Abstract:

There has been a growing body of work which looks at health and other pro-social outcomes of gaming. Gacha games are considered a free-to-play model of freemium games. Such games provide options for unlocking certain features or speeding up certain processes through in-game monetisation (Evans, 2016). These games involve gacha mechanics, whereby players attempt to receive a random character or equipment through spending a certain amount of in-game virtual currency – acts known as ‘rolling’ or ‘pulling’ (Britt & Britt, 2021, pp.9-10). Relatively few academic studies have been conducted to study the appeal of gacha games and their player base (Woods, 2022b, p.2). Thus, this paper seeks to investigate the different reasons that motivate gacha gamers through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000). 1221 participants were recruited between July 2022 and June 2023. Instruments related to SDT - such as the Multiple PSR scale and others - were administered. Results were analysed using t-tests and Pearson coefficients. The results show that gacha gamers develop a parasocial connection with in-game characters as well as form social bonds with others on online platforms. Furthermore, these parasocial relationships and social bonds have a moderately positive correlation with satisfying the need for relatedness. These results help to further support the argument that gacha gamers are not “passive victims of monetisation schemes” (Woods, 2022b, p.11) but are rational gamers (Dong, 2020) who choose how and when they roll. Future research should investigate the effect of excitement on their decisions to play gacha games.

Keywords:

Gacha games, self-determination theory, psychology.