Why Do People Play Games? A Review of Studies on Adoption and Use

Hamari, Juho; Keronen, Lauri; Alha, Kati

doi:10.1109/hicss.2015.428

Cited by 41 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, a person primarily motivated by self-gratification will only purchase an item if it also has aesthetic appeal. This is supported by the prior work, which has upheld the important of aesthetics in driving non-functional item purchases (Turel, Serenko, and Bontis, 2010;Hamari, Keronen, and Alha, 2015). Motivations may complement each other in a way that encourages purchases when aesthetics are favorable.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…Previous research has found non-functional virtual items to be largely hedonically motivated. First, these items broadly increase enjoyment through increased multisensory (e.g., visual or audio) appeal in the game (Turel, Serenko, and Bontis, 2010;Hamari, Keronen and Alha, 2015). Second, these items operate as a means of self-expression, allowing players to express their actual or ideal selves through their online characters (Lehdonvirta, 2005(Lehdonvirta, , 2009; see also Berthon et al, 2010).…”

Section: Motivations For Purchasing Virtual Itemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Avatar's new clothes: Understanding why players purchase non-functional items in free-to-play games

Marder

Gattig

Collins

et al. 2019

Computers in Human Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Free-to-play online games create significant revenues through sales of virtual items. The argument that the sale of items that provide a competitive advantage (functional items) fuels a pay-to-win culture has attracted developers to business models that are solely based on the sale of non-functional items (items that provide no objective competitive advantage). However, the motivations for purchasing non-functional items remain under-examined. The present study therefore provides an exploration of hedonic, social, and utilitarian motivations underpinning purchase of virtual items within the top-grossing free-to-play game League of Legends. From interviews with 32 players, a number of motivations are identified and presented. In addition, a novel finding is that motivation for purchase may not stem from the value in the item but lie in the act of purchasing itself as a means of transferring money to the developer.

show abstract

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Section: Motivations For Purchasing Virtual Itemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Avatar's new clothes: Understanding why players purchase non-functional items in free-to-play games

Marder

Gattig

Collins

et al. 2019

Computers in Human Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A large portion of the research investigating more detailed motivations have seemingly focused on technology acceptance (See e.g. Davis, 1989;van der Heijden, 2004) of games and specifically on both utilitarian and hedonic motivations of playing (Chang et al, 2014;Davis et al, 2013;Hamari et al, 2015b;Hamari and Koivisto 2015). In the present study many of the investigated factors represent more hedonically oriented dimensions of spectating sports.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The second vein of literature on this area is more directly focused on motivations and gratification as predictors of playing activities (e.g. Chang et al, 2014;Davis et al, 2013;Hamari et al, 2015b;Hamari and Koivisto, 2015;Huang and Hsieh, 2011;Lu and Wang 2008;Wei and Lu, 2014;Yee, 2006). Finally, the third category is focused on the demographic and other background factors of players (Hamari and Lehdonvirta 2010;Janz et al, 2010;Koivisto and Hamari, 2014;Mäyrä et al, 2016;Williams et al, 2008;Yee, 2006b).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is eSports and Why Do People Watch It?

Hamari¹,

Sjöblom

2017

SSRN Journal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose: In this study we investigate why do people spectate eSports on the internet. We define eSports (electronic sports) as a form of sports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by electronic systems; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system are mediated by humancomputer interfaces. In more practical terms, eSports refer to competitive video gaming (broadcasted on the internet). Methodology:We employed the MSSC (Motivations Scale for Sports Consumption) which is one of the most widely applied measurement instruments for sports consumption in general. The questionnaire was designed and pre-tested before distributing to target respondents (N=888). The reliability and validity of the instrument both met the commonly accepted guidelines. The model was assessed first by examining its measurement model and then the structural model. Findings:The results indicate that escapism, acquiring knowledge about the games being played, novelty and eSports athlete aggressiveness were found to positively predict eSport spectating frequency.Originality: During recent years, eSports (electronic sports) and video game streaming have become rapidly growing forms of new media in the internet driven by the growing provenance of (online) games and online broadcasting technologies. Today, hundreds of millions of people spectate eSports. The present investigation presents a large study on gratification-related determinants of why people spectate eSports on the internet.Moreover, the study proposes a definition for eSports and further discusses how eSports can be seen as a form of sports.

show abstract

“…Geogames combine location-and game based learning, the players' geographical position is part of the narrative and the game flow (de Souza e Silva, 2009;von Borries, Walz & Bottger, 2007). Geogames are conceptually grounded in the theoretical framework of Digital Game-based Learning (DGBL) that combines playing as an active form of entertainment and knowledge acquisition (Hamari, Keronen & Alha, 2015;Kerres & Borman, 2009;Prensky, 2001). It is intended to captivate the players' attention and to use the game-related enjoyment as a starting point for learning processes or to increase situational interest or topic-related awareness and attitudes .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Location-based games with smartphones – developing a toolbox for educators

Schaal¹

2017

PROSOC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Location-based games for educational purposes provide a link between content and its real-life relevance in a physical environment. The potential of mobile, location-based activities for authentic learning is well known, but the technological and organizational barriers for educational staff still exist. There is a need for easy-to-use tools to facilitate the creation of playful location-based mobile learning activities.Within the MILE project (move-interact-learn-eat), a transdisciplinary team consisting of educational experts in the field of outdoor education, in nutrition and consumer education as well computer scientists developed an authoring system for location-based games, the MILE Designer. This authoring system provides several formats of tasks that can easily be adapted and each task is located intuitively using a simple map as interface. Several tasks are combined to an educational geogame for a native smartphone app. This paper describes the relevant theoretical background and the transdisciplinary development process. The MILE Designer was formatively evaluated in a participatory observation and in focus group discussions. The results of this evaluation process are presented and further educational implications are discussed.

show abstract

Why Do People Play Games? A Review of Studies on Adoption and Use

Cited by 41 publications

References 50 publications

The Avatar's new clothes: Understanding why players purchase non-functional items in free-to-play games

The Avatar's new clothes: Understanding why players purchase non-functional items in free-to-play games

What Is eSports and Why Do People Watch It?

Location-based games with smartphones – developing a toolbox for educators

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About