Complementarity or Substitutability Between Traditional and Mobile Gaming. An Empirical Study Among Players of Traditional Gaming in China

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the variables that drive video players' switching intention from traditional gaming to mobile gaming. Moreover, this paper intends to uncover whether mobile gaming is complemental or substitutable to traditional gaming. Design/methodology/approach: A human migration framework, the Push-Pull-Mooring, is adopted to the context of video game switching. A total of 340 valid samples were collected in Chinese video game forums. We applied an unsupervised machine learning algorithm, K-mean clustering, to find different video game player segments. We also applied Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) to estimate linear regression models for the whole sample and the segments found. Findings: Empirical results from clustering show that there are two segments in our sample, labelled Unshakable stayer and Moderate intentional emigrant. Switching intention from traditional to mobile gaming are low in the whole sample, although there are differences across segments. We conclude that traditional gaming is not being substituted by mobile gaming. In turn, mobile gaming serves a complementary role for the players of traditional gaming. Moreover, seven variables which have a significant impact on the switching intention are identified. Originality/value: This study contributes to the nascent knowledge body of video game marketing by developing the first switching model from traditional to mobile gaming, identifying salient factors that positively and negatively affect platform migration, and providing marketing practitioners of video game companies with useful insights.