Authors:
Jeanette Buhleier
;
Benjamin Engelstätter
and
Omid Tafreschi
Affiliation:
Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany
Keyword(s):
Dating Simulation Games, Romantic Parasocial Relationships, Romantic Loneliness, Free-to-Play, Purchase Behavior.
Abstract:
Female-oriented dating simulation games (i.e., games centered around the romantic relationships between a female player and its game characters) have grown increasingly popular internationally and developed into a profitable business model. The genuine feelings of love players develop for these virtual characters (i.e., parasocial love), particularly the motifs behind such attachments, have garnered rapid curiosity. Applying the parasocial compensation hypothesis, this study conducted an online survey among female players of the free-to-play dating simulation game Mystic Messenger to explore romantic loneliness as a motivator for players’ parasocial love and its impact on players’ purchasing behavior. The correlation analysis revealed a weak negative relationship between romantic loneliness and parasocial love, indicating a complementary rather than compensatory function of such attachments. Further, while the strength of para-romantic feelings did not drive in-game spending, romanti
c loneliness was negatively associated with willingness to invest money. These findings suggest that other motivations drive real-money investments in romance-themed games, highlighting the complexity of player behavior in this context.
(More)