Customer Expectation Study on Online Gaming: Literature Review

This literature review provides an insight into the customer expectation study on online gaming. It covers the broad scan, focused review, and literature review on the topic. The review also includes an outline structure of the literature review chapter.

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Introduction to Research
Literature Review

Table of Contents
Chapter 1..........................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................3
1.1 Broad Scan.............................................................................................................................4
1.1.1 Research Journal.............................................................................................................4
1.1.2 Filing Journal..................................................................................................................5
1.1.3 Bibliography...................................................................................................................6
1.2 Focused Review.....................................................................................................................9
1.2.1 Updated Filing Journal...................................................................................................9
1.2.2 Updated Bibliography...................................................................................................10
1.3 Customer Expectation and Preferences for Online Games..................................................11
1.4 Exceed customer service expectations through Outsourcing..............................................14
1.5 Final Outline of the Literature Review Chapter..................................................................15
1.6 Introduction..........................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17
1

List of Tables
Table 1: Research Journal: Tasks performed...................................................................................4
Table 2: Filing System Table...........................................................................................................5
Table 3: Updated Filing System Table............................................................................................7
Table 4: Online Game Attributes and Levels..................................................................................9
Table 5: Hypothetical Products.....................................................................................................10
Table 6: Customer's Preferences....................................................................................................10
2

Chapter 1
Literature Review
The topic for the assignment is ‘Customer Expectation Study on Online Gaming’. A deep
analytical research has been carried out to collect all the relevant review details for the chosen
topic. This assignment also informs on how the actual search was progressed and evaluated,
through sections 1 and 2. The first section Broad Scan defines the wide area where the entire
search was conducted and how. It contains the information about all research papers, journals
and libraries collected to commence the research on the related topic.
The second section, Focused Review, refines the research where all the irrelevant data from
broad scan search was discarded and only appropriate journals and papers were mentioned to
conduct a thorough research on the topic. Third section is entirely about literature review on
Customer Expectation Study on Online Gaming where two of the most relevant papers were
studied in deep. Fourth section is an outline structure of the third section to under it better and
last section provides and insight to the literature review chapter.
3

1.1 Broad Scan
As the selection of topic was already done during Assignment 1, I started my research directly by
typing appropriate keywords in the search bar. Thousands of documents popped up using various
sources like Google scholar, vu libraries etc. Documents that appeared to be most relevant by
their titles and a quick go through were selected. There are approximately 25 research papers and
journals that has been selected in this section and all of them are referenced here under
bibliographic section.
1.1.1 Research Journal
Table 1: Research Journal: Tasks performed
Date Task Action Comment
1/09/18 Collected literature
related to the topic
Made a search on
various platforms
using appropriate
keywords
Collected about 10
relevant papers and
saved them in a folder
2/09/18 Collected more
literature related to
the topic
Decided best amongst
them by giving it a
quick read
Collected about 15
more documents and
saved them.
3/09/18 Performed Literature
Reading
From the collection
read 10 papers
Discovered some
good topics to cover
6/09/18 Performed Literature
Reading
From the collection
read more papers
A good understanding
of the topic and
writing literature
review and discarded
all irrelevant papers
7/09/18 Select two most
relevant papers
A thorough reading to
all filtered documents
Selected two papers to
conduct the literature
4

review of the topic
9/09/18 Started with writing
the assignment
All resources and
research papers were
cited properly
All work has been
referenced
11/09/18 Started with literature
review of first paper
Read the first selected
paper three to four
times
Written the review
section by
paraphrasing it in my
own words
13/09/18 Started with literature
review of second
paper
Read the second
selected paper three to
four times
Written the review
section by
paraphrasing it in my
own words
14/09/18 Final Structure and
documentation of the
assignment
Used automation tools
to generate tables of
contents, and figures.
An outline to
literature review
chapter and intro
section along with
table of contents
figures and tables
1.1.2 Filing Journal
Table 2: Filing System Table
Source Keywords Used No. of Returned
Literatures
No. of collected
Literatures
Google General
Search
Online game service
satisfaction
Consumer behavior in
online game
13405
4508
3
3
5

communities
Online Gaming
15890 2
IEEE Papers Consumer behavior in
online game
communities
Exploring Customers'
Preferences for Online
Games
780
675
3
4
Google Scholar factors Influencing the
Customer Loyalty to
Online Games
Online Gaming
17456
12340
2
2
VU Library Exploring Customers'
Preferences for Online
Games
factors Influencing the
Customer Loyalty to
Online Games
Consumer behavior in
online game
34089
6780
3456
3
2
1
6

1.1.3 Bibliography
Bartle, R. (2016). Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: players who suit MUDs. Journal of Virtual
Environments, New York, US.
Castronova, E., Ross, T. and Knowles, I. (2013). Designer, Analyst, Tinker: How Game
Analytics Will Contribute to Science, Maximizing the Value of Player Data. Springer-Verlag
London.
Costello, B. and Edmonds, E. (2007). A Study in Play, Pleasure and Experience Design. In
Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces conference. DPPI’07. ACM Press. – pp.76-91
Davis, F.D. (2009). Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of
Information Technology. MIS Quarterly. Vol. 13. Issue 3, p. 319-340.
Drachen, A., Canossa, A., Rau, J. and Sorensen, M. (2013). Gameplay Metrics in Game User
Research: Examples from the Trenches, SpringerVerlag London.
Green, P.E. and Krieger, A.M. (2011). Segmenting Markets with Conjoint Analysis, IEEE
research paper on Marketing, p20-31.
Green, P.E. and Srinivasan, V. (2012) Conjoint Analysis in Consumer Research: Issues and
Outlook, Journal of Consumer Research, 5, 103-123.
Green, P.E. and Srinivasan, V. (2016) Conjoint Analysis in Marketing: New Developments with
Implications for Research and Practice, Journal of Marketing, 54, 3-19.
Griffiths, M. D., Daviesm, N.O. and Chappell, D. (2014). Online Computer Gaming: a
Comparison of Adolescent and Adult Gamers. Journal of Adolescence. Vol. 27. p. 87-96.
Hair, J.K., Rolph, J.R., Anderson, E, Tatham, R.L. and Black, W.C. (2009). Multivariate data
analysis. Prentice Hall, Inc.
Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M. and Zubek, R. (2004). MDA: A formal approach to game design and
game research. In Proceedings of the challenges in game AI workshop, IEEE national
conference on artificial intelligence. AAAI’04. San Jose: AAAI Press.
7

James, H. and Dale, K. (2017). How to exceed gamers’ customer service expectations through
outsourcing. Retrieved on 7th September, 2018 from
https://www.telusinternational.com/articles/exceed-gamers-customer-service-expectations-
outsourcing/.
King S.A. (2016). Is the Internet Addictive, or Are Addicts Using the internet?. Retrieved on 7th
September 2018 from http://www.concentric.net/~Astorm/iad.html.
Dong-Mo, K., Soo-Hyung, L. and Heung-Seub, C. (2007). Experiential Motives for Playing
Online Games. Journal of Convergence Information Technology, Volume 2 Number 2.
Lee, M. C. (2010), What Drives People to Continue to Play Onine Games? An Extension of
Technology Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour. International Journal Of Human-
Computer Interaction. Volume 26. Issue 6. – p. 601-620.
Nabi, R. and Krcmar, M. (2004). Conceptualising media enjoyment as attitude: implications for
mass media effects research. IEEE paper on Communication Theory, p. 288- 310.
Read, J., MacFarlane, S. and Cassey, C. (2012), Endurability, engagement and expectations. In
Proceedings of International Conference for Interaction Design and Children.
Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2010). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic
motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist. Vol. 55. – p. 68–78.
Seung B., Young-Suk S. & Jae-Kyo S. (2004). Exploring Customers’ Preferences for Online
Games, College of Business Administration, Hanyang Universisty Seoul, Korea.
Whang, L.S. (2013). Online Game Dynamics in Korean Society: Experiences and Lifestyles in
the Online Game World, IEEE research paper on online gaming, 43, 3, Autumn, 7-34.
Wittink, D.R. and Cattin, P. (2009). Commercial Use of Conjoint Analysis: Au Update, Journal
of Marketing, 53, 81-86.
Yannakakis, G. (2012). Game AI revisited. In Proceedings of ACM computing frontiers
conference.
8

Yee, N., Ducheneaut, N. and Nelson, L. (2012). Online Gaming Motivations Scale:
Development and Validation, Proceedings of CHI 2012. – p. 2803-2806.
Young, K.S. (2016) Internet Addiction: The Emergence of A New Clinical Disorder, Cyber
Psychology and Behavior, 1, 3, 237-244.
Yoon, G., Duff, B. and Ryu, S. (2013). Gamers just want to have fun? Toward an understanding
of the online game acceptance. IEEE conferences on Applied Social Psychology. Volume: 43
Issue: 9. – p. 1814-1826.
1.2 Focused Review
I concluded the research for my literature review section with a total twenty five documents
including: research papers, IEEE conference papers and journals from broad scan. I read them
over and again to found relevant topics for conducting literature review and ended with around
12 papers which contained topics relevant to be covered. The rest of the papers were discarded in
this section. An updated filing system and updated bibliography was then created for the filtered
documents.
1.2.1 Updated Filing Journal
Table 3: Updated Filing System Table
Source Keywords Used No. of Returned
Literatures
No. of collected
Literatures
Google General
Search
Online game service
satisfaction
Consumer behavior in
online game
communities
13405
4508
2
1
9

IEEE Papers Exploring Customers'
Preferences for Online
Games
675 2
Google Scholar factors Influencing the
Customer Loyalty to
Online Games
17456 2
VU Library factors Influencing the
Customer Loyalty to
Online Games
Consumer behavior in
online game
6780
3456
2
1
1.2.2 Updated Bibliography
Bartle, R. (2016). Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: players who suit MUDs. Journal of Virtual
Environments, New York, US.
Green, P.E. and Krieger, A.M. (2011). Segmenting Markets with Conjoint Analysis, IEEE
research paper on Marketing, p20-31.
Green, P.E. and Srinivasan, V. (2016) Conjoint Analysis in Marketing: New Developments with
Implications for Research and Practice, Journal of Marketing, 54, 3-19.
James, H. and Dale, K. (2017). How to exceed gamers’ customer service expectations through
outsourcing. Retrieved on 7th September, 2018 from
https://www.telusinternational.com/articles/exceed-gamers-customer-service-expectations-
outsourcing/..
Dong-Mo, K., Soo-Hyung, L. and Heung-Seub, C. (2007). Experiential Motives for Playing
Online Games. Journal of Convergence Information Technology, Volume 2 Number 2.
10

Lee, M. C. (2010), What Drives People to Continue to Play Onine Games? An Extension of
Technology Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour. International Journal Of Human-
Computer Interaction. Volume 26. Issue 6. – p. 601-620.
Nabi, R. and Krcmar, M. (2004). Conceptualising media enjoyment as attitude: implications for
mass media effects research. IEEE paper on Communication Theory, p. 288- 310.
Seung B., Young-Suk S. & Jae-Kyo S. (2004). Exploring Customers’ Preferences for Online
Games, College of Business Administration, Hanyang Universisty Seoul, Korea.
Whang, L.S. (2013). Online Game Dynamics in Korean Society: Experiences and Lifestyles in
the Online Game World, IEEE research paper on online gaming, 43, 3, Autumn, 7-34.
Yee, N., Ducheneaut, N. and Nelson, L. (2012). Online Gaming Motivations Scale:
Development and Validation, Proceedings of CHI 2012. – p. 2803-2806.
1.3 Customer Expectation and Preferences for Online Games
Research Problem
The developers of online gaming websites experiences a major tough competition within
business environment and to succeed, it is required to examine online gamer expectations
carefully by monitoring customer’s WTP (Willingness to pay).It has generally been assumed
that, in order to pay dues for development costs, high prices are assigned to online games by
their producers. Instead of deploying customer’s preferences in a proper way, it is usually based
on technical and psychological aspects and this sometimes results in the failure of the website.
Background
A game when carried out in the network of a computer system is defined as online game. It is
usually multi-dimensional that are set up to be played in a virtual 2D or 3D world.
Psychologically player thinks the character in the game to be his/her own self during whole play.
11

While playing game online, customers tends to expect a virtual relation between him and
opponent. They enjoy conversations without actually knowing who the person is. For online
gamers this is more than a temporary medium for game play, they expect it to be a social place
where virtual human relations are formed. WTP is another major expectation of a customer to
online games; it is the maximum amount that a customer is willing to play in trade of goods and
services.
Effects of Attributes of online games on WTP
Conjoint analysis has been applied to evaluate comparative effects of online games attributes on
the customer’s expectations and preferences. This is a mathematical psychology technique that
encompasses multi-attributes and multi-attributes level and helps in making it understand how
the customers develop preferences for services. Depending upon this conjoint analysis online
games attributes were designed which are as follows:
Online Game Attributes and Levels
Table 4: Online Game Attributes and Levels
Attribute Levels
Machine & Human
Interactivity
2-D,2.5 D and 3-D
Human & Human
Interactivity
Stand-alone applications
Text-chat while play
Picture-chat while play
Level of liberty to choose characters and other
preferences
Low: unable to alter anything
Med: Limited access to make changes in the
game
High: Full access to make alterations
Flexibility Wired or not Wired
Fixed or Movable to other platforms
Cost Free: simple games with low level complexity
Med cost: medium complexity with medium
12

graphics
High Cost: Includes benefits of graphics and
sounds and high complexity
Data Analysis
In this paper based on the table generated in previous section a table has been generated to
analyze data.
Table 5: Hypothetical Products
Products M & H I H & H I Mobility Level of
Freedom
Cost
Pr1 2-D Text chat Wireless Med HC
Pr2 3-D Stand Alone Wire High MC
Pr3 2.5 D Picture chat Wire Low Free
Pr4 2.5 D Picture chat Wireless Med MC
Pr5 3 D Text Alone Wireless Med MC
Pr6 2 D Stand Alone Wire Med Free
Pr7 2-D Picture chat Wire Low HC
Pr8 3-D Picture chat Wireless High HC
Pr9 2.5 D Stand Alone Wire Low Free
M & H I: Machine and Human Interactivity
H & H I: Human and Human Interactivity
MC: Medium Cost
HC: High Cost
An interview was conducted considering around 200 participants including 120 males and 80
females and below table shows their ranking preferences for particular game:
13

Table 6: Customer's Preferences
Product Pr1 Pr2 Pr3 Pr4 Pr5 Pr6 Pr7 Pr8 Pr9
Rank 5 8 1 9 2 3 4 7 6
The above result implies that highest preferences have been given to games that are based on
man and machine interactivity, and possess medium cost with platform portability options. This
clearly indicates what a customer expects from a game while playing it online.
1.4 Exceed customer service expectations through Outsourcing
Online gaming industry has huge business market opportunities. In U.S. alone, online gaming
industry has a worth of approximately $22.6 billion which depicts how much the gamers are
crazy for them. Industries work constantly to enhance user experiences by providing best
soundtracks, best storytelling and best graphics. The makers of console game spend huge
amounts on development costs alone. When millions is on line, it becomes necessary to increase
customer acquisition and preservation and this can only be achieved by meeting their
expectations and providing them services that they actually want. This paper focuses on ways to
gain competitive advantages by meeting customer’s needs which included contact center
outsourcing.
Service Expectations of Gamers
When gamers spends their hard earned money on monthly subscriptions of games which usually
costs them $ 15-20 (excluding in game costs), they surely expects a return back.
Staffing customer-service teams with Gamers
In case of problems that arises in the middle of a game, for example, game crash while in middle
of a raid or unbearably slow graphics frame rate, user wants immediate help to resolve the
problem and to resolve these problems user expects staffing customer-service teams.
14

Customer-Service Reps CSR’s
Whenever customer encounters a problem or seeks guidance regarding something, the first thing
that they look for is community forums of developer’s website such as GameFAQs, GameForum
etc. Game developers need to have a good social-listening arrangement set up to recognize these
discussions and react rapidly. Devising CSR’s also helps in building trust and loyalty in the
company.
Outsourcing support to meet customer’s expectations
Outsourced contact centers are expected to equip with technology, processes and people to
assemble, examine, and represent feedbacks to user in such a way that might not be possible at
the end of gaming companies as they do not possess the required internal bandwidth.
Once these functions are outsourced which includes consumer-service duties, it allows gaming
companies to emphasis their center abilities of offering creative, energizing and engaging
recreations for sale to the public.
1.5 Final Outline of the Literature Review Chapter
1. Introduction
2. Customer Expectation and Preferences for Online Games
2.1 Research Problem
2.2 Background
2.3 Effects of Attributes of online games on WTP
2.3.1 Online Game Attributes and Levels
2.4 Data Analysis
2.4.1 Hypothetical Products
2.4.2 Customer's Preference
3. Exceed customer service expectations through Outsourcing
15

3.1 Service Expectations of Gamers
3.1.1 Staffing customer-service teams with
3.1.2 Customer-Service Reps CSR’s Gamers
3.2 Outsourcing support to meet customer’s expectations
4. Summary and Conclusions
1.6 Introduction
The literature review in this paper is based upon “Customer Expectation and Preferences for
Online Games” and “Exceed customer service expectations through Outsourcing”. The
developers of online gaming websites experiences a major tough competition within business
environment and to succeed, it is required to examine online gamer expectations carefully. This
paper reviews all the customer’s expectations and preferences. This paper also focuses on ways
to gain competitive advantages by meeting customer’s needs which included contact center
outsourcing.
16

References
Green, P.E. and Krieger, A.M. (2011). Segmenting Markets with Conjoint Analysis, IEEE
research paper on Marketing, p20-31.
Green, P.E. and Srinivasan, V. (2016) Conjoint Analysis in Marketing: New Developments with
Implications for Research and Practice, Journal of Marketing, 54, 3-19.
James, H. and Dale, K. (2017). How to exceed gamers’ customer service expectations through
outsourcing. Retrieved on 7th September, 2018 from
https://www.telusinternational.com/articles/exceed-gamers-customer-service-expectations-
outsourcing/.
Seung B., Young-Suk S. & Jae-Kyo S. (2004). Exploring Customers’ Preferences for Online
Games, College of Business Administration, Hanyang University Seoul, Korea.
Whang, L.S. (2013). Online Game Dynamics in Korean Society: Experiences and Lifestyles in
the Online Game World, IEEE research paper on online gaming, 43, 3, Autumn, 7-34.
Yee, N., Ducheneaut, N. and Nelson, L. (2012). Online Gaming Motivations Scale:
Development and Validation, Proceedings of CHI 2012. – p. 2803-2806.
17