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The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship of gamification design elements on social play habit and we-intention to continue playing in a mobile multiplayer game context. The study further intends to reveal the mediating role of social play habit in the relationship between gamification design elements and we-intention to continue playing.

The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 292 PUBG users based in Malaysia. PLS-SEM analysis was used to assess the model since it includes formative and reflective constructs.

The results indicated that gamification design elements significantly affect social play habit in a positive direction. In the simultaneous condition, social play habit also significantly affects the we-intention to continue playing the mobile multiplayer game. However, these three elements of gamification design did not significantly affect the formation of we-intention to continue playing in the context of mobile multiplayer games. Notably, social play habit was found to fully mediate the relationships between immersive-related interaction, achievement-related interaction, social-related interaction and we-intention to continue playing.

This study highlights the importance of social play habits as a factor linking the relationship between gamification design elements and we-intention to continue playing. In addition, this study also provides significant insights for the game creators to emphasise the gamification design elements so that the sustainability of the game can be secured from the perspective of retaining the current users through the social play habit element.

The study is noteworthy because it is the first attempt to use gamification design elements to explain how social play habit affect the formation of we-intention to continue playing in the setting of a mobile multiplayer game environment. In addition, the findings may add to the body of knowledge in the field of gamification theory.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether flow experience, perceived enjoyment, and interaction affect people's behavioural intention to play online games and whether gender, age and prior experience have moderating effects on online game acceptance.

This study extends the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) with flow experience, perceived enjoyment, and interaction to propose a theoretical model to explain and predict people's behavioural intention to play online games. This model is examined through an empirical study involving 458 participants using structural equation modelling techniques. In addition, a competing model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) is proposed to evaluate whether TPB is more suitable than TAM to explain the use of online games. The two action‐theoretical models are compared in terms of their predictive power and their practical utility.

Although both models explain the players' intention to play online games very well, the extended TPB model provides a better fit and explanatory power. Notably, this study finds that flow experience is a more important factor than perceived enjoyment in influencing customer acceptance of online games. Further analysis reveals that gender is a key moderator of online game acceptance.

Online game developers need to search for flow experience building strategies that might assist in engaging players. This study suggests that game developers should consider focusing more on establishing the interactions between players (social interaction) and online games (human‐computer interaction) in their marketing strategies.

This study is significant for two reasons. First, it synthesises the theory of planned behaviour with psychological and interaction factors and, second, it presents a blueprint for an entertainment‐oriented technology acceptance model.

This study was designed with the aim to examine the formation of golfers’ intentions to play golf on traditional golf courses by considering the moderating impact of their outcome beliefs regarding the playing of screen golf. Other goals in this research were to test the mediating impact of desires and to identify the relative importance of study variables in generating intention within the proposed conceptual framework. The Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB) was utilized to make a precise prediction of golfers’ intentions.

The dataset was developed by distributing surveys in person at screen-golf cafés. A structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the fit of the proposed model and assess the hypothesized relationships. Tests for metric invariance were used to examine the moderating impact of outcome beliefs.

Results from the SEM revealed that the proposed model predicted golfers’ intentions well, explaining significant amounts of variance. Desire acted as a significant mediator in the proposed conceptual framework. Compared to other study variables, both positive anticipated emotions and subjective norms had superior ability in generating golfers’ intentions to play real golf. Moreover, results from the test for metric invariance indicated that the intensity of golfers’ perceived benefits of playing screen golf affected their decision formation as a moderator, decreasing their intention to play real golf.

Research considering the impact of screen golf on golfers’ decision-making processes is rare in the golf industry. Filling this gap, the present study successfully demonstrated that golfers’ decision formation is sufficiently explained by the MGB, and their perceived outcomes from playing screen golf represent a possible threat to the traditional golf industry.

Grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) (Venkatesh et al., 2012), the purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and consequence associated with esports gameplay by proposing the Esports Consumption (ESC) model, including six determinants of esports gameplay intention (hedonic motivation, habit, price value, perceived effort expectancy, social influence and flow) and behavioral consequence (media consumption intention of esports events) that were linked to esports gameplay.

The proposed model was tested using the data (n=348) that were collected from esports consumers at two points in time. Per the technology adoption theories (i.e. TAM, UTAUT2), the authors incorporated a temporal separation when measuring the relationship between playing intention and playing behavior. For the purpose of data analysis, CFA and SEM were used to examine the hypothesized model.

As a result, four determinants (i.e. hedonic motivation, price value, effort expectancy and flow) were identified as the critical factors influencing esports consumers’ esports gameplay intention. Furthermore, the bootstrap method procedure verified that a sequential relationship among esports gameplay intention, esports gameplay and media consumption of esports events.

Theoretically, it has developed a research model that explains various triggers resulting from esports gameplay intention, which is causally linked to esports gameplay and media consumption behavior. Practically, the primary implication has to do with providing information regarding esports consumers’ playing behavior with esports game publishers, which organize esports events and leagues.

The purpose of this study is to develop and test a theoretical model that accounts for an individual's we-intention to continue playing a mobile multiplayer game.

Drawing on habit-intention and habit formation theories, this study conceptualizes social play habit as a determinant of the we-intention to continue playing and identifies its antecedents. The proposed model was tested through a survey of 277 players of Honor of Kings, a popular mobile multiplayer game.

The results indicate that developing social play habit is critical to the formation of a we-intention to continue playing in the context of mobile multiplayer games. The results also suggest that technological (social features embedded in the game) and individual (desire for co-play and privacy concerns) factors jointly influence social play habit.

This study contributes to the literature on we-intention by conceptualizing social play habit and verifying its role in facilitating a shared intention to continue playing mobile multiplayer games. Our work responds to the call for understanding the mechanism by which multiple people form a shared intention to continue using an information technology at a collective level. Our findings provide significant insights into the design of information technologies for collaboration.

This study is among the first to extend the literature on gaming habits by considering other players' involvement. Specifically, our study shifts researchers' attention from gaming habits characterized by individual properties to social gaming habits characterized by communal properties.

A rarely discussed type of indulgence good is “virtual” goods featured in freemium games, one of the most important platforms for online retailing. The freemium business model becomes popular amid the growth of mobile games and smartphones. The purpose of this research is to look into the factors that influence the intention to play freemium games and purchase in-game virtual goods, as well as to compare male and female millennial gamers in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest mobile gaming market. This research discusses the phenomenon in the context of compensatory consumption.

This quantitative research used an online questionnaire for data collections. A total of 275 millennial mobile gamers were selected via purposive sampling. In total, there are six factors incorporated in this research: utility, self-indulgence, social interaction, competition, the intention to play freemium games and the intention to pay for virtual goods. This research used structural equation modelling (SEM) via AMOS software to test the hypotheses.

This research reveals that (1) utility is a negative predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods, (2) self-indulgence is a positive predictor of the intention to play freemium games, (3) there is a mediation effect of the intention to play freemium games on the relationship between self-indulgence and the intention to pay for virtual goods, (4) social interaction is a positive predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods, (5) competition is a positive predictor of the intention to play freemium games, (6) there is a mediation effect of the intention to play freemium games on the relationship between competition and the intention to pay for virtual goods and (7) the intention to play freemium games is a positive predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods.

This research has several limitations: first, half of the study’s millennial respondents were students whose gaming expenditures might depend on their parents or guardians' willingness to accommodate their gaming activities. Therefore, there might be some biases in the intention to pay for virtual goods. Second, the numbers of female respondents outweigh male respondents (44.4% males), hence the sample representativeness issue in a slightly male-dominated gaming industry in Indonesia. Third, the game genres the millennial respondents mostly played were the battle royale and the shooter games. Other game genres (e.g. puzzles) might involve a different mechanism. Lastly, the authors measured the compensatory consumption concept indirectly, such as by measuring variables associated with lack of time (utility), the need for virtual achievements or online recognitions (competition), mood-related issues (self-indulgence) and lack of belongingness (social interaction).

Game developers and online retailers (e.g. Google Play Store, Android App Store and Microsoft Store) should incorporate competition, indulgence and social interaction elements when designing and promoting freemium games. Based on the results of this research, a combination of these three elements improves the likelihood of purchasing virtual goods via online retail platforms

This is the first research to demonstrate a link between online retailing and compensatory consumption, particularly in the context of freemium games. This research extends the literature on online retailing in the context of freemium games, which has received little attention. In addition to theoretical support, this research provides new empirical evidence for previously unexplored and unsupported relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of players’ continuance intentions to play Pokémon GO (PG) and ultimately make in-app purchases, mainly from the perspectives of psychological, social and gaming motivational factors.

The research model was empirically assessed based on 362 validated responses from current players of PG in Malaysia. Analysis was carried out using the partial least squares path modeling method.

The results indicated that enjoyment, network externalities, community involvement and the need-to-collect significantly influence players’ continuance intention. Furthermore, the findings reveal that flow and nostalgia have indirect effects on players’ continuance intention, which in turn significantly influences their purchase intention.

This study provides empirical support for an integrated model for understanding the antecedents of the players’ behavioral intentions that incorporates psychological, social and gaming motivational factors in the context of an augmented reality mobile game.

Playing video gaming is one of the most popular forms of leisure activities. This study looks into a specific video game genre, under the category of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games. The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that lead to the consumption of MOBA games. Three factors, imaginal, emotional and sensory experiences, are investigated through an integration of the hedonic consumption model, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT).

The study analyses a sample of 292 MOBA game players using the PLS-SEM model. The study comprises two stages; in the first stage, an estimation model was used to test the constructs' quality and legitimacy. In the second stage, we assessed the theoretical model to test the relationship between the principle constructs.

The study found that factors related to emotional experiences, namely enjoyment, emotional involvement, and arousal, led to greater intention to play MOBA games. Similarly, two factors related to imaginal experiences, escapism and role projection, also positively impacted while fantasy carried a negative impact. The study also found that sensory experiences had a significant positive impact on the intention to play MOBA games. Lastly, a positive correlation was also found between the intention to use and usage behavior in MOBA games.

This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of the playful-consumption experiences of pleasure-oriented information systems (I.S.) that is MOBA games that derive behavioral intention to play MOBA games, which in turn determines the usage behavior of MOBA players. The study also incorporates the uses and gratification theory to uncover the needs and experiences that trigger MOBA games' behavioral intention and its further impact on gamers' usage behavior. The study also presents useful insights for game developers and other relevant stakeholders in game development.

As mobile augmented reality (AR) games enter the maturity stage, understanding how to improve players’ continuance use intention with mobile AR games is critical. Drawing upon the uses and gratifications (U&G) theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of four major gratifications – content, process, social and technology – and other factors on continuance intention to play mobile AR games.

Data collected from 280 Pokémon Go players were used to address research questions. Partial least squares method was employed to assess the relationships in the model and multigroup analysis was conducted based on survey participants’ demographics and their gaming experience.

Content gratification (i.e. catching Pokémon), process gratification (i.e. entertainment), game knowledge and achievement drive players’ continuance use intention. However, social and technology gratifications do not influence players’ continuance use intention. Multigroup analysis suggests that mobile AR game developers should capitalize on the fact that different types of gratifications prompt continuance use intention of different user segments in terms of demographics and experience in general mobile games and Pokémon Go.

The user behavior of mobile AR games has been studied at the early stage of the games, with less attention to variable continuance use intentions across different user segments. This paper attempts to fill the gap by extending the U&G theory to continuance use intention of mobile AR games at the maturity stage and further investigating the importance of player heterogeneity in continuance use intention with mobile AR games. The findings of this study contribute to the literature on U&G, continuance use intention and mobile AR games.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of individuals’ perceived enjoyment and output quality on their intention to play human computation games (HCGs) for location-based content sharing.

This study employed a cross-sectional survey method, and recruited 205 undergraduate and graduate students from a local university. Participants played the developed mobile HCG for content sharing named Seek, PLAy, SHare (SPLASH), and thereafter completed a questionnaire that measured their perceptions of enjoyment, output quality, and intention to play.

Results indicated that individuals derived enjoyment from the affective and cognitive dimensions, which further influenced their intention to play HCGs. Moreover, perceived output relevancy was significant in predicting individuals’ intention to play HCGs such as SPLASH.

The design of HCG is complicated due to their entertainment-output generation duality. Understanding what factors contribute to HCG usage is therefore, an essential area of study. Based on the study’s findings, designers should pay attention to HCG features that engender affective and cognitive experiences, and appropriately signify the relevancy aspect of HCG outputs.

Although similar in many ways, HCGs differ from entertainment-oriented games by generating output as byproducts of gameplay. Hence, results obtained from prior research in games may not be readily applicable to the HCG context, and further investigations are necessary. Moreover, the multidimensional aspect of HCG enjoyment and output quality, and how these dimensions influence usage intention has yet to be examined. The outcomes of this study can be exploited to drive further research in the field of HCGs, and similar games that are not just for pure entertainment.