Pixel in Pugno. Viaggio tra le Comunità Videoludiche dall'Arcade all'E- sport
Keywords:
Gaming Communities; Play Styles’ Transformations; Street FighterAbstract
Le comunità di videogiocatori sono influenzate da vari fattori, quali il contesto sociale, storico, geografico ed economico. Questo complesso insieme crea un panorama caratterizzato da differenze specifiche tra le comunità e le loro interazioni. Il fenomeno degli e-sport, cresciuto in modo esponenziale durante e dopo la pandemia, segna una transizione dalle comunità di gioco tradizionali a quelle più competitive, influenzando gli spazi, gli strumenti e i codici di interazione. La comunità italiana dei videogiochi di combattimento, emersa negli anni '90, riflette il contesto socio-economico e tecnologico del periodo, con giochi accessibili nei bar, nei luoghi pubblici e nelle sale giochi. Questi spazi, innovativi nella formazione delle identità e delle norme di comunità, erano visti come luoghi di aggregazione intergenerazionale, ma anche di stigmatizzazione. La cultura delle sale giochi ha creato forme ben definite di gioco e di interazione socio-spaziale, che sono cambiate con l'evoluzione delle piattaforme di gioco. Sebbene esperienze simili si riscontrino in vari paesi, alcune comunità hanno mostrato forme distinte di resistenza alle pressioni del mercato delle console domestiche, come si può vedere in diversi contesti nazionali. Questo studio ricostruisce i modelli di interazione di questi giocatori, concentrandosi sulle prospettive evolutive dei videogiochi di combattimento 2D competitivi e delle loro comunità. Viene analizzata l'evoluzione storica delle comunità italiana, francese e giapponese, con uno studio approfondito del caso italiano attraverso testimonianze dirette, prestando particolare attenzione al caso Street Fighter.
Video gaming communities are influenced by various factors such as social, historical, geographical and economic contexts. This complex set creates a landscape with specific differences between communities and their interactions. The e-sports phenomenon, growing exponentially during and after the pandemic, marks a transition from traditional to more competitive gaming communities, influencing spaces, tools and interaction codes. The Italian fighting video game community, which emerged in the ‘90s, reflects that period's socio- economic and technological context, with games accessible in bars, public venues and arcades. These spaces, innovative in forming community identities and norms, were seen as places of intergenerational aggregation, but also stigmatisation. The arcade culture created well-defined forms of play and socio-spatial interaction, which changed as gaming platforms evolved. Although similar experiences are found in various countries, some communities have shown distinct forms of resistance to the pressures of the home console market, as can be seen in different national contexts. This study reconstructs the interaction frameworks of these players, focusing on the evolutionary prospects of competitive 2D fighting video games and their communities. The historical evolution of the Italian, French and Japanese communities is analysed, with an in-depth study of the Italian
References
Bányai, F., Griffiths, M.D., Király, O., & Demetrovics, Z. (2019). The psychology of esports: A systematic literature review. Journal of gambling studies, 35, 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1
Berger, A.A. (2017). Video games: A popular culture phenomenon. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351299961
Bovone, L. (2010). Tra riflessività e ascolto: l’attualità della sociologia. Roma: Armando Editore.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales. Qualitative research in sport, exercise and health, 13(2), 201-216.
Carbone, M.B., & Fassone, R. (a cura di) (2020). Il videogioco in Italia: Storie, rappresentazioni, contesti. Milano: Mimesis.
Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. (2019). Ethnography and the historical imagination. New York: Routledge.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2015). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Costalunga, N., & Varini, M. (2025). Underground resistance: Resilience and evolutions of analogue competitive videogaming: the case study of “Street Fighter 3” and the Italian Community. Mediascapes Journal, 25(1), 169–189.
Daniels, J., & LaLone, N. (2012). Racism in video gaming: connecting extremist and mainstream expressions of white supremacy. In Embrick, D.G., Wright, T.J., & Lukacs, A. (a cura di), Social exclusion, power, and video game play: new research in digital media and technology (pp. 85–100). Lanham: Lexington Books.
Donati, P. (2011). Sociologia della riflessività: come si entra nel dopo-moderno. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Ducheneaut, N., Yee, N., Nickell, E., & Moore, R. J. (2007, Aprile). The life and death of online gaming communities: a look at guilds in world of warcraft. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, 839–848. https://doi.org/10.1145/1240624.124075
Farquhar, L.K. (2019). Fighting games and social play. In Rogers, R. (a cura di), Understanding Esport: An Introduction to the Global Phenomenon (pp. 117–133). London: Lexington Books.
Fassone, R. (2020). Una preistoria del videogioco italiano. In Carbone, M.B., & Fassone, R. (a cura di), Il videogioco in Italia. Storie, rappresentazioni, contesti (pp. 40–52). Milano: Mimesis.
Fassone, R. (2021). Note per una storia del videogioco in Italia. Il caso degli anni Ottanta. In Cappai, R., Franetovich, A., & Paolicchi, A. (a cura di), Dal medioevo ai videogame. Saggi sull'interattività delle arti (pp. 161–171). Pisa: Astarte.
Fusch, P.I., & Ness, L.R. (2015). Are we there yet? Data saturation in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 20(9), 1408–1416. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2015.2281
Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books.
Harper, T.L. (2010). The art of war: Fighting games, performativity, and social game play [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1283180978
Harper, T.L. (2013). The culture of digital fighting games: Performance and practice. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203566275
Hindin, J., Hawzen, M., Xue, H., Pu, H., & Newman, J. (2020). E-sports. In Nauright, J., & Zipp, S. (a cura di), Routledge Handbook of global sport (pp. 405–415). London: Routledge.
Hutchinson, R. (2019). Japanese culture through videogames. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429025006
Kirriemuir, J. (2006). A history of digital games. In Rutter J., & Bryce J. (a cura di), Understanding digital games (pp. 21–35). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Kocurek, C.A. (2015). Coin-Operated Americans: Rebooting Boyhood at the Video Game Arcade. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Leone, M. (2014, 3 Febbraio). Street Fighter 2: An oral history. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/a/street-fighter-2-oral-history
Leone, M. (2020, 7 Luglio). Street Fighter 1: An oral history. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/7/21270906/street-fighter-1-oral-history-takashi-nishiyama
Leone, M. (2020, 8 Dicembre). Street Fighter 3: An oral history. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/8/22151873/street-fighter-3-an-oral-history
Madouni, A. (2020). The Social Interaction in Virtual Media. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 11(1), 417–426. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v11i1.1605
Malliet, S., & De Meyer, G. (2005). The history of the video game. In Raessens, J., & Goldstein, J. (a cura di), Handbook of computer game studies (pp. 23–45). Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Mäyrä, F. (2015). Exploring gaming communities. In Kowert, R., & Quandt, T. (a cura di), The Video Game Debate (pp. 153–175). New York: Routledge.
Mazzitelli, S. (2023, 11 Novembre). C'erano una volta le sale giochi. Wired. https://www.wired.it/article/sale-giochi-arcade-nostalgia/
McKyrdy, A. (2019, 17 Agosto). Game not over: Japan's amusement arcades tap community spirit to stay relevant. The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2019/08/17/general/japan-video-game-arcades-relevant/
Minniear, K. (2024). Endangered Gamers: The Subculture of Retro Video Game Collectors and the Threat of Digital Media [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1719189357543548
Minniti, S. (2024). “Vade retro, gamer!” La riappropriazione creativa del videogioco arcade in Italia. Studi culturali, 3, 301–328. https://doi.org/10.1405/115888
OECD (2005). Digital Broadband Content: The online computer and video game industry. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264065888-en
Ouellette, M.A. (2021). Playing with the Guys: Masculinity and Relationships in Video Games. Jefferson: McFarland.
Palomba, A. (2020). Gaming industry. In Mahoney, M.L., & Tang, T. (a cura di), The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Media Management and Business (pp. 285–306.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Pelletier-Gagnon, J. (2019). Players, Cabinets, and the Space In-between: Case Studies of Non-Ludic Negotiation of Video Game Cabinet Spaces in Japanese Game Centers. Replaying Japan, 1, 29–39.
Pelletier-Gagnon, J. (2024). Space and Play in Japanese Videogame Arcades. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003273776
Picard, M. (2021). G?mu Communities and Otaku Consumption: The (Sub) Culture(s) of Videogames in Japan. In Roth, M., Yoshida, H., & Picard, M. (a cura di), Japan’s Contemporary Media Culture between Local and Global: Content, Practice and Theory (pp. 11–35). Heidelberg: CrossAsia-eBooks.
Roundy, P.T. (2020). An “extra life” for the arcade? Entrepreneurship, hybridization, and industry renewal. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2020.e00178
Scholz, T.M. (2020). Deciphering the World of eSports. International Journal on Media Management, 22(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/14241277.2020.1757808
Seay, F.A., Jerome, W.J., Lee, K.S., & Kraut, R.E. (2004, Aprile). Project Massive: A study of online gaming communities. CHI'04 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1421–1424. https://doi.org/10.1145/985921.986080
Skolnik, M.R., & Conway, S. (2019). Tusslers, Beatdowns, and Brothers: A Sociohistorical Overview of Video Game Arcades and the Street Fighter Community. Games and Culture, 14(7–8), 742–762. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412017727687
Sla?ek Brlek, A.S. (2014). Inside the Mind of the Machine: An Exploratory Study of Street Fighter IV Players. Teorija in praksa: revija za družbena vprašanja, 51(1), 59–71. http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:doc-BDEXY6PV
Stearns, P.N. (a cura di) (1993). Encyclopedia of Social History. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203306352
Steltenpohl, C.N., Reed, J., & Keys, C.B. (2018). Do Others Understand Us? Fighting Game Community member perceptions of others’ views of the FGC. Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 9(1), 1–21. https://www.gjcpp.org/en/article.php?issue=28&article=177
Su, N.M. (2010, Febbraio). Street Fighter IV: Braggadocio Off and On-line. CSCW '10: Proceedings of the 2010 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work, 361–370. https://doi.org/10.1145/1718918.1718981
Švelch, J. (2018). Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games. Cambridge: The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10964.001.0001
Tobin, S. (2016). Hanging in the video arcade. Journal of Games Criticism, 3. https://gamescriticism.org/2023/07/24/hanging-in-the-video-arcade/
Townsend, V. (2024). Japan’s arcades are in crisis, past two years see increase in bankruptcies. Automaton West. https://automaton-media.com/en/news/japans-arcades-are-in-crisis-increase-in-bankruptcies/
Ware, N.R. (2010). “You Must Defeat Shen Long To Stand A Chance”: Street Fighter, Race, Play, and Player [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1277062605
Williams, D. (2006). A Brief Social History of Game Play. In Vorderer, P., & Bryant, J. (a cura di), Playing computer games: Motives, responses, and consequences (pp. 197–212). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Wolf, M.J.P. (2012). Arcade. In Wolf, M.J.P. (a cura di), Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming. Volume 1 (pp. 34–37). Westport: Greenwood Press.
Wolf, M.J.P. (a cura di) (2008). The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to PlayStation and Beyond. Westport: Greenwood Press.
Zhouxiang, L. (2022). A History of Competitive Gaming. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003095859
