1,323 research outputs found

    The effects of human-game interaction, network externalities, and motivations on players’ use of mobile casual games.

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    Purpose - This paper empirically examines the factors that influence the acceptance and use of mobile casual games. Methodology - A theoretical model is proposed based on the theory of reasonable action, the uses and gratifications theory, the network externalities paradigm and the human-computer interaction literature. An empirical study was conducted through an online survey of mobile casual gamers in Spain, using a convenience sample. The proposed model was tested by an analysis of the collected data through a structural equation model using the partial least squares (PLS) method. Findings - The results indicate that human-mobile game interaction and network externalities have a significant indirect impact on intention to play, through utilitarian, hedonic and relational motivations. In addition, the full mediation effect of attitude was found between these constructs and intention to play, which is a very important determinant of actual use. Originality/value - This study is among the few that focuses on users’ acceptance of mobile games apps, the features of which differ significantly from personal computer and console games. It highlights the effects of human-game interaction and network externalities on the adoption of mobile casual games. Hence, the study contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of the factors that lead users to adopt an entertainment mobile application.This work was supported by the Andalusia Regional Government [Excellence Research Project P12-SEJ-1980]; and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [Project ECO2012-39576]

    A MODEL FOR EVALUATING ONLINE GAME PLAYERS: A STUDY OF ENJOYMENT, INTERACTION, FLOW EXPERIENCE, AND MOTIVATION TOWARDS ATTITUDE AND INTENTION BEHAVIOR IN CHINA

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    The purpose of this research is to find out the factors that affect online players. This study's variables are human-Game Interaction, utilitarian motivation, hedonic motivation, flow experience, perceived enjoyment, attitude, and intention. The researchers observed these variables and put forward four hypotheses to determine the influencing factors. The researchers used China's "League of Legends" as the research model. 300 respondents select this data through a questionnaire survey on two large-scale communication platforms in China. The first platform is the official forum of "League of Legends" in China, and the second platform is the most used game social software "QQ" in China. ". The researchers used convenience sampling and judgmental sampling to investigate. All data were analyzed using statistical software, and linear regression and multiple linear regression were used to find the most significant factors affecting players’ attitudes and intentions. Use descriptive statistics to provide average and demographic percentages. Besides, the researchers use inferential statistics to test the effects of variables. The results show that human-game interaction has a significant positive correlation with utilitarian motivation and hedonic motivation. Utilitarian motivation, hedonic motivation, flow experience, and perceived enjoyment have a positive impact on the player’s attitude. However, flow experience, perceived enjoyment, and attitude have no influence on the intentions of online player

    FEMALE DATING SIMULATOR GAMERS’MOTIVATIONS AND DEVELOPING PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH GAME CHARACTERS

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    This study tests Chinese female gamers develop parasocial relationships with game characters and explore their motivations for playing a popular Chinese dating game – Mr Love: Queen’s Choice. This thesis contains the parasocial relationships theory, uses and gratifications theory, and reviewing the development of female-oriented dating simulators, which is a type of video game with dating and romantic development relationships as the primary purpose. A survey in China with a sample size of 290 participants were recruited to test the research questions and hypotheses, and 10 people were recruited to pre-test the survey questions. This study found that game exposures related to parasocial relationships with game characters. The study also identified three motivators that influence people to play female-oriented dating simulators: gratification, social interactions, and escapism. These key findings provide direction for future academic research and game developers on the female-oriented video games. This research is able to provide a better understanding of how two dimensions – Chinese gamers’ emotional attachment (parasocial relationships) with male game characters and three motivations (gratification, social interactions, and escapism) – influence the dating video game playing, an new insight has not been examined previously in the previous game genre literature

    Motivational factors of Australian mobile gamers

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    Mobile games are a fast growing industry, overtaking all other video game platforms with year on year increases in revenue. Many studies have been conducted to explore the motivations of why video games players play their selected games. However very little research has focused on mobile gamers. In addition, Australian studies on the topic are sparse. This paper aimed to discover what motivates a mobile gamer from the perspective of the initial motivational factors attracting them to a mobile game, and the motivational factors that provide interest to continue playing and thereby increase game longevity. A survey was conducted online for Australian participants, which attracted 123 respondents. The survey was formulated by focusing on the 12 key subcomponents as motivational factors of the Gamer Motivational Profile v2 model devised by Quantic Foundry. It was discovered that mobile gamers are a completely different breed of gamer in contrast to the general video gamer. Strategy and challenge which are subcomponents of mastery proved popular among all mobile gamers, while destruction and excitement, subcomponents of action, were often the least motivating factors of all. With the newly discovered data, perhaps mobile game developers can pursue the correct avenues of game design when catering to their target audience

    Always On: Understanding the Intrinsic Motivations for Playing Games on Smartphones and the Effect of User Characteristics

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    This study examines the intrinsic motivations that drive the enjoyment of smartphone games and the influence of the characteristics of age, gender and playfulness on such motivations. Using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) from the discipline of psychology as a basis, a sample of 340 smartphone gamers was surveyed and the results were analyzed using a multiple linear regression approach. The consequent model was then tested in relation to two specific games to further validate the approach and provide a model that is relevant to individual games. This study thus provides a clearer idea of the nature of play as it develops in the era of the smartphone game as well as adding another layer to our understanding of intrinsic motivation due to the fact that smartphone games can be accessed as necessary for need satisfaction, to experience flow, to gain a sense of escapism and ultimately to allow a player to experience a sense of enjoyment. Given that smartphones now constitute an essential communication device, this represents a key change in that people can now access a mode of play almost at whim. Players now have access to an enjoyable experience that can provide satisfactions that other experiences in their daily life may not allow

    모바일 앱의 성공 요인에 대한 실증 연구: 모바일 게임의 사용자 유지와 유료화를 중심으로

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    학위논문 (박사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 경영대학 경영학과, 2018. 2. 유병준.and (3) the balance of skill and challenge. The essay also investigates the impact of competition as an important source of challenge. The empirical result shows that challenge and the balance have significantly positive impacts on IAP consumption. Skill does not show a significant effect on IAP consumption. Competition also has noticeable positive impact on IAP consumption. The dissertation research makes key contributions to the IS literature by highlighting two key managerially and theoretically important findings related to mobile gaming apps: (1) hedonic gratification and social gratification are key drivers of high retention probability and (2) the levels of challenge, the balance of skill and challenge, and competition are substantial factors to increasing IAP consumption. It is also expected that the finding will contribute for business practitioners to provide effective ways for extending user retention and effective monetization in mobile gaming apps.The market growth of mobile applications (app) is remarkable, as they are becoming more important to the global economy. Among the various categories of mobile apps, mobile gaming apps have an enormous number of users and earn high revenue. Many new games are released and then disappear quickly, and mobile game users do not stick with particular games for long. Thus, business practitioners mainly focus on user acquisition, retention, and monetization, because those factors are essential for long-term profitability. Mobile gaming also gains plenty of attention for academic researchers, but there is still limited understanding of the drivers of retention and monetization, and the business implications. Regarding this lack of knowledge, this research aims to make a contribution for academic researchers, as well as business practitioners, to capture the motivators on user retention and purchasing behaviors in mobile gaming apps by analyzing a large-scale game log dataset. The research is organized into two related and distinct studies. The first essay empirically investigates key factors influencing user retention in mobile gaming apps based on the uses and gratifications theory. This theory explains why people decide to continuously use a certain app among many alternative apps to satisfy their different needs. This essay focuses on three categorizes of gratifications - (1) hedonic gratification(2) utilitarian gratificationand (3) social gratification - based on the key tenets of the uses and gratifications theory. The empirical results of duration analysis show that hedonic gratification and social gratification have significant positive impacts on user retention, but the effect of utilitarian gratification is significantly negative on user retention in the mobile gaming app. The second essay empirically investigates key factors of in-app-purchase (IAP) consumption, one monetization method, using the key tenets of flow theory. The key tenets are: (1) skill(2) challenge1.Introduction 1 1.1.Research Background and Motivation 1 1.2.Research Goals and Research Questions 3 1.3.Overview of Essays 4 1.3.1.Essay #1: Key Factors Influencing User Retention in Mobile Applications 4 1.3.2.Essay #2: Key Motivators of In-App-Purchase Consumption in Mobile Applications 5 2.Key Factors Influencing User Retention in Mobile Applications 7 2.1.Introduction 7 2.2 Literature Review 9 2.3.Hypotheses Development 15 2.4.Research Methodology 19 2.4.1.Data 19 2.4.2.Analysis Model 32 2.5.Analysis Results and Discussion 34 2.6.Conclusion 41 3.Key Motivators of In-App-Purchase Consumption in Mobile Applications 43 3.1.Introduction 43 3.2.Hypotheses Development 45 3.3.Research Methodology 52 3.3.1.Data 52 3.3.2.Analysis Model 60 3.4.Analysis Results 61 3.4.1.Model-Free Evidence of Effect by Challenge with Competition 61 3.4.2.Empirical Results of Model Ⅰ 64 3.4.3.Empirical Results of Model Ⅱ 65 3.5.Robustness Check 67 3.6.Discussion and Conclusion 68 References 70 Appendix 86 초록 89Docto

    The Impact of Community Involvement on Game Life-Cycle: Evidence based on Gaming Platform Steam

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    Later stages of the product life-cycle are characterized by diminishing sales and declining prices. Especially firms with substantial product development costs, as is the case in the video game industry, are dependent on long product life-cycles to amortize initial costs. This confronts firms with the fundamental challenge of maintaining the value of their product from the consumer’s perspective and thus delaying the natural price decline. We investigate whether product features that facilitate community involvement and interaction are an effective means to keep the product stimulating and relevant in the long run. Using extensive data from the PC video game market, we show that the inclusion of interactive, community-engaging features allows firms to both charge higher prices and delay the natural price decline of their product. However, for one of the investigated features we find the opposite effect, which we explain by subsequent analysis. Thereby, we gain valuable insights into the importance of robustly designed incentive systems in community-focused features. Our findings could help firms in their efforts to design attractive and economically viable products with prolonged life-cycles. Keywords: Product life-cycle; digital goods pricing; user communities; co-creation; digital gaming platforms.Later stages of the product life-cycle are characterized by diminishing sales and declining prices. Especially firms with substantial product development costs, as is the case in the video game industry, are dependent on long product life-cycles to amortize initial costs. This confronts firms with the fundamental challenge of maintaining the value of their product from the consumer’s perspective and thus delaying the natural price decline. We investigate whether product features that facilitate community involvement and interaction are an effective means to keep the product stimulating and relevant in the long run. Using extensive data from the PC video game market, we show that the inclusion of interactive, community-engaging features allows firms to both charge higher prices and delay the natural price decline of their product. However, for one of the investigated features we find the opposite effect, which we explain by subsequent analysis. Thereby, we gain valuable insights into the importance of robustly designed incentive systems in community-focused features. Our findings could help firms in their efforts to design attractive and economically viable products with prolonged life-cycles. Keywords: Product life-cycle; digital goods pricing; user communities; co-creation; digital gaming platforms

    Overcoming the monetization challenge in freemium online games

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    Purpose: Online games based on a freemium business model face the monetization challenge. The purpose of this paper is to examine how players’ achievement orientation, social orientation and sense of community contribute to willingness to pay (WtP). Design/methodology/approach: A multi-method study of an online game community is used. Interviews and participant observation are used to develop an understanding of social and achievement orientations followed by the development of hypotheses that are tested using survey data. Findings: The findings indicate that a sense of community is positively related to WtP, whereas satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the service provider is not. The authors examine the moderating role of players’ achievement orientation and social orientation and find that while a stronger connection to the community may encourage achievement-oriented players to pay, the opposite is indicated for socially oriented players. Practical implications: Decision makers need to understand that not all players are potential payers; while socially oriented users can help to maintain and grow the community, achievement-oriented players are more likely to pay for the value they extract from the community. Originality/value: While communities are held together by people with common interests, which intuitively suggests that WtP increases with the strength of connection to the community, the authors find this only applies in the case of players with an achievement orientation. For those with a social orientation, WtP may actually decrease as their connection to the community increases. These perhaps counter-intuitive findings constitute a novel contribution of value for both theory and practice

    PLAYING THE GAME: VIDEO GAMES AND VIDEO GAME STREAMING PLATFORMS AS MARKETING COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

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    While video games are generally viewed as a form of entertainment for a small subset of people, in reality they provide a channel for nearly 3.2 billion people to interact with others and offer multiple pathways for marketers to interact with consumers. Pair this alongside 140 million unique consumers who consumer nearly 24 billion hours of content on video game streaming platforms (VGSPs), such as Twitch, and there is a deep need for marketers to understand how to engage consumers in these environments. This dissertation provides a conceptualization of the video game ecosystem as well as the types of influencers on VGSPs, while highlighting important marketer-to-consumer interactions that occur through these platforms. In the first essay, I provide a new framework called the video game ecosystem to show how video games can be leveraged as a marketing communication channel and how it differs from other popular channels, such as social media and television. Furthermore, I identify 7 testable propositions from the marketer’s perspective I believe will meaningfully direct the current marketing practice while shaping marketing research’s future including outlining the ways marketers should build and present content through this channel, highlighting marketer-consumer interactions unique to this ecosystem, and showcasing the potential ways firms can leverage the video game ecosystem in their marketing strategies. Finally, in this essay I present 12 future research areas to help kickstart marketing research in this domain. In the second essay, I present a new conceptualization of influencer marketing through VGSPs. Specifically, I highlight how influencer-to-influencer (I2I), influencer-to-consumer (I2C), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) relationships differ on VGSPs compared to traditional social media platforms, and how these relationships impact consumers downstream. I identify two unique types of influencers on VGSPs (video game streamers and esports athletes) and provide 6 novel propositions regarding the formation of social networks around these influencers. Finally, I provide 8 research areas to help shape the future of consumer research across multiple domains

    Effect of the frustration of psychological needs on addictive behaviors in mobile videogamers. The mediating role of use expectancies and time spent gaming

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    Casual videogames (CVGs), played on smartphones, are becoming increasingly popular, especially among females and adults. Whereas the addictive potential of online (computer) videogames is well-established, there is yet insufficient evidence for Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in mobile gamers and for the mediating role of some mechanisms involved. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of the frustration of psychological needs on mobile videogamers' addictive behavior as well as the role of cognitions (game-use expectancies) and behaviors (time spent playing) through a hypothesized serial mediation model, while controlling for important correlates, such as game genre, age, gender and payment during play. A total of 471 mobile game users (211 males) with an average age of 21.73 replied to an online survey containing sociodemographic and game variables, the Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (NSFS), the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF) and a slightly modified version of the Internet Use Expectancies Scale (IUES). The results corroborate the negative effects of need frustration on IGD among mobile gamers and clarify the role of time spent playing and game-use expectancies in the development of IGD, highlighting the important role of cognitions in this relationship. We conclude that both the time spent playing and game-use expectancies should be important targets for clinical interventions, even though they are not included in the diagnostic criteri
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