A Qualitative Research of Young People’s Motivation to Start, Continue, Reduce and Quit Playing Online Multiplayer Games on Computer

Abstract

The aim of this research is to understand why young people start, continue, reduce, and intend to quit playing online multiplayer games. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 male undergraduate students who continue to play online multiplayer games. Interview transcripts were analyzed through MAXQDA 2020 with content analysis. The four themes and eleven categories were revealed: starting (social, involvement), continuing (achievement, social, immersion, enjoyment, monetary), reducing (conflict, negative emotions) and intention to quit (non-involvement, self-regulation). The most-reported categories under each theme were involvement, achievement, conflict, and non-involvement, respectively. Socializing was the most-reported subcategory for the starting theme; advancement, refreshment, socializing for the continuing theme; deterioration of performance and health for the reducing theme; lack of interest/enjoyment; lack of time for intention to quit theme. The study contributes by providing a holistic perspective for understanding young peoples’ motivation factors to start, continue, reduce, and intend to quit.

Acknowledgements

This study is derived from a conference paper (Evaluation of the Motivational Factors that Drive University Students to Play the Computer Game: A Qualitative Research) presented in 2nd International Business and Organization Research Conference, 4–6 September 2019 in Izmir, Turkey.

Ethics statement

All study procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. During the study, the privacy rights of participants were protected.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aysun Kahraman

Aysun Kahraman is an Associate Professor in Marketing at Manisa Celal Bayar University, Turkey. She received her PhD degree (2016) and master’s degree (2011) from Manisa Celal Bayar University, BSc degree (2008) from Ege University. Her research areas are consumer psychology, corporate social responsibility, marketing communication, sustainability, and circular economy.

İpek Kazançoğlu

İpek Kazançoğlu is an Associate Professor in Marketing at Ege University, Turkey. She received her PhD degree (2008) and master’s degree (2002) from Ege University, BSc degree (1999) from Hacettepe University. Her research areas are Marketing, circular economy, sustainable marketing, retailing, customer relationship marketing, and consumer behavior.