiety scores [p < 0.01 *, ŋ = 0.808]), which differed from those of the general population. However, esports players showed higher working memory [p < 0.01 *, ŋ = 0.823] and slower emotional perception than pro-baseball players [p < 0.01 *, ŋ = 0.812]. In conclusion, esports and pro-baseball players had similar psychological but different cognitive characteristics.
Highlights
There were no significant differences in age or education years between esports players, pro-baseball players, and healthy comparison subjects
There was no significant difference in career years between esports players and pro-baseball players
High self-transcendence can be associated with developing one’s skills to the professional level, both in esports and baseball [44]. These results suggest that esports players may depend more on the cognitive domain, while professional baseball players may depend on the emotional domain, when working to improve their skills
Summary
The worldwide gaming industry is growing daily, and esports are a big part of it. Esports Federation (IeSF) was launched in 2008, and the competition rules and player management have since been systematized. Since esports are increasing in popularity, they are played at a professional level [1]. Esports players are trained systemically in a team, receive an annual salary, and participate in three–five pro-gaming leagues every year. Each pro-team has one general manager, two to four coaches, and several other staff members. As esports are discussed alongside regular sports, esports players are considered professionals and experts in their field. Esports was selected as the demonstration competition at the Jakarta Palembang Asian Games of 2018, organized by the Asian Electronic Sport Federation (AESF). The event was successful and is expected to be adopted as a formal event at the Hangzhou Asian Games of 2022
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