How players across gender and age experience Pokémon Go?

The purpose of this study is to provide insights into player experiences and motivations in Pokémon Go, a relatively new phenomenon of location-based augmented reality games. With the increasing usage and adoption of various forms of digital games worldwide, investigating the motivations for playing games has become crucial not only for researchers but for game developers, designers, and policy makers. Using an online survey (N = 1190), the study explores the motivational, usage, and privacy concerns variations among age and gender groups of Pokémon Go players. Most of the players, who are likely to be casual gamers, are persuaded toward the game due to nostalgic association and word of mouth. Females play Pokémon Go to fulfill physical exploration and enjoyment gratifications. On the other hand, males seek to accomplish social interactivity, achievement, coolness, and nostalgia gratifications. Compared to females, males are more concerned about the privacy aspects associated with the game. With regard to age, younger players display strong connotation with most of the studied gratifications and the intensity drops significantly with an increase in age. With the increasing use of online and mobile games worldwide among all cohorts of society, the study sets the way for a deeper analysis of motivation factors with respect to age and gender. Understanding motivations for play can provide researchers with the analytic tools to gain insight into the preferences for and effects of game play for different kinds of users

The Reciprocal Influences among Motivation, Personality Traits, and Game Habits for Playing Pokémon GO

International audienc

Padrões de Jogo e Fatores de Personalidade numa Amostra de Jogadores Portugueses de Pokémon GO

A maioria dos estudos sobre videojogos sugere que estes podem exercer uma influência positiva ou negativa, dependendo de circunstâncias específicas. Embora o uso de videojogos online seja feito de forma saudável pela maioria das pessoas, existem pesquisas que têm mostrado que algumas pessoas se envolvem num uso excessivo e desenvolvem sintomas de adição. O presente estudo tem como objetivo principal explorar a relação entre o perfil dos jogadores de Pokémon GO e os fatores de personalidade numa amostra de jovens adultos e adultos portugueses. A amostra foi constituída por 480 jogadores, 271 do sexo masculino, com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 60 anos (M = 27,30, DP = 9,86). Os participantes responderam a um protocolo de investigação que composto por: Questionário Sociodemográfico, Questionário de Utilização do Jogo Pokémon GO e NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Os dados recolhidos apontam para uma integração do jogo na rotina diária dos jogadores e, inclusive, para alguns benefícios, como o estabelecimento de novas amizades através do jogo. O perfil dos jogadores portugueses de Pokémon GO aproxima-se do perfil de personalidade típico dos “gamers”, com menores níveis de extroversão e menores de neuroticismo do que a população em geral. Também importa simultaneamente salientar que níveis mais avançados de jogo e o investimento em algumas das atividades do jogo, como frequentar locais públicos, estão associados a menores níveis dessas duas dimensões da personalidade. Os dados permitem assim questionar a visão negativa que recai frequentemente sobre videojogos, chamando atenção para natureza multifacetada e complexa da sua utilização, recorrendo ao estudo de um dos mais difundidos jogos das últimas décadas, o Pokémon GO. / Most studies focusing video games suggest that they can have a positive or negative influence, depending on specific circumstances. Although the use of online video games is done in a healthy way by most people, there is research that has shown that some people overuse them and develop addiction symptoms. The main goal of the present sydy is to explore the relationship between the profile of Pokémon GO gamers and personality factors in a sample of Portuguese young adults and adults. The sample comprises 480 gamers, 271 males, aged between 18 and 60 years old (M = 27.30, SD = 9.86). Participants responded to an investigation protocol that included the following: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Pokémon GO Game Utilization Questionnaire and NEO- Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The data collected point to an integration of the game in the daily routine of the gamers, and even to some benefits, such as the establishment of new friendships through the game. The profile of Portuguese Pokémon GO gamers is similar to the personality profile typical of “gamers”, with lower levels of extraversion and lower levels of neuroticism than the general population. It is also important to note that more advanced levels and investment in some of the game’s activities, such as attending public places, are associated with lower levels of these two personality dimensions. Focusing one of the most widespread games of the last decades – Pokémon GO – the data thus allow us to question the negative view that often falls on video games, drawing attention to the multifaceted and complex nature of their use

Walk on the Wild Side: The lived experiences of Pokémon GO players within playful spaces

Location-based, augmented reality games such as Pokémon GO (Niantic 2016-present) integrate real-world locations into the gameplay mechanics, meaning players must travel to real-world locations for play (Leorke 2019). Through the development of a new approach to autoethnography labelled Emergent Multi-Narrative Autoethnography, I seek to explore the playful experiences of Pokémon GO players within these real-world playful spaces, drawing on multiple perspectives of play such as digital play (Marsh et al. 2016), urban play (de Souza e Silva and Hjorth 2009), Japanese seasonal play (Davies 2020) and ambient play (Apperley and Moore 2019). The study is underpinned by affinity space theory (Gee and Hayes 2012), which is used to highlight the ways in which affinity spaces and real-world locations shape and influence the play experiences of Pokémon GO players. Through thick, detailed, and creative descriptions of gameplay events which immerse the reader into the world of Pokémon GO, this study illuminates the play experiences of Pokémon GO players. I conclude that Pokémon GO players view real-world locations as active, playful, social, and dynamic spaces for play. By highlighting the significance of spaces for play for Pokémon GO players, this study makes an original contribution to understanding and conceptualisation of place attachment (Oleksy and Wnuk 2017), place identity (Vella et al. 2019), and consequently the discursive claims of location-based games (Leorke 2019). The findings of this study contribute to understanding of nurturing affinity spaces by addressing the salient dimensions of real-world spaces and ambient play. This has implications for games designers, urban planners and those involved with curriculum design