What drives stickiness in location-based AR games? An examination of flow and satisfaction

Abstract

Although location-based augmented reality (AR) games are popular in recent years, the motivates of the game’s stickiness still need further investigation. The main goal of this research is to investigate the antecedents of the game’s stickiness. This research develops a conceptual model and hypotheses based on the theory of flow and satisfaction to investigate the antecedents. An online questionnaire was developed and distributed on popular websites to collect data, and 1028 usable responses are collected from the players of Pokémon Go in Taiwan. The eleven hypotheses and control variables were validated by using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. Among the antecedents of the game’s stickiness in the model, the flow and satisfaction were found to have strong direct effects. The effects of control variables (age, gender, platform, game experience, and in-app expense) on the stickiness were significant as well. Moreover, telepresence, challenge, perceived control, curiosity, and concentration all have direct influences on the flow. Only perceived currency and responsiveness were found to have a direct impact on players’ satisfaction. The model demonstrated good explanatory power for flow and stickiness in the context of location-based AR game. The proposed model can provide insights to location-based AR game developers to design their games and marketing strategies.