Mobile games: players’ experiences with in-app purchases

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to offer a comprehensive perspective into Free-to-Play gamers’ attitudes, feelings toward and perceived value of in-app purchases (IAPs).

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a twofold qualitative methodology using an inductive approach: user-generated YouTube videos and gamers’ online reviews posted on Play stores.

Findings

Eight topics have emerged out from the qualitative data related to the characteristics of a good/bad IAP, the IAPs as downsides, the ambiguity with traditional Pay-to-Play games, the financial-risk issues, the resistance behaviors, the worries about over-spending and addiction and the frustration mechanism.

Research limitations/implications

By focusing on IAPs, this research contributes to build an integrative overview to better understand how players deal with IAPs and how this interaction should be analyzed in the light of multiple frameworks. Emphasis is placed on a continuum of player responses from tolerant metacognition to high degree of subversion.

Originality/value

A twofold netnographic approach offers a novel contribution to the field of mobile games by bringing together two materials increasingly connected to the video game universe. It also brought to the fore an experiential context by providing insight into the underlying dynamics of Player/IAP interactions.

Citation

Ravoniarison, A. and Benito, C. (2019), "Mobile games: players’ experiences with in-app purchases", Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 62-78. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-06-2016-0060