Running Away with the Pokémon Go Gang: Three Consumption Needs

ABSTRACT

Pokémon Go, the study case of the current research, is one of the most popular augmented reality games today. The importance of the study lies in characterizing Pokémon Go players according to demographic groups and their motivations for playing AR games. The data were collected via a web-based survey open for Pokémon Go Players, who currently play or had recently played Pokémon Go all over Israel. The data were collected via a web-based survey which was distributed in Pokémon GO forums and was answered by 488 players. (N = 488, male = 67%, female = 33%, age mean 25.05, age SD = 8, age range = 14–73) with diverse demographic characteristics in order to understand their activity in relation to Yee’s model of motivationsand while relying on the motivational questionnaire for MOGQ network games. It was found that there are more Pokémon Go players among young, secular men from central Israel, who are highly educated and possess middle-income and above. It was found that Pokémon Go provides players with a number of needs: Escapism, the central and leading motive; Achievement; and Relationships. In light of these results, it is evident that Pokémon Go provides added value to players. In the future, this technology will probably be assimilated into additional games and bridge social gaps, providing significant added value to the rest of society by satisfying various needs.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

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Notes on contributors

Tal Laor

Tal Laor is the co-founder of the School of Communications at Ariel University and of its Radio, Broadcast, and Content Production Track, which he currently heads. A Research Fellow at the Institute for New Media Research & Society, Ariel University, and at sport & media research lab, Reichman University.