Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of congruence between the ideal self-image of a game player and the game character on identification and interaction with the game character, perceived game power and performance, character attachment and willingness to spend money on the game character.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 347 online game players participated in an online survey posted via the nationwide crowdsourcing web service Mechanical Turk in the US. A structural equation modelling was conducted using a maximum-likelihood estimation procedure to test the relationships among the variables.

Findings

The results revealed a significant positive impact of congruence between a game character and the ideal self-image of a game player on identification and interaction with the game character, perceived game power, game performance, attachment to the game character and willingness to spend money on the game character.

Originality/value

Although significant research has been conducted in the area of online gaming, limited attention has been given to the strategic game content that stimulates a player's intention to purchase game items. Due to the challenges in sales growth in the game industry caused by business model shifts from a subscription-based model to a free-to-play one, it is important for marketing practitioners to motivate game players to continue playing the game and purchase game items. The results of this study provide valuable strategic insights to overcome the limitations of existing marketing strategies in the online game business.

中文翻译：

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我是你，你是我：游戏角色与理想自我的融合

目的

这项研究的目的是检验玩家的理想自我形象与游戏角色之间的一致性对识别和与游戏角色互动，感知的游戏能力和表现，角色依恋以及在游戏中花钱的意愿的影响。游戏角色。

设计/方法/方法

共有347位在线游戏玩家参加了通过美国全国性众包网络服务Mechanical Turk发布的在线调查。使用最大似然估计程序进行了结构方程建模，以测试变量之间的关系。

发现

结果表明，游戏角色与理想的玩家自我形象之间的一致性对识别和与游戏角色互动，感知的游戏能力，游戏性能，对游戏角色的依恋以及愿意花钱的行为产生了显着的积极影响。游戏角色。

创意/价值

尽管已经在在线游戏领域进行了大量研究，但是对激发玩家购买游戏物品意图的战略游戏内容的关注却很少。由于商业模式从基于订阅的模式转变为免费模式所带来的游戏行业销售增长的挑战，对于市场营销从业人员来说，激励游戏玩家继续玩游戏并购买游戏物品非常重要。 。这项研究的结果提供了有价值的战略见解，以克服在线游戏业务中现有营销策略的局限性。