手遊玩家對遊戲虛擬幣購買與使用行為之探討

Abstract

本研究旨在探討手遊玩家在遊戲內使用遊戲幣與現金交易的意願及其影響因素，為此設計兩個實驗，均採用虛擬遊戲情境進行，以研究玩家在不同支付方案下的選擇行為。 實驗一探討當玩家手中無遊戲幣時，遊戲幣儲值優惠、是否需要額外消費、是否剩幣以及商品感知享樂與實用性對支付偏好的影響。結果顯示，當遊戲幣購買方案有優惠時，玩家傾向於使用遊戲幣進行交易；相反，當遊戲幣購買方案需要額外消費時，玩家更傾向於使用現金交易。遊戲幣購買方案中剩餘的遊戲幣不會降低玩家使用遊戲幣進行交易的意願，反而增強其支付偏好，這與研究初始假設相反。此外，剩幣能中和額外消費帶來的負面影響。而商品的感知享樂或實用性則不會影響玩家的支付偏好。 實驗二探討當玩家手中有遊戲幣時，現金購買優惠和遊戲幣取得難易度對支付偏好的影響。結果顯示，現金購買優惠顯著影響玩家的支付偏好，即使在玩家擁有遊戲幣的情況下，現金優惠仍能促使其選擇現金支付。遊戲幣取得難度越高，玩家越傾向於使用現金交易。當遊戲幣取得難度和現金優惠共同作用時，遊戲幣取得難度越高，現金優惠效果越顯著。 綜上所述，價格優惠是影響玩家支付選擇的重要因素，優惠可以提升玩家遊戲幣儲值和現金交易的意願。鑑於此，遊戲開發商可以考慮通過優惠策略來促進玩家儲值，以提升玩家滿意度和遊戲黏著度。剩餘遊戲幣不會降低玩家交易意願，反而能中和額外消費帶來的負面影響，這為遊戲內購買的設計提供了重要的發現。另一方面，遊戲幣取得難度也會影響玩家支付選擇，合理設計遊戲幣的獲取難度可以增加玩家的遊戲投入和消費行為。本研究結果有助於遊戲開發者更好地理解玩家的消費行為，並提供設計支付策略的參考依據。

This study investigates the willingness of mobile game players to use virtual currency versus cash when making in-game purchases, along with the factors influencing these decisions. Two experiments were designed and conducted for this purpose, using simulated virtual game scenarios to investigate players' choices under various payment schemes. Experiment 1 examined the effects of discounts on virtual currency top-ups, additional expenses, remaining currency, and the hedonic or utilitarian value of products on payment preferences when players had no virtual currency. The results show that players are more inclined to purchase virtual currency when discounts are available. Conversely, players prefer to use cash when virtual currency purchases require additional expenditures. Additionally, having remaining virtual currency does not decrease but instead enhances players' willingness to use it for transactions and can mitigate the negative impact of additional expenses. The perceived hedonic or utilitarian value of goods does not affect players' payment preferences. Experiment 2 examined the impact of cash purchase discounts and the difficulty of acquiring virtual currency on payment preferences when players had virtual currency. The results indicate that cash purchase discounts significantly affect players' payment preferences. Even when players have in-game currency, cash discounts still prompt them to choose cash payments. When the difficulty of acquiring virtual currency increases, players become more inclined to make cash purchases. The difficulty of acquiring in-game currency moderates the effect of cash purchase discounts, making the discounts effects more significant when the currency is harder to obtain. In summary, price discounts are a crucial factor influencing players' payment choices, showing that discounts increase players’ willingness to top-up and make cash purchases. As a result, game developers may consider using discount strategies to enhance players' willingness to top up, thereby increasing player satisfaction and game engagement. The remaining currency does not reduce players' purchase willingness but can instead offset the negative impact of additional expenses. This finding provides important insights for in-game purchase design. Furthermore, the difficulty of obtaining in-game currency affects players' payment choices. Designing a reasonable difficulty level for acquiring virtual currency can increase players' game engagement and consumption behavior. This study's findings contribute to a better understanding of player spending behaviors among game developers and provide a foundation for designing future payment strategies.