Consumer Behavior of League of Legends Players
Bujňáková, Ema (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023113033174
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023113033174
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis was to find out why players buy purely aesthetic virtual goods in the free-to-play video game League of Legends, how often do they buy them and what are the reasons they spend money on them. The video game industry is one of the biggest industries in the world and for many it is easier than ever to enter. For some people, the world of video games is a way to escape from reality and can help satisfy their needs.
The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the video game industry and the game League of Legends itself. Furthermore, general theory on consumer behavior is included to support the empirical part of the thesis. The subchapter on consumer behavior slightly touches on the negative side of video games and well-being in the video game industry.
For the empirical part, the author decided to conduct an online questionnaire for League of Legends players who are over 18 years old to find out what factors influence their purchasing behavior. Purchasing virtual goods in the game League of Legends is completely optional and players can obtain most of them by investing their time in playing the game.
The results from the online questionnaire showed that long-term players are willing to invest both time and money in the game League of Legends. Most of the players play almost daily and own more than 200 skins. Most common reason to buy a skin was during special occasion, followed by habit and peer recommendation. Both visual aspects of a skin and favorite champion are factors players consider when making skin purchase. Other virtual goods such as Event Pass, gifting and accessories are popular choices as well. Furthermore, social media has the biggest impact on how players receive information of the upcoming skins.
The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the video game industry and the game League of Legends itself. Furthermore, general theory on consumer behavior is included to support the empirical part of the thesis. The subchapter on consumer behavior slightly touches on the negative side of video games and well-being in the video game industry.
For the empirical part, the author decided to conduct an online questionnaire for League of Legends players who are over 18 years old to find out what factors influence their purchasing behavior. Purchasing virtual goods in the game League of Legends is completely optional and players can obtain most of them by investing their time in playing the game.
The results from the online questionnaire showed that long-term players are willing to invest both time and money in the game League of Legends. Most of the players play almost daily and own more than 200 skins. Most common reason to buy a skin was during special occasion, followed by habit and peer recommendation. Both visual aspects of a skin and favorite champion are factors players consider when making skin purchase. Other virtual goods such as Event Pass, gifting and accessories are popular choices as well. Furthermore, social media has the biggest impact on how players receive information of the upcoming skins.