In-App Purchases On Mobile Gaming: What Makes Player Willing To Pay Based On Perceived Values

Abstract

The mobile gaming industry has garnered a high place in the global market. This emerging market has allowed the mobile game industry to be able to implement multiple form of business model to increase its profitability. However, several combinations of business model have not been fully understood yet. One of the more recent combination of business model is the usage of Freemium business model in tandem with the Loot box (gacha) mechanism in online mobile gaming. This research aims to find out the impact of mobile game players’ perceived value towards in-app purchases in mobile games. This research is done in a quantitative manner with 350 respondents as its sample. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is employed to identify whether there is an impact of perceived values towards inapp purchase in a Freemium business model and gacha mechanism in the game Fate/Grand Order. The research findings reveal that emotional and social perceived values positively and significantly influences in-app purchases, while value for money influences in-app purchases insignificantly. Other implications are also discussed and elaborated in this research.