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Exploring the eudaimonic game experience through purchasing functional and nonfunctional items in MMORPGs

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Weisha Wang

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

The consumption of virtual items and other forms of in‐game content is rapidly increasing in the Massively Multiple Player Online Role‐Playing Games market. While psychological need satisfaction obtained through purchasing virtual items to achieve hedonic game experience remains at the center of the debate, most of these studies neglect the eudaimonic game experience and do not differentiate between the psychological experiences from functional items and nonfunctional items. Our research employs the eudaimonic game experience perspective to explore the psychological need satisfaction individuals achieve through purchasing functional and nonfunctional items. From interviews with 25 players, a novel finding is that, while competence, autonomy, relatedness, and purpose in life contribute to one's eudaimonic game experience, each psychological need has its own unique dimensions for different virtual product types. Competence and purpose in life are needs driven by two factors: inner‐directed consumption intention, emphasizing aspiration for authenticity and personal growth; and other‐directed consumption intention, focusing on motivations that elicit, for example, positive responses from others and receiving social awards. Such results are only apparent for functional items but not for nonfunctional items. In contrast, autonomy and relatedness are needs explained by one's inner‐directed consumption intention, across both product types.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Wang W, Hang H

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Psychology and Marketing

Year: 2021

Volume: 38

Issue: 10

Pages: 1847-1862

Print publication date: 01/09/2021

Online publication date: 02/06/2021

Acceptance date: 05/05/2021

Date deposited: 20/01/2022

ISSN (print): 0742-6046

ISSN (electronic): 1520-6793

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21503

DOI: 10.1002/mar.21503


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