Deconstructing Pokémon Go – An Empirical Study on Player Personality Characteristics

Abstract

Pokemon Go can be considered a successful persuasive game to promote physical activity. This study provides an in-depth analysis of Pokemon Go players’ characteristics that relate to adoption and continued play of the game. Based on online studies at two different points in time (at the initial release and three months later) we analyzed differences in personality traits between players and non-players, as well as between players who continued playing the game and those who stopped playing. The results show that people who played the game score lower in “Conscientiousness” and higher in “Player Motivation” than non-players. Furthermore, people who continued playing the game three months later have a lower score in “Neuroticism” than those who stopped playing. Insights into player characteristics from our empirical analysis of Pokemon Go contribute to answering the key research question regarding to which personality characteristics the persuasive game experience should be personalized.