Consumer Studies in Multiplayer Online Games

Dear Colleagues,

The video game industry represents one of the biggest players in this global entertainment market, with game titles such as the Call of Duty franchise whose lifetime sales revenues exceed all-time movie blockbusters such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. According to the Entertainment Software Association, consumers in the US spent approximately $28.21 billion on game content, hardware, and accessories in 2019, with an overall industry compound annual growth rate of 5.37% between 2014 and 2018. With the release of new console gaming generations in 2020 and ongoing innovations in online distribution platforms (i.e., cloud gaming) and mobile platforms, the video game industry is well-positioned to expand its already considerable market position. Modern video games are high-involvement products with multiplatform and multiplayer characteristics which aim to deliver long-term entertainment and, consequently, long-term enjoyment and retention to consumers. In the context of these significant and growing industry segments, it is important to understand consumer preferences to successfully cater to current and emerging market segments (e.g., social gaming, mobile gaming, and e-sports). This Special Issue aims to extend our understanding of consumer behavior in multiplayer online games based on theoretical and conceptual inquiries, quantitative and qualitative studies, literature reviews, and experimental research. Topics of interest include studies on

• Consumer preferences and determinants (i.e., motivation, retention, engagement, and demographics);
• The marketing of multiplayer online games (i.e., customer-lifetime value, segmentation, branding, bundling, sponsorships, and online distribution platforms);
• The technology of online games (i.e., console versus PC gaming, mobile gaming, cloud gaming, virtual and augmented reality technologies);
• The matchmaking of consumers to multiplayer online games (e.g., skill-based matchmaking versus experience-based matchmaking); and
• Addressing researchers in varied disciplines (e.g., psychology, marketing, sociology, information systems, and media and culture studies).

Contributions have to follow one of the three categories of papers (article, conceptual paper or review) of the journal and address the topic of the special issue.

Dr. Daniel Kaimann
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.