Analysis of Gaming Industry Consumers

Analysis of Gaming Industry Consumers Muhammad Zafar   Ã‚   Introduction Online games are played online unlike the traditional pc and consoles games where players play against each other (Hilton 2006). This had a huge impact on games DFC intelligence (2006) estimated that the total online games revenue have grown from $3.4 billion in 2005 to over $13 billion in 2011. There are new media elements for the consumers now use to represent their expressions and communications in the online games some examples are online avatars, accessories of the avatars, decorative stuffs like furniture, background music, skins and fancy weapons used in online games (V. Lehdonvirta 2009). Also people who cant buy expensive car and likes to modify cars and likes to drive modified cars in video games buy games like Gran Turismo, Sega GT, Metropolis Street Racer, or Need for Speed Underground, also people build a virtual dream life in games like The Sims, Habbo Hotel, or Second Life or they even want to enhance their digital lives by buying rare and expensive magical artefacts in games like Morrowind, Everquest, or World of Warcraft to get connected with other players or to show others their digital valuables (Lindstrom, 2001; Nelson, 2002). The combined result is that consumers now relate themselves to digitally simulated consumption experiences. However digital virtual consumption is just materialized substance. Its popularity therefore defies the premises of utility-based explanations of consumer behaviour like a virtual car cannot take you to work; a virtual home does not keep you warm and sheltered (Castronova, 2003). Digital Items Social media is the main source of advertising through Facebook and Twitter. These sites produce high revenue for the companies but to find alternate gaming companies have now started building revenues of selling digital items to their consumers (H.S. Kang, 2003). Consumers now use these new media elements known as digital items to represent, communicate and express themselves with other online members. There are two types of digital items, 2d/3d digital items and musical digital format like songs and music. In this article the focus is on self representation through digital items and aesthetic value. Some of the common examples of digital items are digital avatars, their accessories such as clothes, shoes and hats, decorative skins and items for virtual real life games like furniture, painting, wallpapers and background skins. Usually the prices of digital items are ranges between to a few pennies to a high ranged pound price depending on the item and its value, some limited items a re very high ranged. Consumers use digital items to represent their online users. They normally take an interest in a virtual world by controlling their avatar, a character that speaks to them in the virtual environment (V. Lehdonvirta, 2005). Avatars are usually two-dimensional or three-dimensional graphical figures that represent the consumers online self (S. Webb, 2001). Consumers have more hold over avatars based interactions and can customize their avatar in a wide range of physical features and they are also willing to buy avatar features (Jin, 2009). It also enhances users vivid experiences of participants when they have an active control on the virtual environment through their digital avatars which makes them feel that they are a part of the virtual world with other users (Lehdonvirta et al., 2009; Martin, 2008, Animesh et al., 2011). Social Identity The emotional value of an advanced digital item depends essentially on what it would seem that and the degree to which marketers identify with it and utilize it in their correspondence with the consumers (A.H. Huang, D.C. Yen, X. Zhang, 2008). The two factors which are identifying as emotional value are the aesthetics and the playfulness which connects the consumers to their digital avatar. Consumers buys digital products is depends in a manner that how they view themselves or wishes to be viewed by other members. Aside from their effective utility, items have typical or prominent utilization values. The sorts of computerized things one uses additionally help to characterize the adopters group of friends. For social esteem, it can be recognized into two elements: self-image expression and relationship support. All in all through their fantasies, consumers truly wish into reality the encounters that they therefore expend. The media Games and Culture all in all, including computerized virtual spaces, are themselves subject to showcase mechanisms (Kline, Dyer-Witheford, and de Peuter, 2003). The act of buying a car (in a material sense) is in reality genuine; that is, it is acknowledged and realized in an execution of an earlier stare off into space in the psyche of a consumer. The improvement of the computerized virtual (for instance, a computer game, like World of Warcraft), in any case, may welcome a person to purchase a virtual enchantment staff. Consumers who buy virtual and digitalized items such as a magic staff is indeed real for them when they imagine it, so here we have an instrument for the realization of unique customer fantasy further than what is likely, that is accessible in the material mercantile centre (Proulx and Latzko-Toth, 2000). One of the examples of a game which allows consumers to utilize their fantasies through online platform in a game is The Sims (Consalvo, 2003). In the Sims is a game in which the user simulates a virtual life. First they create a Sims likely known as digital avatar and then they choose types of clothing and lifestyle for it and later build a house and make family. Then there is Grand theft Auto in which users who are more towards violence and American criminal lifestyle in this game user first create a character in multiplayer mode and then progress through missions and other multiplayer jobs with your online friends it is an open world game which itself is a reflection of social drama. Self-representation desire may, thusly, be improved by individual control as a persons certainty about his or her capacity, i.e., self-adequacy, to show a favoured image (Dà ¶ring 2002). The impact of online introduction self-adequacy on the desire for online self-representation can be clarified by s ocial subjective hypothesis (Bandura, 2001). It places that human conduct is persistently and widely self-managed. Online Community An online group comprises of (1) individuals, who cooperate with each other in the group; (2) reason, to give motivation to clients to take part in groups; (3) approaches, to make guidelines, conventions, and laws to guide clients conduct; and (4) PC frameworks, to bolster and intercede social association and encourage a feeling of fellowship   (Preece, 2000). An online games community is characterized as a gathering of users who cooperate with each other by means of Internet, they create a fantasy role and build up an online relationship among users, share regular interests, and enjoy their requirement for excitement by assuming their own particular virtual parts (Hsu and Lu, 2007 and Teng, in press). Origin in Asia, for instance, is a hot web based amusement that permits users to accept a virtual part to join daring exercises on the internet. In the Lineage people group, users frequently create strong attachment and endeavour to accomplish shared objectives, including overco ming a foe nation. When a player and their team mates gets a powerful item or a high skill, the players then interact with the opponent team and the opponents responds with a counter attack or runs away, these kinds of interactions have been found to have a ample impact on the success of online games since an arrangement of a more than a few successions of collaboration is in actuality an account, which can be utilized to build a play interest (Choi Kim, 2004). From the consumer view of perspective through practical observations the psychological feeling of being there and benefit instruments, for example, reasonableness, security and motivating force are exceptionally critical concerns (Chen and Yen, 2004). Motivation If a user will be extremely submerged in a virtual diversion group (understanding stream) on the off chance that he or she have accomplished coordinating aptitudes (like propelled weapons) against high players. In particular, high character skill (low test) will shrink a players desire to additionally accomplish even progressed virtual things as his or her characters general capability will as of now be better than that of others, and the other way around. Furthermore, with the expansion in the general skill of the characters possessed by a player, he or she may like to challenge propelled PC controlled players for picking up an incredible feeling of accomplishment (Kim, Oh and Lee, 2005). By this behaviour consumers are more anticipated in buying more digital items to progress further more in the game and also its an achievement for them to show other users that how far the progressed. Players with inherent inspiration may see more fun under the high vulnerability condition that makes them to feel more excitement. Then again, outwardly persuaded players may see less exchange cost when exchanging the thing with high resource specificity. Ordinarily, individuals see more exchange cost when the high resource specificity condition is given in the exchange in light of the confinement of the advantage (O. E. Williamson, 1991). Digital games also motivate players to learn new stuff about the world and culture it helps them to grow more knowledge of skills (Dickey, 2006). It is also been discussed before that digital games helps a user to develop problem solving skills (Annetta, 2008). Furthermore, motivation starts to conduct and decides its course and power. Along these lines, the desire for online self-representation fills in as an inspiration that prompts to practices, for example, the buying of digital items that empower online self-representation (Van der Heijden 200 4). Motivation likewise decides asset designation for various practices. Based on their desire for online self-representation, individuals may allocate assets toward the buying of digital items for self-representation and expend exertion toward this objective (Latham and Pinder 2005). Negations While there are positive effects of online gaming and digital world there are also some negative effects also which are due to the genre of a game like if a game is genre is violence this can relate to an aggressive outcome for the user (Anderson Bushman, 2001). Although online games recreations frequently contain comparable demonstrations of violence, recent narrative confirmation has proposed another negative behavioural impact that these games may represent that of addiction (Jansz, 2005). In 2005 The Washington Post reports that 10 people died in Korea as a result of extreme game play, also a person who was found dead in an internet cafe after continuously playing 50 hours taking very few breaks (Khazan, 2006). An individuals identity is a moderately stable antecedent of conduct in a miniaturized scale level, as it shows a persisting style of ones way of thinking, feeling, and acting in various circumstances (Stevens, 2003). Ritualized media utilize was associated with impression of imminence to the medium and convenience, substantial media users will probably proceed with their media utilize paying little reverence to the content (Huh 2004). Online game addiction is known as process addiction which is a specific type of addiction defined as behaviour enslavement which is similar to obsessive gambling and shopping. Users who are addicted play online games to form social relationship as they do to progress through the ladder, virtual relationships is more desirable to them rather than face to face interactions thats why they have their own virtual world in which their fictional digital avatar or character is real for them and they represent that as themselves to other users (Yee, 2006). Conclusion So the conclusion is that how marketers make consumers relate to games avatars and buy digital items from their real money which are the in game avatars clothing and accessories   to make it look good and show it to other users. Some of the games like Counter Strike and other combat multiplayer games have skins for the guns and knives which are bought from the real money. People now live in a digital world where they want to show themselves to others which they cant do in real life and have less confidence to even talk and socialize with others. So the developers and the marketers of the games have brought them digitized virtual reality world where they can socialize with confidence. This is a consumer behaviour theory that marketers provide consumers a game in which they can do what they imagine to do in the real world but could not do it, this is also knows as aesthetic drama. But for the consumers this all real for them the imagination and fantasy is real thats what motivates them to buy digital items in games. Self motivation is the thing which the marketers target a person because in games if a user is winning a lot of games against stronger opponents and getting higher ranked achievements through games it self-motivates them to buy in game items like background music, wallpapers, skins, digital avatar accessories and other items related to the game. This whole essay is about self-representation through a consumers view of mind and their perspective that how a game can be real to them and connects mentally and emotionally to them and how marketers motivates their desires to play more and be involve more in buying in games items and materials which encourages them to progress further. From theories and research its been proved that online gaming is on a rise and now its more advance through mobile phone games and other portable consoles and there is a major increase in online gamers who are playing online games with other players and take it is a challenge. This is the kind of motivation marketers look forward for. References Yee, N. (2006). Motivations for play in online games. CyberPsychology behavior, 9(6), 772-775. Kim, H. W., Gupta, S., Koh, J. (2011). Investigating the intention to purchase digital items in social networking communities: A customer value perspective. Information Management, 48(6), 228-234. Molesworth, M., Denegri-Knott, J. (2007). Digital play and the actualization of the consumer imagination. Games and Culture, 2(2), 114-133. Huang, E. (2012). Online experiences and virtual goods purchase intention. Internet Research, 22(3), 252-274. Hsu, C. L., Lu, H. P. (2007). Consumer behavior in online game communities: A motivational factor perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(3), 1642-1659. Lee, M. C., Tsai, T. R. (2010). What drives people to continue to play online games? An extension of technology model and theory of planned behavior. Intl. journal of human-computer interaction, 26(6), 601-620. Wu, J. H., Wang, S. C., Tsai, H. H. (2010). Falling in love with online games: The uses and gratifications perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1862-1871. Guo, Y., Barnes, S. (2007). Why people buy virtual items in virtual worlds with real money. ACM Sigmis Database, 38(4), 69-76. Choi, B., Lee, I., Lee, K., Jung, S., Park, S., Kim, J. (2007, January). The effects of users motivation on their perception to trading systems of digital content accessories: Focusing on trading items in online games. In System Sciences, 2007. HICSS 2007. 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 161-161). IEEE. Yang, Y. T. C. (2012). Building virtual cities, inspiring intelligent citizens: Digital games for developing students problem solving and learning motivation. Computers Education, 59(2), 365-377. Kim, H. W., Chan, H. C., Kankanhalli, A. (2012). What motivates people to purchase digital items on virtual community websites? The desire for online self-presentation. Information systems research, 23(4), 1232-1245. Huh, S., Bowman, N. D. (2008). Perception and addiction of online games as a function of personality traits. Journal of Media Psychology, 13(2), 1-31.