Why do gamers buy 'virtual assets'? An insight in to the psychology behind purchase behaviour

The present study investigated the phenomenon of buying 'virtual assets' for game avatars. Virtual Assets are items that are bought with real-world money for an avatar in-game. Weapons, items, pets, mounts and skin customisations are the most popular examples. Using a qualitative methodology - in this case Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) - six gamers that regularly bought in - game assets were interviewed. IPA was chosen because of its emphasis on lived experience, and each participant had subjective experiences of gaming and purchase behaviour. Of particular focus in this study were the superordinate themes of motivations for purchase behaviour, the resulting psychological impact on the gamer, the social benefits of gaming and virtual asset purchasing, emotional attachment, self-expression through the avatar, impulsivity versus thoughtfulness in purchase intention, and the impact of a transaction machinery on the 'game experience'. Motivations that were found to be of particular importance were item exclusivity, function, social appeal, and collectability. It was found that virtual items enable the gamer to express themselves, feel real satisfaction, and build lasting friendships. Essentially, virtual assets and gaming mostly had a very positive impact on the participant’s psychological wellbeing. Implications for gamers and games production companies are considered

Bitcoin: the wrong implementation of the right idea at the right time

This paper is a study into some of the regulatory implications of cryptocurrencies using the CAMPO research framework (Context, Actors, Methods, Methods, Practice, Outcomes). We explain in CAMPO format why virtual currencies are of interest, how self-regulation has failed, and what useful lessons can be learned. We are hopeful that the full paper will produce useful and semi-permanent findings into the usefulness of virtual currencies in general, block chains as a means of mining currency, and the profundity of current ‘media darling’ currency Bitcoin as compared with the development of block chain generator Ethereum. While virtual currencies can play a role in creating better trading conditions in virtual communities, despite the risks of non-sovereign issuance and therefore only regulation by code (Brown/Marsden 2013), the methodology used poses significant challenges to researching this ‘community’, if BitCoin can even be said to have created a single community, as opposed to enabling an alternate method of exchange for potentially all virtual community transactions. First, BitCoin users have transparency of ownership but anonymity in many transactions, necessary for libertarians or outright criminals in such illicit markets as #SilkRoad. Studying community dynamics is therefore made much more difficult than even such pseudonymous or avatar based communities as Habbo Hotel, World of Warcraft or SecondLife. The ethical implications of studying such communities raise similar problems as those of Tor, Anonymous, Lulzsec and other anonymous hacker communities. Second, the journalistic accounts of BitCoin markets are subject to sensationalism, hype and inaccuracy, even more so than in the earlier hype cycle for SecondLife, exacerbated by the first issue of anonymity. Third, the virtual currency area is subject to slowly emerging regulation by financial authorities and police forces, which appears to be driving much of the early adopter community ‘underground’. Thus, the community in 2016 may not bear much resemblance to that in 2012. Fourth, there has been relatively little academic empirical study of the community, or indeed of virtual currencies in general, until relatively recently. Fifth, the dynamism of the virtual currency environment in the face of the deepening mistrust of the financial system after the 2008 crisis is such that any research conclusions must by their nature be provisional and transient. All these challenges, particularly the final three, also raise the motivation for research – an alternative financial system which is separated from the real-world sovereign and which can use code regulation with limited enforcement from offline policing, both returns the study to the libertarian self-regulated environment of early 1990s MUDs, and offers a tantalising prospect of a tool to evade the perils of ‘private profit, socialized risk’ which existing large financial institutions created in the 2008-12 disaster. The need for further research into virtual currencies based on blockchain mining, and for their usage by virtual communities, is thus pressing and should motivate researchers to solve the many problems in methodology for exploring such an environment

Who Owns the Virtual Items?

Do you WoW? Because millions of people around the world do! Due to this increased traffic, virtual wealth amassed in MMORPGs are intersecting in our real world in unexpected ways. Virtual goods have real-life values and are traded in real-life markets. However, the market for trading in virtual items is highly inefficient because society has not created property rights for virtual items. This lack of regulation has a detrimental effect not just the market for virtual items, but actually the market for MMORPGs. Assuming we want to promote the production of MMORPGs as a market, society requires a set of distinct property rules to decrease the inefficiencies in the virtual market. In creating these regulation, we may be able to take cues from intellectual property laws, as many of the problems surrounding virtual goods are akin to intellectual property

Defying the ‘Magic Circle’: Unethical Acts in Virtual Worlds

Overview: This article investigates the complex and controversial exclusion of real world law from virtual worlds. By including examples of several documented unethical acts that have occurred in virtual worlds, this article suggests that real world law should be carried into virtual spaces in order to protect users. Some forms of protection discussed within this essay include the transfer of property rights and consequences of legal prosecution in order to deter unethical behaviors. Finally, this article includes benefits of adopting these strategies, while also acknowledging the potential negatives. Imagine a world where you can be perfect; a world where you can be whoever you want, whenever you want. Imagine a space you can retreat to in order to escape the pressures of the real world, achieve a new identity, and interact with a whole new population. Virtual worlds provide all of these ideal opportunities to their users. In fact, over 300 million users had registered accounts for a virtual world, according to data reported in 2008 (Waterburn 2009, 2.) As we move even further into a technological era, one can assume that this number has most likely increased as well. With such a large user base, it would be ideal for virtual worlds to be safe, enjoyable places where users can enjoy and be immersed in their experience. However, users can have their experience spoiled by others. Much like the real world, virtual worlds serve as a place where many unethical practices occur. Some of the most well-known unethical occurrences demonstrated in virtual worlds are basic harassment, extramarital affairs, sexual harassment, and virtual theft. Although many doubt the seriousness of these practices because they are not committed in the real world, their impact is felt, and has a serious influence on other users. However, the topic of unethical events occurring within virtual worlds has generated some debate in terms of liability and punishment. Some believe that if these unethical practices are not occurring in the real world, then they are not a real world problem. Others argue that the users that witness and are sometimes victims of these practices are real people, and therefore the acts should receive real consequences

Virtual economics

Economics ; Internet

Pandora’s Loot Box

The emerging trend of loot boxes in video game platforms continues to expand the shifting boundaries between the real and virtual world and presents unique insights into the impact each world should have on the other. Borrowing their design from the gambling industry, loot boxes operate as a hybrid between slot machines and trading cards. A consumer pays real-world money to buy a virtual box without knowing its contents. Upon opening the box, the consumer receives a virtual good that may be of great value, but more commonly is of little or no value. This Article contributes a novel theory of virtual valuation that reframes how we should think about loot boxes, but also more generally about the influence that virtual goods have in the real world. Scholars have presented differing views regarding the ownership, sale, and taxation of virtual goods, but have always relied upon virtual goods’ real-world value to determine their real-world significance. This Article rejects this dominant value construct by tailoring the economic principal of perceived value for the virtual world. By valuing a virtual good based on the perceived benefit it can bring in the virtual world—irrespective of any real-world value—it becomes clear that consumers are driven to gamble for virtual goods in loot boxes based on the potential prizes’ perceived value. Using this new framework, this Article argues that loot boxes should be regulated similarly to the gambling industry they mimic. After considering the policy ramifications of loot box regulation, this Article concludes by exploring the contribution that perceived virtual value can have in the many legal contexts that also rely upon the value of virtual goods to determine real-world significance

Why Do Gamers Buy 'Virtual Assets'? An Insight in to the Psychology Behind Purchase Behaviour

The present study investigated the phenomenon of buying ‘virtual assets’ for game avatars. Virtual Assets are items that are bought with real-world money for an avatar in-game; weapons, items, pets, mounts and skin customisations the most popular examples. Using Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) six gamers that regularly bought in-game assets were interviewed. IPA was chosen because of its emphasis on lived experience, and each participant had subjective experiences of gaming and purchase behaviour. Of particular focus in this study were the superordinate themes of motivations for purchase behaviour, the resulting psychological impact on the gamer, the social benefits of gaming and virtual asset purchasing, emotional attachment, self-expression through the avatar, impulsivity versus thoughtfulness in purchase intention, and the impact of a transaction machinery on the ‘game experience’. Motivations that were found to be of particular importance were item exclusivity, function, social appeal, and collectability. It was found that virtual items enable the gamer to express themselves, feel real satisfaction, and build lasting friendships. Essentially, virtual assets and gaming mostly had a very positive impact on the participant’s psychological wellbeing. Implications for gamers and games production companies are considered

Investigating affordances of virtual worlds for real world B2C e-commerce

Virtual worlds are three-dimensional (3D) online persistent multi-user environments where users interact through avatars. The literature suggests that virtual worlds can facilitate real world business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce. However, few real world businesses have adopted virtual worlds for B2C e-commerce. In this paper, we present results from interviews with consumers in a virtual world to investigate how virtual worlds can support B2C e-commerce. A thematic analysis of the data was conducted to uncover affordances and constraints of virtual worlds for B2C e-commerce. Two affordances (habitability and appearance of realness) and one constraint (demand for specialised skill) were uncovered. The implications of this research for designers are (1) to provide options to consumers that enable them to manage their online reputation, (2) to focus on managing consumers’ expectations and (3) to facilitate learning between consumers