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Older gamers more apt to pay to play and save time
xKingdomx
Member UncommonPosts: 1,541
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44461443/ns/technology_and_science-games/
"Gameplay is referred to as “the grind” because it takes time to progress. The Flurry Analytics survey reveals that younger players spend more time “grinding” away at games on their phones, but older players are less patient and will spend cash for quick rewards. This study used data from a sample of iOS and Android freemium games with over 20 million users across more than 1.4 billion sessions."
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
Comments
i voted yes simply because of the fact that older gamers have money(working and so on then) and therfore have the option to do it. this doesnt mean that older gamers are less patient.
How did they determine that the reason was lack of patience? That seemed kind of a blind assumption.
The study is by Flurry Analytics. They help Mobile Game companies sell Mobile games. So a Mobile gaming marketer released a study that shows companies will make more money with them.
http://www.flurry.com/advertisers/index.html
Besides I am what you could consider as an older gamer (I am in late 20's) and I would never spend a dime to go through a game faster. Most people I know would not do it as well. Not to mention I despise games that make this avabile.
Really separate servers for "purists" and "pay to be fastest and coolest looking" would be so nice feature.
Im old and i spend less on games cause i have bills to worry abouth.
My lil nefue however spends buttloads money on free to play games for vanity characters like League of legends etc.
So no I dont think this is correct.
Also muffins.
voted no......mho as an "older" (36year old) gamer......we come from games like UO and the original EQ where it took MONTHS if you where HC to get to the end game features.
Kids (younger -20 y olds) are not that patient.....they want end game uberness in days (if possible hours).
We older ones do have the money but we do have to work more hours then sitting on school benches AND we have to use that money to live so we just dont putt it all in gaming all the time.
Ofcourse there are exceptions in both younger players and older ones but if the younger ones HAD the money they would spend ALOT more then us older players.
just my 2 copper.
Fits the logic that is going around at the moment.
Older gamers have less time but more money because they have a family and a job.
Certainly fits me as I have less time but more money than when I was young.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
Well it fits almost all adults , as almost all adults have more money and less time than they were young (me included).
Question is , is because of that you spent money to skip certain parts of a game?
Just because a person have less time and more money that equates that this person will spent money to skip content / buy things instead of playing to get them , etc.
im an older gamer, and i have money, but i do not spend that money to progress faster or what have you. being of the old school mindset, i like to earn the things i want. If i dont have the time to invest in a game, i dont play the game. I dont badger the developer demanding they cater to my needs, i simply move on to games that better suit my play style.
The notion of buying items to advance faster makes no sense to me.
dont buy stuff, play for months (if not years), reach my stopping point, stop playing.
buy stuff, play for weeks, realize there is nothing else, stop playing.
there is a ROI failure in there somewhere.
All forms of entertainment eventually stops being of 'value' or 'fun' to an individual.
This is true for books, movies, music etc.
Some are true classics but eventually, you tire of them and move on to other things.
Video games are the same so not sure what the ROI is.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
Older gamer here...
Damn I hated typing that.
FFS.
Anyway... I don't mind playing games that contain a bit of a grind. I've never used any cash shops to purchase levels or xp potions or any of that. Most of the time I simply pay for items like mounts, pets, and collector's items.
If I could pay for levels in the games that I currently play... I would. I don't think I would ever go so far as to buy a max level character, but I would enjoy skipping some levels now and again.
Why?
Because I've likely already taken 2-3 classes to max level and experienced end-game PvP/dungeons/raids, etc.,.. And the thought of having to see the same zones and quest givers for the remaining alts that I want... well, it's just damned boring.
And if I didn't pay for items in cash-shops... I usually have multi-accounts in a game and multi-box. When a game begins to get boring for me, that's usually the last resort before quitting (just to find a challenge).
Another older gamer here. (Damn, we're legion, it seems).
I actually did the buy-to-skip-the-boring-part in a few games, but quickly realized that's actually doing nothing for my enjoyment. I didn't go back to the grind though, as that isn't doing anything for my enjoyment either. The real lesson here was, if the game is designed to either charge me extra or be boring, I simply play another game. That's the beauty of being a gamer in this day and age. If the game doesn't deliver, there are just so many others to play. It's completely avoidable to let yourself be dictated by this type of game design.
That's a weird definition of grinding. Grinding to me is when you have to do very similar things over and over again in order to progress. I have nothing against slow progression as long as the journey is fun. Which grinding is not.
<childish, provocative and highly speculative banner about your favorite game goes here>
If you look at single player games and compare them to MMOs, they are mostly doing the same thing.
'Press button' -> 'shoot fireball/laser/shoryuken'.
Or
'go to XYZ' -> 'Talk to NPC' -> 'Do 123'.
From a mechanics point of view, they are actually identicle. The trick has always been the 'story'.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
I dunno that, single player games have used very different mechanics, particularly if you look back a few years.
There are a lot of difference between a game like "Diablo" and a game like "Champions of Krynn" or "Daggerfall".
MMOs use 1 of 2 systems (with very few exceptions), either levels + skills with cooldown or twitched based FPS styled combat.
I agree with Jonz, grinding is repeating the same thing over and over.
When an adult grinds enough in real life to make money it is just fair to use that money to skip grind in MMO's.
Older people have more money to spend?
I am not sure, I dislike the entire idea that grinding or buying things should give you good stuff, you should get good stuff by doing hard stuff, not just by spending time or money.
Younger gamers have more money then older do, they complaina dn complain and complain untill they get the extra money from the older gamer( parents) so they can buy that new avatar on their cool IPhone while spending money at the Mall whit their friends on useless gimmics. the older gamer makes more money, but tis the "kids" that spent it all . few exspections ofc and f2p games kinda justify their exsistence on the 5% exception players that do spent enough money to keep the game running.
When the OP says older people he might say people with lies, people with jobs, people with obligations. Old does not equate to P2P. It is more frequently people who have to work a normal 8-9 hours a day, who perhaps have a family at home and it's obligations (which frequently take up weekend time) that want to skip some of the boring parts of a game. Buy UBER, Level FAST...etc.
I think it have less to do with age and more with current mindset or a person.
I actually played mmorpg's with younger players that also wanted UBER and FAST , and get a medal each time they log on to a game. I 've met older games like that as well , though less of them like that.
Older working players have more income , though there is alot of younger non working people who also have alot of disposable income.
I think it have actually less to do with money and time issues , than with mindset.
Some people young or old just want to get their gratification fast. That gratification can come with getting level fast , or getting nice mount instantly or uber weapon fast or "owning" in PvP ,etc - some people still get gratification even if they buy themselves this gratification.
I am not like that , if I don't earn something I don't feel nothing , it does not make ma 'happy' or even content if I would buy something from item shop. I was like that when I was young and had plently of time and I am still liek that when I am older and have much less time.
Some people change over time , some don't - it does really not matter. What matter is your current mindset.
Only thing I have problem is there is less and less games I can play that don't have possibility to buy yourself things in game , or speed those things in game or avoid it ,etc
I really think that everyone can buy whatever they see fit. I don't understand this, but it is those person business.
I would just want that game developers run separate servers for people like me that don't like item shops in any kind. For this service I am ready to pay some kind of "premium subscription" that is higher than "normal subsciption".
Up to 25$ / month. My money are waiting , for a game developer that will want to provide service I want.
Unfortunetally there is no game developer like that (with new games I am interested in) though I hope there will be in future, as game developers will realize that it might give them access to nice steady revenue from higher subscription and access to more potential players.
Another older gamer here *sigh*
I tend to be careful in which games I spend money. Throwing $50 at a game is not a big deal, but if the game is a money pit that's $50 wasted, and I despise wasting money.
In all honesty, most of the games I've played don't have what I consider reasonable cash shop pricing or the game is designed to make players heavily dependent on cash shops. That's their choice, and mine is to not spend money in their shops.
I hate this article. what it should read is lazy gamers with more money and a job are more inclined to buy. thats not all gamers of an older age.
It would indeed stand to reason that an adult gamer with obligations and family would spend extra to keep up with the younger players who can afford to spend an entire afternoon/evening on a game.
i'm 30 years old. I spent at least 8 of those early years being a hardcore raider grinder gear whore. I woke up and found that as time gos by each day that time is becoming like gold. very valuable and costly if you waste it. So when i play an MMO now i log on for just pure me fun. I may PVP becuase the best online memorys seems to be the ones where you made some person have grief. or i just want to work on crafting.
So yes having kids is more vaulable then making the raid. the raid will always be there but memorys you make in RL always should trump a digital world of imaginary friends you have never met.
So for me i wont pay a plug nickel for perks from an item store. I know i wont be on long enough to use it. so i prefer a monthly sub that go's right to my credit card and i expect with that i get access to what i already payed for.
So this article or whatever is wrong in many ways. younger people seem to be the peeps that want instant rewards. and older players have more patience. of course it could all be lies who knows.
Well im 35 and I agree with you 100%. I have paid for item mall stuff but almost every time it went into a game a week or two later I was no longer playing, so a total waste.
The problem with free to play or item mall games is that the players dont feel connected to the game, sure the game play might be good, but if you dont feel connected or invested in a game then your nt going to stick with it for long.
"This study used data from a sample of iOS and Android reemium games with over 20 million users across more than 1.4 billion sessions."
Is it that the general contention in this thread that this is not a large enough sample size to yield reliable results? It seems that a lot of the people relying are indicating that they feel it is false. Other than anecdotal, is there some other source of data that contradicts this?
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre