Hedonic motivation on cosmetic virtual goods consumption in online games

Abstract

This study has verified the costumer's perception about cosmetic virtual goods purchases in online games. Cosmetic virtual goods are clothing, pets, furniture among other types of visual modifications for the avatar (the player's virtual representation) or the environment he finds himself in. The study was done with 96 participants from all continents in the world. Data gathering was done through online forums and in-game League of Legends, as well as questionnaires distributed in Brazilian universities. The chosen analysis technique was content analysis. Findings have shown that consumers of these kinds of goods ate motivated by represented role and by gratification. But, there also emerged a new factor which challenges the researcher to categorize it in three possible ways, according to literature. It was observed that there is a market for cosmetic virtual good consumption, with consumers inclined to gift online friends and to obtain a feeling of happiness when acquiring this kind of good. There is also a portion which is happy into investing to support the game developer - what seems to be the rise of the new category said above.