Consumer behavior of electronic games' players: a study on the intentions to play and to pay

Souza, Lucas Lopes Ferreira de; Freitas, Ana Augusta Ferreira de

doi:10.1016/j.rausp.2017.08.004

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Revista de Administração (São Paulo)

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Marketing • Rev. Adm. (São Paulo) 52 (4) • Oct-Dec 2017 • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rausp.2017.08.004 copy

Consumer behavior of electronic games' players: a study on the intentions to play and to pay

Comportamento do consumidor de jogos eletrônicos: um estudo sobre as intenções de jogar e pagar

Comportamiento del consumidor de videojuegos: un estudio sobre las intenciones de jugar y pagar

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

The electronic games market is one of the most profitable in the leisure segment, having surpassed the film industry. In terms of profitability, it is ranked as eleventh in the world and first in Latin America. Despite its relevance, there is little information about the reasons that lead consumers to play. This paper examined which attributes of the games influence consumers to play and pay for them. The methodology was a field research survey conducted with 600 electronic games' players, and structural equation modeling was used to test the model. The results indicate that the constructs challenge, diversion, fun, fantasy and social interaction influence the intention to play and pay for games, while the construct competition has a negative effect on the intention to play. No significant causalities were found, regarding the constructs time flexibility and arousal, on the intention to play. Furthermore, we also observed that motivations that had the highest impact were fun, challenge and fantasy, attributes that should be considered by game developers and industry.

Keywords:
Electronic games market; Intention to play; Intention to pay; Structural equations modeling

Construct	Authors
Time flexibility	^{Wei and Lu (2014)}Wei and Lu, 2014 Wei, P. S., & Lu, H. P. (2014). Why do people play mobile social games? An examination of network externalities and of uses and gratifications. Internet Research, 24(3), 313-331., ^{Pe-Than et al. (2014)}Pe-Than et al., 2014 Pe-Than, E. P. P., Goh, D. H. L., & Lee, C. S. (2014). Making work fun: Investigating antecedents of perceived enjoyment in human computation games for information sharing. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 88-99. and ^{Hsiao and Chen (2016)}Hsiao and Chen, 2016 Hsiao, K. L., & Chen, C. C. (2016). What drives in-app purchase intention for mobile games? An examination of perceived values and loyalty. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 16, 18-29.
Arousal	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24)., ^{Engl and Nacke (2013)}Engl and Nacke, 2013 Engl, S., & Nacke, L. E. (2013). Contextual influences on mobile player experience – A game user experience model. Entertainment Computing, 4(1), 83-91., ^{Grizzard et al. (2015)}Grizzard et al., 2015 Grizzard, M., Tamborini, R., Sherry, J. L., Weber, R., Prabhu, S., & Hahn, L., et al. (2015). The thrill is gone, but you might not know: Habituation and generalization of biophysiological and self-reported arousal responses to video games. Communication Monographs, 82(1), 64-87. and ^{Reich and Vorderer (2015)}Reich and Vorderer, 2015 Reich, S., & Vorderer, P. (2015). Online games, player experiences. In The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society.
Challenge	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24)., ^{Shelton (2010)}Shelton, 2010 Shelton, A. K. (2010). Defining the lines between virtual and real world purchases: Second Life sells, but who's buying?. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1223-1227., ^{Engl and Nacke (2013)}Engl and Nacke, 2013 Engl, S., & Nacke, L. E. (2013). Contextual influences on mobile player experience – A game user experience model. Entertainment Computing, 4(1), 83-91., ^{Jin (2014)}Jin, 2014 Jin, C. H. (2014). The role of users' motivations in generating social capital building and subjective well-being: The case of social network games. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 29-38., ^{Pe-Than et al. (2014)}Pe-Than et al., 2014 Pe-Than, E. P. P., Goh, D. H. L., & Lee, C. S. (2014). Making work fun: Investigating antecedents of perceived enjoyment in human computation games for information sharing. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 88-99., ^{Caroux et al. (2015)}Caroux et al., 2015 Caroux, L., Isbister, K., Le Bigot, L., & Vibert, N. (2015). Player–video game interaction: A systematic review of current concepts. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 366-381., ^{Hamari et al. (2016)}Hamari et al., 2016 Hamari, J., Shernoff, D. J., Rowe, E., Coller, B., Asbell-Clarke, J., & Edwards, T. (2016). Challenging games help students learn: An empirical study on engagement, flow and immersion in game-based learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 170-179. and ^{Hung et al. (2015)}Hung et al., 2015 Hung, C. Y., Sun, J. C. Y., & Yu, P. T. (2015). The benefits of a challenge: Student motivation and flow experience in tablet-PC-game-based learning. Interactive Learning Environments, 23(2), 172-190.
Competition	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24). and ^{Cagiltay et al. (2015)}Cagiltay et al., 2015 Cagiltay, N. E., Ozcelik, E., & Ozcelik, N. S. (2015). The effect of competition on learning in games. Computers & Education, 87, 35-41.
Diversion	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24)., ^{Shelton (2010)}Shelton, 2010 Shelton, A. K. (2010). Defining the lines between virtual and real world purchases: Second Life sells, but who's buying?. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1223-1227., ^{Jin (2014)}Jin, 2014 Jin, C. H. (2014). The role of users' motivations in generating social capital building and subjective well-being: The case of social network games. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 29-38. and ^{Osmanovic and Pecchioni (2016)}Osmanovic and Pecchioni, 2016 Osmanovic, S., & Pecchioni, L. (2016). Beyond entertainment motivations and outcomes of video game playing by older adults and their younger family members. Games and Culture, 11(1–2), 130-149.
Fun	^{Cohen (2014)}Cohen, 2014 Cohen, E. L. (2014). What makes good games go viral? The role of technology use, efficacy, emotion and enjoyment in players' decision to share a prosocial digital game. Computers in Human Behavior, 33, 321-329., ^{Shelton (2010)}Shelton, 2010 Shelton, A. K. (2010). Defining the lines between virtual and real world purchases: Second Life sells, but who's buying?. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1223-1227., ^{Jin (2014)}Jin, 2014 Jin, C. H. (2014). The role of users' motivations in generating social capital building and subjective well-being: The case of social network games. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 29-38., ^{Wei and Lu (2014)}Wei and Lu, 2014 Wei, P. S., & Lu, H. P. (2014). Why do people play mobile social games? An examination of network externalities and of uses and gratifications. Internet Research, 24(3), 313-331., ^{Pe-Than et al. (2014)}Pe-Than et al., 2014 Pe-Than, E. P. P., Goh, D. H. L., & Lee, C. S. (2014). Making work fun: Investigating antecedents of perceived enjoyment in human computation games for information sharing. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 88-99., ^{Caroux et al. (2015)}Caroux et al., 2015 Caroux, L., Isbister, K., Le Bigot, L., & Vibert, N. (2015). Player–video game interaction: A systematic review of current concepts. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 366-381. and ^{Bowman et al. (2016)}Bowman et al., 2016 Bowman, N. D., Oliver, M. B., Rogers, R., Sherrick, B., Woolley, J., & Chung, M. Y. (2016). In control or in their shoes? How character attachment differentially influences video game enjoyment and appreciation. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 8(1), 83-99.
Fantasy	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24)., ^{Shelton (2010)}Shelton, 2010 Shelton, A. K. (2010). Defining the lines between virtual and real world purchases: Second Life sells, but who's buying?. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1223-1227., ^{Jin (2014)}Jin, 2014 Jin, C. H. (2014). The role of users' motivations in generating social capital building and subjective well-being: The case of social network games. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 29-38., ^{Kahn et al. (2015)}Kahn et al., 2015 Kahn, A. S., Shen, C., Lu, L., Ratan, R. A., Coary, S., & Hou, J., et al. (2015). The Trojan player typology: A cross-genre, cross-cultural, behaviorally validated scale of video game play motivations. Computers in Human Behavior, 49, 354-361. and ^{Giammarco et al. (2015)}Giammarco et al., 2015 Giammarco, E. A., Schneider, T. J., Carswell, J. J., & Knipe, W. S. (2015). Video game preferences and their relation to career interests. Personality and Individual Differences, 73, 98-104.
Social interaction	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24)., ^{Shelton (2010)}Shelton, 2010 Shelton, A. K. (2010). Defining the lines between virtual and real world purchases: Second Life sells, but who's buying?. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1223-1227., ^{Pe-Than et al. (2014)}Pe-Than et al., 2014 Pe-Than, E. P. P., Goh, D. H. L., & Lee, C. S. (2014). Making work fun: Investigating antecedents of perceived enjoyment in human computation games for information sharing. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 88-99., ^{Dalisay et al. (2015)}Dalisay et al., 2015 Dalisay, F., Kushin, M. J., Yamamoto, M., Liu, Y. I., & Skalski, P. (2015). Motivations for game play and the social capital and civic potential of video games. New Media & Society, 17(9), 1399-1417. and ^{McGloin et al. (2016)}McGloin et al., 2016 McGloin, R., Hull, K. S., & Christensen, J. L. (2016). The social implications of casual online gaming: Examining the effects of competitive setting and performance outcome on player perceptions. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 173-181.

Construct	Variables	Authors
Time flexibility	I can play electronic games anytime	^{Wei and Lu (2014)}Wei and Lu, 2014 Wei, P. S., & Lu, H. P. (2014). Why do people play mobile social games? An examination of network externalities and of uses and gratifications. Internet Research, 24(3), 313-331.
	I can begin and stop playing electronic games at anytime
	I play electronic games to spend time	Own authorship
	I play electronic games when I do not have nothing to do	Own authorship

Arousal	I find that playing electronic games raises my level of adrenaline	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24).
	Electronic games keep me on the edge of my seat
	I play electronic games because they stimulate my emotions
	I play electronic games because they excite me

Challenge	I feel proud when I master an aspect of an electronic game.	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24).
	I find it very rewarding to get to the next level.
	I find it very rewarding to reach the next level of an electronic game	^{Jin (2014)}Jin, 2014 Jin, C. H. (2014). The role of users' motivations in generating social capital building and subjective well-being: The case of social network games. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 29-38.
	I enjoy finding new and creative ways to work through an electronic game

Competition	I feel proud when I master an aspect of an electronic game	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24).
	When I lose to someone, I immediately want to play again in an attempt to beat him/her
	It is important to me to be the fastest and most skilled person playing the electronic game.
	I get upset when I lose to my friends.

Diversion	I play electronic games when I have other things to do.	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24).
Diversion	I play electronic games instead of other things I should be doing.

Fun	I play electronic games because it's fun	^{Jin (2014)}Jin, 2014 Jin, C. H. (2014). The role of users' motivations in generating social capital building and subjective well-being: The case of social network games. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 29-38.
Fun	I play electronic games because it's cool

Fantasy	I play electronic games because they let me do things I can't do in real life.	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24).
	Electronic games allow me to pretend I am someone/somewhere else.
	I like to do something that I could not normally do in real life through an electronic game.
	I enjoy the excitement of assuming an alter ego in an electronic game.

Social interaction	My friends and I use electronic games as a reason to get together.	^{Sherry et al. (2006)}Sherry et al., 2006 Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. pp. 213–224. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (Vol. 24).
	Often, a group of friends and I will spend time playing electronic games.
	I play electronic games to relate to other people	Own authorship

Intention to play	I am willing to play electronic games	^{Wei and Lu (2014)}Wei and Lu, 2014 Wei, P. S., & Lu, H. P. (2014). Why do people play mobile social games? An examination of network externalities and of uses and gratifications. Internet Research, 24(3), 313-331.
	I will give playing mobile electronic games a try
	I can began and stop playing electronic game at any time

Purchase intention	I will recommend to my family and parents items of electronic games	^{Toni and Mazzon (2014)}Toni and Mazzon, 2014 Toni, D., & Mazzon, J. A. (2014). Teste de um modelo teórico sobre o valor percebido do preço de um produto. Revista de Administração, 49(3), 549.
	There are a big probability that I waste money in items of electronic games
	I intend to buy electronic game items in the future	^{Park and Lee (2011)}Park and Lee, 2011 Park, B. W., & Lee, K. C. (2011). Exploring the value of purchasing online game items. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(6), 2178-2185. and ^{Chou and Kimsuwan (2013)}Chou and Kimsuwan, 2013 Chou, C. M., & Kimsuwan, A. (2013). Factors affecting purchase intention of online game prepayment card – Evidence from Thailand. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, 18(3), 1-13.
	I predict that I will buy electronic game items in the future
	I hope to buy electronic game items soon

Questions	Answers	Total	%
Frequency of use of electronic games	Once or twice a month	89	14.81
	Once or twice a week	87	14.48
	Three times or four times a week	114	18.97
	Once a day	100	16.64
	More than once a day	211	35.11
	Total	601	100.00

Device used to play electronic games	Consoles	188	31.28
	Computers	132	21.96
	Social networks	11	1.83
	Smartphones	160	26.62
	Online games	107	17.80
	Others	3	0.50
	Total	601	100.00

Gender	Male	471	78.37
	Female	130	21.63
	Total	601	100.00

Did you spend money with electronic games in 2014?	Yes	354	59.70
	No	239	40.30
	Total	593	100.00

How much money did you spend with electronic games in 2014?	R$ 2.00 to R$ 90.00	72	20.51
	R$ 100.00 to R$ 250.00	88	25.07
	R$ 252.00 to R$ 500.00	87	24.79
	More than R$ 500.00	104	29.63
	Total	351	100.00

Time range spent on playing	10-50 min	28	4.84
	1 h to 1 h and 50 min	116	20.03
	2 h to 2 h and 50 min	166	28.67
	3 h to 5 h and 50 min	184	31.78
	6 h or more	85	14.68
	Total	579	100.00

Age	Up to 20 years	258	43.07
	21-25 years	226	37.73
	26-30 years	75	12.52
	More than 30 years	40	6.68
	Total	599	100.00

State where you live	Ceará	516	92.47
	São Paulo	31	5.56
	Minas Gerais	11	1.97
	Total	558	100.00

Construct	CR	AVE	MSV	ASV
Fun	0.909	0.833	0.353	0.124
Arousal	0.833	0.564	0.424	0.223
Challenge	0.775	0.466	0.424	0.206
Intention to play	0.906	0.763	0.462	0.253
Competition	0.811	0.522	0.215	0.108
Fantasy	0.906	0.707	0.298	0.167
Social interaction	0.820	0.603	0.294	0.182
Diversion	0.892	0.807	0.154	0.092
Time flexibility	0.737	0.589	0.051	0.017
Intention to pay	0.885	0.720	0.462	0.198

Indices	Values
Qui-square (χ²)	777.168
χ²/degrees of freedom (CMI/DF)	1.968
p	0.000
GFI	0.923
IFI	0.964
TLI	0.957
CFI	0.963
RMSEA	0.040

Dependent variable	Independent variable	Non-standardized factorial loading (b)	Standardized error (ɛ)	Standardized factorial loading (β)	T-test	Hypothesis
Intention to play	Time flexibility	-0.038	0.03	-1.265	0.206	H1 - Denied
Intention to play	Arousal	0.05	0.056	0.887	0.375	H2 - Denied
Intention to play	Challenge	0.446	0.095	4.693	^* ***** p < 0.01.	H3 - Confirmed
Intention to play	Competition	-0.138	0.062	-2.219	0.026	H4 - Denied
Intention to play	Diversion	0.097	0.033	2.927	0.003	H5 - Confirmed
Intention to play	Fun	0.404	0.061	6.603	^* ***** p < 0.01.	H6 - Confirmed
Intention to play	Fantasy	0.129	0.031	4.132	^* ***** p < 0.01.	H7 - Confirmed
Intention to play	Social interaction	0.173	0.047	3.686	^* ***** p < 0.01.	H8 - Confirmed
Intention to pay	Intention to play	0.76	0.05	15.137	^* ***** p < 0.01.	H9 - Confirmed

Hypothesis	Relation	Direct effect without mediation	Direct effect with mediation	Indirect effect	Type of mediation
H3	Challenge => Intention to Pay	0.0755	0.3189^* ***** p < 0.01.	0.1979^* ***** p < 0.01.	Partial
H4	Competition => Intention to Pay	-0.0055	-0.0399	-0.248	No mediation
H5	Diversion => Intention to Pay	0.0122	0.0924^* ***** p < 0.01.	0.0574^* ***** p < 0.01.	Partial
H6	Fun => Intention to Pay	-0.0183	0.4554^* ***** p < 0.01.	0.2827^ p < 0.05.	Partial
H7	Fantasy => Intention to Pay	0.1052^ p < 0.05.	0.1563^* ***** p < 0.01.	0.0970^* ***** p < 0.01.	Partial
H8	Social interaction => Intention to Pay	0.2403^* ***** p < 0.01.	0.1374^* ***** p < 0.01.	0.0853^* ***** p < 0.01.	Partial

Departamento de Administração da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo Avenida Professor Luciano Gualberto, 908, sala F184, 05508-900 São Paulo / SP Brasil, Tel./Fax 55 11 3818-4002 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: rausp@usp.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] * Corresponding author at: Avenida Paranjana, 1700, CEP 60740-903 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. E-mail:lucaslfsouza@hotmail.com (L.L. Souza).