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Gaming One's Way To College

3/21/2015

 
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It’s afterschool and a mother admonishes her son: “Kevin, are you still working on chemistry homework?  You need to finish that and start playing your video game.”  For most teens such a mandate from mom would be nothing more than fantasy.  However, for some digitally-gifted college prospects, the dream has become reality.

A few creative colleges have started offering scholarships to incoming students for (you’re not going to believe this) playing video games.  The first to do so was Robert Morris University in Chicago, which awarded a scholarship to Youngbin Chung, based on his mastery of League of Legends, a multiplayer battle arena video played on-line.  Another school that’s followed suit is the University of Pikesville (KY).

Have these schools taken leave of their senses?  Isn’t playing video games anathema to education?  Not according to Daphne Bavelier, a research professor in brain and cognitive sciences who holds dual appointments at the University of Rochester and the University of Geneva.  In a recent study Bavelier found that players of fast-paced action video games were better learners, a result he attributed to more finely tuned prediction skills, honed as one’s brain constantly and quickly tries to anticipate what will come next.

For a game like League of Legends, the learning may also happen at other levels.  In League of Legends, players compete on teams of five “in a battle for domination that is sort of like a high-speed digital version of capture the flag.”  As such, players are compelled to think strategically and act cooperatively. 

This combination of cognitive challenge, teamwork, and adrenaline rush, has proven potent for the game’s creator, Riot Games, which last October held the League of Legends world championships in Los Angeles.  The high-energy competition drew 18,000 fans to the Staples Center, while 32 million others viewed the game-play online. 

In light of the educational outcomes and the opportunity to reach the coveted young, largely male, demographic, it’s not surprising that more than 230 college and universities field League of Legends teams, competing head-to head in the Collegiate Star League (CSL), whose participants include many of the largest and most reputed institutions in higher education, e.g., the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, and Harvard.  Some schools, like Robert Morris, have taken the esports club concept a step further and even started varsity esports programs.

For all of the reasons mentioned above, as well as the exploding popularity of video games, granting scholarships to gamers seems like effective marketing for colleges and universities.  The practice also upholds societal values by affording higher education access to more young people with different interests and skill sets.  A caveat, however, is that the games’ contents should not jeopardize values such as decency and respect, which is questionable for League of Legends.  If these prerequisites are fulfilled, however, video game scholarships can be seen as a surprising new form of “Mindful Marketing.”

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Grace Hansen
3/23/2015 08:35:29 am

I think this is a great way to market video games! I've heard a lot of talk about League of Legends from many of my guy friends in college and the opportunity that is created through these scholarships is a great one. I do agree with you that the content of the video games risks compromising societal values.

David link
3/28/2015 04:08:18 am

I appreciate your feedback, Grace!

Shua Wilmot
3/23/2015 02:48:44 pm

Thanks for writing this! As a serious League of Legends player, it was a very encouraging read. Three important skills to the game are teamwork, communication, and adaptability; these are all very good attributes. As for the statement "A caveat, however, is that the games’ contents should not jeopardize values such as decency and respect, which is questionable for League of Legends,” you will be happy to know that League of Legends actually has a very serious punitive system for disrespectful players and a small rewards system for those who play with honor. Riot Games takes honorable competitive play very seriously, but it’s true that not all of the players do! Thanks again for sharing.

Brandon Maze
3/23/2015 05:49:22 pm

Very interesting perspective. A bunch of my friends and I play League, and I can understand the critical thinking benefits to a game such as this. As long as the scholarship doesn't distract from academic duties, it seems okay to me.

David Hagenbuch link
3/28/2015 04:15:50 am

Thank you for offering your insiders' perspectives on League of Legends, Shua and Brandon. That's very helpful.

Corey Kimball
3/28/2015 05:09:39 pm

I thought this post was great and very well formatted in terms of breaking down the information in presentable bits. I had heard of rumors floating around a while back in regards to this scholarship for gaming but had never believed it would fully present itself in the college world. I enjoyed being able to read about it in your posting, one thing I did notice and enjoyed was that you did mention that it could be mindful marketing seeing that they will offer scholarships, but on the other hand as this progresses colleges must be aware of the content these games have in them. Overall I enjoyed reading this post very much and it was a very informative.

Nathan Meppelink
3/28/2015 06:35:23 pm

The concept of giving scholarships out for video gamers is one that is very new to me. At first, I was somewhat surprised that this was a real thing, but after reading your post it actually makes sense as to why colleges would offer these scholarships. Thousands of hours are spent on playing video games, so why not give people an incentive? I also think that the video game market will expand if more colleges opt in to this idea. Thank you for sharing! I really enjoyed this post.

Amelia Dagen
3/28/2015 06:37:14 pm

How interesting! I would have never imagined that institutions of higher education would take this approach to recruitment, though the possibilities are truly stunning. I think that reaching out to this demographic is a wonderful idea, especially given the widespread nature of gaming nowadays. I also think it's great that they've noticed such positive traits that stem from game involvement. I would agree with you though, that the content of such games can be troubling, especially in their portrayal of women. Having never played League of Legends, I'm not sure what their specific depiction of women is, but in many other games, women are portrayed as incredibly sexual and sometimes as objects (instead of individual humans). Given the high rate of sexual harassment and abuse that is found on a lot of university/college campuses, I would be a bit worried about the influence these games could have. Overall though, I feel that this shift in targeted demographics could be a wonderful step towards diversifying college populations. Thank you for sharing!

Katelyn LeRoy
3/30/2015 09:04:32 am

When I first started reading this blog, my initial reaction was there is no way colleges are actually offering scholarships for playing video games. The idea simply sounded absurd. However, after reading I found the different viewpoint on it interesting. I especially found it interesting to learn about how many colleges are using these scholarships to market higher education to young people that have different interests. At first I would not have agreed that this is mindful marketing, however now I understand that these scholarships for playing video games are in fact, mindful.

Austin Zhao
3/30/2015 06:42:31 pm

This was a brilliant way of marketing Video Games. League of legend is currently one of the most played games on the internet worldwide. It is not surprising that school are using this as an opportunity to give out scholarship. At the same time, the colleges are promoting people who can take their strength and actually be useful. For a long period of time, people thought of gaming was something bad for students. however, this is a study that has proven that false. By having this article, it just allow students to explore more way into college.

DANIEL DURANCEAU
3/31/2015 08:58:10 am

The idea about giving scholarships to students who play video games was very interesting to me. At first thought the idea was absurd to give money to students so they can play video games, but after reading about the benefits to the development of the brain i was convinced that it wasn't a bad idea. Although, one thing i would be worried about is that the students would have no incentive to do well in their other courses and instead focus to much on video games. If they can have a healthy balance between the two then concept would be very intriguing for some students.

Stephen Lee
3/31/2015 10:42:53 am

I thought this article was great! I thought it offered people another perspective on video games, and it talked about some of the benefits that could come out of playing video games. All too often, people immediately shun video games and label them as being bad and detrimental for young adults, and you addressed that conception by talking about how researches done in the University of Rochester and the University of Geneva found that gamers were actually faster learners. While this article most likely will not immediately change the bad stigma of video games, it certainly does offer another perspective on them. I enjoyed this post!

Connor Getting
3/31/2015 01:31:08 pm

This was a very interesting article! I liked it a lot because I enjoy video games quite a bit, and have always received the lecture from loved ones about the hours that are wasted playing useless video games. But this puts video games in a positive light, and perhaps gives some students who are not interested in college a little incentive to go, and I gurantee a scholarship will be a great self esteem boost!

Nic Perry
4/1/2015 07:49:42 am

The idea of someone getting a scholarship for video gaming actually upset me upon first reading. This was a totally bias opinion, however, as I have always thought that an excess of video games is very bad for quality of life. Reading further into your article, however, there was a solid point made about how much strategy and teamwork it takes to be a master at these games. While I'm not convinced that people should get scholarships from video gaming yet, I am convinced that maybe gamers should be given a little more respect for their 'craft'.

Joseph Chang
4/1/2015 02:03:29 pm

This article was very interesting to me because not only am I a gammer but also alot of my friends are as well. This article gives a fresh new prospective on gaming it show the positives side of it where as most articles talk about how bad gaming is. It was very interesting to me that people could actually get scholarships for gaming. This will also help many gammers want to go to college. Although it will take a while for the prospective of gaming to change this article will help change it. I really enjoyed the post and I am glad that I read it.

Grant Corsi
4/1/2015 02:29:15 pm

I was shocked after reading this article! I had no idea that colleges have begun giving students scholarships for video games. That concept seems so far fetched to me, but somehow colleges have made it a positive. It is interesting to note how this will change our culture. Instead of parents ridiculing their kids for playing too much video games, there is now an incentive if you get really good. Certain parents might start pushing their kids to play more and more video games. The direction that this new concept will take our society will be one to keep an eye on.

Todd Cary
4/1/2015 02:37:23 pm

I did not know that Colleges around the country offer scholarships for playing video games. I think that it is a good marketing strategy because they are reaching a new type of student. Colleges have created an appeal to a new student that might not think twice about going to college. However, I think that this can be a dangerous step. If parents encourage their kids to play video games, but it doesn't work out, what are the kids going to do for college. I think there can be a balance to it all. Although, it is a good marketing strategy to bring in more business.

Eric Alman
4/1/2015 04:03:49 pm

This is a very interesting article! I was looking through some of the blog posts and this one caught my eye because I wanted to see how this subject could relate to marketing. I had no idea League of Legends was such a big deal and what shocked me even more was that schools offer scholarships for it. I really had no idea what the game was about before I read this article because I have never really played it but I do agree that offering scholarships and programs for playing is mindful marketing. I think that instead of focusing on video games, the colleges should support social activity and not let the game dominate the students life. Things like college soccer can take up a lot of time, but soccer encourages exercise, I think there needs to be a way to encourage the kids who get these scholarships to not only play the game but reach out to others socially and further their educations. It is really a life balance that needs to be figured out.

Christopher J Kim
4/1/2015 04:30:13 pm

This article was very interesting to me. This is especially because I am from South Korea and there are many gamers. I played computer games growing up and I actually had friends earn money from gaming. However, I believe that giving out scholarships to the students (gamers) from college isn't wise. This is because gaming will take away your important life and the students (gamers) won't learn any values in life. They wouldn't be able to explore other studies or hobbies to do in the future besides gaming. As a result, I personally think that gaming takes away most of your valuable time.

Jordan Swigart
4/2/2015 03:08:31 am

Maple Story

Adam Brown
4/1/2015 05:13:34 pm

I was honestly quite surprised to see that the content in this article was considered mindful. I understand the reasoning, but I would say there is a thin line that separates it between mindful and single-minded. My first issue would be the questionable values presented in games like League of Legends. I guess I would just need to see some more evidence of the proportional benefit of offering real scholarships vice promoting games that could possibly desensitize students and cause them to trivialize important values such as decency and respect. Also, I am not sure that marketing gaming scholarships promotes a commitment for students to go to college, study, and work hard, or more of a temptation to go deeper into gaming even at the expense of college studies.

James Daughters
4/1/2015 06:23:51 pm

This is very interesting. I suppose that there would have to be a balance between schoolwork and gaming. Similar to college athletes, students must be able to balance school and sports. Unless you're an amazing athlete, you probably can't live off this skill forever. Similar to gamers, they must put a sufficient amount of time towards an education that will benefit their future.

Brian Bek
4/1/2015 07:07:40 pm

As a huge consumer of the video game industry, I definitely agree that video games can be extremely educational. Without a doubt it can have a mass amount of times when gamers are brainlessly screaming like a kid who had candy taken from him/her, but there are so many ways to build a community that, more or less, ignores the social, gender, and racial boundaries that ties a lot of society into a bind. From personal experience, I grew a lot as a person as I got involved in the gaming community, making friends, developing strategies and guides, and other interactions with people while still having a major amount of fun.

Tyler Graham
4/1/2015 09:09:45 pm

This is definitely a unique and creative marketing idea. It is truly mindful, as it also upholds society's value in the skill of learning. Also, placing some of these quick learners in a college setting could provide major benefits for our country as we grow in knowledge and use of technology.

Daniel Dow
4/1/2015 09:24:25 pm

I think this is an incredibly creative way for a college to market themselves. I am not a gamer myself, but I can see how marketers are successful because they are catching the attention of a wide range of students. I do believe that video games teach a lot more than what they get credit for. Especially considering League of Legends and the team work that players are involved in.

Corey Houck
4/2/2015 03:19:21 am

As technology advances, the stereotype of the 25 year old nerd sitting in pizza grease in his mother's basement is beginning to fade. Gaming is becoming more popular and is being seen in a more positive light. Much of this can be attributed to the rise of technology and the Internet. This new frontier continues to expand and revolutionize the way that humanity functions socially, in business, information sharing, etc. Now, these "nerds" who spend their free time glued to their PC monitor are beginning to be viewed as valuable people, who's unique skills and tech understanding can be harnessed to propel businesses forward.

Clayton Yip
4/2/2015 05:18:44 am

I do occasionally play video games including League of Legends, and there are definitely many people who see the e-sports as prestigious and as challenging as traditional sports. I appreciate gaming, but I do not feel it has a place on a college campus other than for recreation or game development. There are already problems with a disconnect between people and reality from gaming, I think that having gaming as a collegiate sport will only further this divide

Daniel Martinez-Sandoval
4/2/2015 05:23:05 am

It is interesting that as the years go on and new researches come out we have found that playing video games is actually not as destructive as we thought it was. On the other hand, I still do not believe that colleges should support another competitive field like this one were students spend more time trying to be the best at the game rather than focusing most of their time on learning new materials and their grades. Even though it is a great way to market for a new demographic of college students that would like to spend most of the time playing video games.

Dan
4/2/2015 08:57:36 am

I play League of Legends occasionally, and it is a game that requires a lot of time and skill to be good at. I could then see how it would be looked at as an "esport" because not anybody can sit down at it and do well. If universities follow the same line of logic to offer scholarships in sports where students are exceptionally skilled, it would make sense to offer them to gamers.

Daniel Prawira
4/2/2015 09:30:12 am

It is very interesting how college now provides scholarship for "gamer". Some people suggest that gaming work backwards with education, and gaming in an early age can inhibit brain development. However, this article makes me think how can a game be used as a brain developer. I hope that in the future there will be games that are highly educational and college level material.

Joseph Olvera
4/2/2015 09:45:53 am

It's interesting that this is considered mindful. I can understand where the writer is coming from, but I think it still neglects to take into account the separation in types of gamers. We have about two categories of gamers (maybe more): Hardcore gamers and casual gamers. Stigma against casual gamers is almost non existent now that games have become common place in our smartphones, but hardcore gamers still have a stigma attached to them. Though e-sports is big in asian nations like South Korea, it still isn't entirely socially acceptable (unless you actually make it to the top tier). Also, we still have maybe another 5-10 years before we really get to see if e-sports will become something more than a trend. Marketers can still take advantage of this opportunity since the gaming industry brings in large flows of cash. Marketers might even be the ones who help finally break stigmas against gamers, but only time will tell. This right now walks a blurry line between single minded and mindful.

Swift Daddy 2249er
4/2/2015 12:11:30 pm

I consider myself an avid gamer. I have played literally tens of games over the course of my life, and can say that the colleges and universities are making a great decision here. Universities are built upon branding. They get students to attend by displaying that they are greater than other schools in an area of expertise. Whether its business, law, music, engineering, philosophy, dance, art, biology, chemistry, aeronautics, etc., universities want to be seen as the best. Gaming is no different. Billions of dollars are generated by videogames each year. Society enjoys them and respects them. There is no reason universities should not try and produce the best gamers in the world. In the end, it will just bring greater fame and awareness to a university as a whole if the world's greatest gamers are its alumni.


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