Growth of a Community

Photo by Polygon

For my upcoming podcast, I will be diving into the world of competitive Smash Bros. More specifically, how a group forms around something so small. Esports, or organized video game competitions, are becoming more relevant in today’s society with over 32,000,000 people viewing the League of Legends Season 3 Championships! However this brings up an interesting question of how does a game gets a following and become an Esport. In a recent study, scientist concluded that group that have free entry and free exit lead to strong mid-sized groups and disorganized large groups. By having a relatively easy entry line, anyone feels welcome to join the community. However, with many high level competitive games there is the entry cost of owning the game, console, and TV. This is one reason why esports are not as popular as regular sports. Regular sports require a ball and have easily understood game mechanics, where games such as League of Legends do not. Another important part of esports is the stakeholders involved in creating a larger community. Esports require the competitors, the tournament organizers, and the spectators. In order for a community to grow successfully there needs to be a consistent balance between these stakeholders. This is where competitive Smash Bros comes into the picture. Unlike many esports, Smash Bros has been played by almost everyone and is easily understood by a spectator.  Although it’s not as convenient as traditional sports, Smash Brothers accessibility in the esports community has caused it to grow into a relevant competitive esport. Because the entry is relatively cheap and the game mechanics are understood by the general public, Smash Brothers will continue to grow until the community reaches an over-saturated large disorganized state. The major concern facing the community is whether or not the community will reach a state of oversaturation and an unbalance in the stakeholders.