562 Jurnal Teknik Informatika dan Sistem Informasi ISSN 2407-4322 Vol. 10, No. 2, Juni 2023, Hal. 562-569 E-ISSN 2503-2933
Factors That Affect A College Student's In-Game Purchase in Batam City
Valentino Chen*1, Farhan Alwie Rasyidhy2, Lip Son3, Leo Franciso4, Rainal Agus Setiawan5
1,2,3,4,5
Universitas Internasional Batam; Baloi Sei Ladi, Jl. Gajah Mada, Tiban Indah, Kec.
Sekupang, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29426, (0778) 7437111
1,2,3,4,5
Jurusan Sistem Informasi, UIB, Batam
e-mail: *1[email protected], 2 [email protected], 3[email protected],
4[email protected], 5[email protected]
Abstrak
Game adalah sebuah media yang dimainkan dengan tujuan untuk menghibur, menghilangkan rasa stress, mengisi waktu, hingga bisa berolahraga dan menghasilkan uang.
Salah satu cara game menghasilkan uang adalah melalui pembelian dalam game atau transaksi mikro, yang telah menjadi hal yang lazim bagi kalangan pemain dan terdapat di berbagai jenis game. Walaupun Pandemi Covid-19 telah memberikan dampak negatif terhadap ekonomi di Indonesia, hal tersebut tidak menghentikan masyarakat Indonesia untuk mengeluarkan uang untuk membeli barang-barang di dalam game. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menyelidiki faktor-faktor yang mendorong seseorang untuk melakukan pembelian dalam game di Batam. Penelitian akan dilakukan secara kuantitatif dengan menyebarkan online survey dan memiliki 385 responden. Metode analisis yang akan dilakukan menggunakan SPSS dan AMOS dengan analisis SEM. Dari hasil penelitian ini, dapat dilihat bahwa monetary value, enjoyment value, dan social value mempengaruhi purchase intention secara positif. Oleh karena itu, dapat disimpulkan bahwa bahwa dengan memperhatikan faktor-faktor tersebut, seorang mahasiswa dapat didorong untuk melakukan pengeluaran dalam game.
Kata kunci— Game, Microtransactions, Mahasiswa, Purchase Intention
Abstract
Game is a media that is played with the aim of entertaining, relieving stress, filling time, even exercising and making money. One of the ways games make money is through in- game purchases or microtransactions, which have become commonplace among players and are found in many types of games nowadays. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the economy in Indonesia, this has not stopped Indonesians from spending money to buy in-game items. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors that encourage someone to make an in-game purchase in Batam. The research will be carried out quantitatively by distributing online surveys and having 385 respondents. The method of analysis that will be carried out is using SPSS and AMOS with SEM analysis. From the results of this study, it can be observed that monetary value, enjoyment value, and social value affect purchase intention positively. Therefore, a conclusion can be made that by paying attention to these factors, a student can be encouraged to spend in-game.
Keywords— Game, Microtransactions, College Students, Purchase Intention
Jatisi ISSN 2407-4322
Vol. 10, No. 2, Juni 2023, Hal. 562-569 E- ISSN 2503-2933 563
1. INTRODUCTION
Game is a media that is played with the aim of entertaining, relieving stress, filling time, even exercising and making money. In this day and age, games have become something that is very common and well known to many people. According to Newzoo, by the end of 2020 there were 2.69 billion people playing video games worldwide [1]. This is due to the development of technology over time. Therefore, the general public can enjoy games as a medium of recreation.
With the growing popularity of creative jobs; like directors, animators, artist, and audio engineers [2]; as well as competitive activities such as e-sports, games are also a means to unleash creativity, compete and make money. In recent years, there have also been games that have become very popular and loved by players around the world; both because of the use of innovative technology/systems, such as Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil 4, and Splatoon [3]; an incredibly enjoyable gameplay, such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Fortnite, and Minecraft [4]; or stunning and interesting content, such as Inside, Limbo, and Journey[5]. These are the reasons why games have become a part of popular culture in this modern era.
Games can make money in several ways. One such way is through in-game purchases or microtransactions. It is a way in which players can buy items and/or virtual benefits within the game for a certain price. The goods and features available by microtransactions can range from cosmetic to functional [6]. Microtransactions are very common in various games, be it AAA games, indie games, paid games, or free games. The reason for the development of microtransactions starts from consumers who are hesitant to spend money on games, while indie developers and studios appear but cannot charge the same price as AAA studios [7]. An example of the application of microtransactions that are widely used is the purchase of virtual money for players who want to get it quickly. In addition, many games, especially online multiplayer games, have subscriptions where players pay a monthly fee to get in-game items/advantages. Thus, it can be seen that in-game purchases/microtransactions have become commonplace among players and exist in various types of games.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic caused many losses that had an impact on the Indonesian economy [8]. The results of the Indonesian Political Indicators survey showed that 72.6% of Indonesians experienced a decrease in household income in February 2021 [9]. This phenomenon occured because many industries and businesses had to adapt to new protocols. In fact, there were some businesses that were forced to slow down or stop their activities [10].
Therefore, many communities experienced a decline in their income. In addition, to follow the established safety protocols, many people preferred to use food purchase services, such as Grab and Gojek, as well as buying masks, hand sanitizers, and other sanitation items. Not only that, but also because of the lockdown, people spent more time in their homes. This encouraged them to fill their spare time by indulging in entertaining activities, such as playing games. According to the results of the Central Statistics Agency survey, 56% of respondents experienced an increase in spending during the pandemic, 17% experienced a decrease, and the rest remained the same during this pandemic [11]. So, in addition to experiencing a decrease in income, many people also experienced an increase in spending, so that their economic condition declined.
Although the Covid-19 has had a negative impact on the economy in Indonesia, this has not stopped Indonesians from spending money to buy in-game items. Because according to statista.com, from the beginning of the Covid-19 in 2020, the time spent playing games increased by 52 percent worldwide [12]. This causes increased spending to buy items in the game. According to Newzoo, a company in market research for games and E-Sports, states that Indonesia has 62.1 million players and revenues of up to US$1.1 billion for the gaming industry [12]. Therefore, Indonesia is the largest game user in Southeast Asia, and is ranked 12th in the world [12].
564 Jatisi ISSN 2407-4322 Vol. 10, No. 2, Juni 2023, Hal. 562-569 E-ISSN 2503-2933
Spending money to buy items/profits in the game is a very common phenomenon in this modern era. Many people in Batam like to play games to relieve stress from college assignments or from work. And when they play games, they might be interested in the items in the game and that might make them spend money to buy items in the game. This study aims to investigate the factors that encourage someone to make an in-game purchase in Batam. Research will be conducted quantitatively and usefully to find out in-game spending as well as compare spending from various demographics.2. LITERATURE REVIEW
This study was conducted in accordance with the results of the research of [13]. This research focuses on investigating the factors that influence in-game purchase behavior. The aim of this research is to facilitate understanding of how to convert non-paying players into paid consumers in free games. The research was conducted by distributing surveys on 2006 free game players and analyzed using SEM. The result of this research is that factors such as monetary, enjoyment and social values influence in-game purchase behavior positively, along with game fairness and balance of challenges and skills affect enjoyment value.
The research of [14] examines the factors that encourage Indonesian players to continue playing games and making in-app purchases. This study aims to develop a conceptual model of the factors that encourage Indonesian players to continue playing games and making in-app purchases. The research was conducted using a quantitative approach based on 136 paid players and using PLS-SEM to analyze the data. The results of the study show that all perceived values influence the intention to continue, while only two of them encourage Indonesian players to buy in-game items.
The research of [12] focuses on the UTAUT model for freemium mobile games in Indonesia during the Covid-19. The focus of this study aims to determine the main factors that influence purchase intention and behavioral use in freemium online mobile games. Their research was conducted using survey results from 100 Indonesian players and analyzed using SEM-PLS. The result of this study is that social effects do not purchase intention significantly, while performance and effort show a significant effect on purchase intention and behavioral use.
The research of [15] also examines the influence of certain factors on continuous use intention and purchase intention. This study aims to see the effect of perceived enjoyment on continuous use intention and purchase intention for Virtual Goods in PUBG Mobile among Petra Christian University students. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach and based on 100 students of Petra Christian University. The results of the data analysis show strong evidence to support the research hypothesis.
This study focuses on college student’s spending in a game. The research idea to find out the factors that encourage players to make in-game purchases is in accordance with the research of [12], [13], [14], and [15]. The use of quantitative and survey methods to obtain data and data analysis using SEM is in accordance with the research of [12], [13], [14], and [15].
Student-based research is in accordance with the research of [15].
3. METHODOLOGY
This research is a quantitative research using the UTAUT research model. The model has been used in [12] and [13]’s research. The model has independent variables, namely
Jatisi ISSN 2407-4322
Vol. 10, No. 2, Juni 2023, Hal. 562-569 E- ISSN 2503-2933 565
enjoyment value, monetary value, and social value. The dependent variable contained in the model is purchase intention. Figure 1 displays the research model that will be used.
Figure 1. Research Model The hypotheses for this research are as follows:
H10: Monetary value does not affect Purchase Intention H1A: Monetary value affects Purchase Intention
H20: Enjoyment value does not affect Purchase Intention H2A: Enjoyment value affects Purchase Intention
H30: Social value does not affect Purchase Intention H3A: Social value affects Purchase Intention
The operational variables definition used to develop this research instrument are shown in the table below.
Table 1. Operational Variable Definition
Variable Indicator
Monetary Value
Prices of paid goods are affordable Paid goods offer benefits
Paid goods are worth the price
Paid goods are worth more than the price
Enjoyment Value
It will be very exciting to use paid goods in the game It will be very fun to use paid goods in games Paid goods make the game more interesting Paid goods make the game easier
Social Value
Using paid goods will make a good impression on others Paid items will give approval in the social world
Paid items give me an unique identity
Using paid items will attract the attention of others Purchase Intention
I intend to buy in-game items for my game account My willingness to buy in-game items is very high My chances of buying in-game items are very high
566 Jatisi ISSN 2407-4322 Vol. 10, No. 2, Juni 2023, Hal. 562-569 E-ISSN 2503-2933
The analysis method that will be used is the SPSS and AMOS with SEM analysis. The analysis was carried out by testing the validity and reliability of the variables using SPSS. The variable is declared valid if the Pearson Correlation is more than 0.05 and the significance value is less than 0.05. Meanwhile, the variable is declared reliable when the Cronbach's Alpha more than 0.6. After that, the variables were tested using the Regression Weight, which used AMOS software. A variable hypothesis is declared true if the P result of the Regression Weight is ***.4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Respondent Description
The data in this study were obtained by distributing an online survey to the student population in Batam with a total of 385 respondents. The majority of the respondents amounting to 70.9% or 273 respondents were male. 33.5% or 129 respondents aged 21 to 22 years; 33.2%
or 128 respondents aged 17 to 18 years; and 33.2% or 128 respondents aged 19 to 20 years. The majority of respondents have played games that had the feature purchasing goods with a percentage of 97.1% or 374 respondents. 38.7% or 149 respondents admitted to having spent 100,000 to 1,000,000 in games; 26.5% or 102 respondents issued more than 1,000,000; 18.4%
or 71 respondents issued less than 100,000; and 15.5% or 63 respondents did not spend at all.
4.2 Validity and Reliability Test
The validity of the data in this study is tested using Pearson Correlation. Validity testing is carried out on each question and it can be proven that the validity of the research instrument indicators is valid with all significance values below 0.05 and Pearson Correlation Coefficient above 0.05. The reliability of the data in this study is tested by applying Cronbach's Alpha.
Reliability testing is carried out on each indicator and a research instrument is declared reliable if it has a value of more than 0.5 on the Cronbach's Alpha. All of the question indicators tested in this study have a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient value above 0.6 which means that the instrument used in this study is reliable.
4.3 Regression Weight Test
Regression Weight Test is performed with the help of AMOS. The measurement model shows the relationship between 1 dependent variable and 3 independent variables. The Regression Weight test result and the measurement model are shown in the following table and figure.
Table 2. Regression Weight Test Result
Variable Relationship Estimation S.E C.R P
PI MV 1.606 .209 7.667 ***
PI EV 1.042 .262 3.980 ***
PI SV .205 .067 3.047 .002
Jatisi ISSN 2407-4322
Vol. 10, No. 2, Juni 2023, Hal. 562-569 E- ISSN 2503-2933 567
Figure 2. Measurement Model
The Estimate and P results from the Regression Weight test show that monetary value, enjoyment value, and social value affect purchase intention. It can be concluded that the definition of the SEM equation is as follows:
PI = 1.606*MV + 1.042*EV + 0.25*SV (1) 4.4 Discussion
This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors that encourage someone to make an in-game purchase in Batam City. Through the results of this study, it can be seen that monetary value, enjoyment value, and social value affect purchase intention positively. This study obtained the same results as the research of [13].
The results of this study can provide a theoretical contribution. It can be seen that monetary value, enjoyment value, and social value are very important factors on the purchase intention of players. Therefore, research on these factors and their effects can add to knowledge about the reasons players indulge in in-game purchasing and the ways in which game developers encourage players to do so.
The results of this study can also make a practical contribution. Since monetary value, enjoyment value, and social value affect purchase intention , game developers can take actions that can improve these factors. Because students aged 17-21 years don't necessarily have a steady income, they are more hesitant to spend a lot of money in the game. Therefore, the items in the game must be considered so that the price of the item is in accordance with its value, the price of the item is affordable, and the items purchased provide benefits for the player.
However, these items must also be comfortable to use, because if it’s not, then the player has no desire to spend again. In addition, the purchased items also have a positive effect in social aspects, be it impressions, uniqueness or others, so that players are encouraged to spend.
Through these three factors, game developers can increase the amount of revenue through player spending in the game.
568 Jatisi ISSN 2407-4322 Vol. 10, No. 2, Juni 2023, Hal. 562-569 E-ISSN 2503-2933
It can be concluded that by taking into account the factors above, a student can be encouraged to make in-game expenses, even though they don't necessarily have a fixed income.With items that have the right price, are easy to use, and have a positive social impact, a game can generate very high income through player spending in the game.
5. CONCLUSION
This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors that encourage someone to make an in-game purchase in Batam City. This study uses a quantitative approach with a research model that has 4 variables, namely monetary value, enjoyment value, social value, and purchase intention. The analysis method used is SPSS and AMOS with SEM analysis. This study analyzed data from 385 respondents.
From the results of this study, it can be seen that monetary value, enjoyment value, and social value affect purchase intention positively. Therefore, it can be concluded that students will be more motivated to make in-game purchases if the items purchased have a good price, are easy to use and have a positive impact on social aspects. Game developers should pay attention to these factors if they intend to increase the number of players who make in-game purchases, otherwise players will avoid this action.
REFERENCES
[1] N. Gilbert, “Number of Gamers Worldwide 2021/2022: Demographics, Statistics, and Predictions,” Finances Online, 2021. https://financesonline.com/number-of-gamers- worldwide/
[2] A. D. Priyamvodo, “Mengenal 5 Pekerjaan yang Berkaitan Dengan Video Game,” 2021.
https://esports.skor.id/mengenal-5-pekerjaan-berkaitan-dengan-video-game-01389490 [3] Antonio, “7 Video Game Unik yang Inovasinya Dipakai Sampai Sekarang - Laman 2
dari 3,” 2022. https://vcgamers.com/news/video-game-unik/2/
[4] M. Hume, “The Best Games to Play While Waiting Out The Coronavirus - The Washington Post,” 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/video- games/2020/04/03/best-video-games-modern-nintendo-playstation-xbox-pc/
[5] M. Perhiniak, “15 Games with Cool Illustration Style - Yes I’m a Designer,” 2020.
https://yesimadesigner.com/15-games-with-cool-illustration-style/
[6] V. A. Rahiem and C. A. Fitrananda, “Persepsi Gamers Tentang Aktivitas Microtransactions di Virtual Goods Marketplace Itemku.com,” Cover. J. Strateg.
Commun., Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 103–112, 2021, doi: 10.35814/coverage.v11i2.2018.
[7] E. L. P. Tan, “Microtransactions in AAA Video Games-Are They Really Necessary?,”
Galact. Media-Journal Media Stud. - Galakt. Media-Zhurnal Media Issled., Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 127–147, 2019.
Jatisi ISSN 2407-4322
Vol. 10, No. 2, Juni 2023, Hal. 562-569 E- ISSN 2503-2933 569
[8] F. R. Yamali and R. N. Putri, “Dampak Covid-19 Terhadap Ekonomi Indonesia,” Ekon.J. Econ. Bus., Vol. 4, No. 2, p. 384, 2020, doi: 10.33087/ekonomis.v4i2.179.
[9] D. J. Bayu, “Survei: Masyarakat yang Alami Penurunan Pendapatan Akibat Covid-19
Meningkat | Databoks,” 2021.
https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2021/02/23/survei-masyarakat-yang-alami- penurunan-pendapatan-akibat-covid-19-meningkat
[10] M. T. Kumala, R. T. Vinata, P. J. Setyowati, and T. Suharti, “Penguatan Kerja Sama Internasional Dalam Mengurangi Dampak Pandemi Covid-19 Terhadap Sektor Perikanan di Indonesia,” Masal. Huk., Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 119–130, 2021, doi:
10.14710/mmh.50.2.2021.119-130.
[11] M. Trisilia, “Peningkatan Pengeluaran yang Terjadi di Masa Pandemi Covid | Binus University Malang | Pilihan Universitas Terbaik di Malang,” 2021.
https://binus.ac.id/malang/2021/08/peningkatan-pengeluaran-yang-terjadi-di-masa- pandemi-covid/
[12] R. A. Ericska, L. A. M. Nelloh, and S. Pratama, “Purchase Intention and Behavioural Use of Freemium Mobile Games During Covid-19 Outbreak in Indonesia,” Procedia Comput. Sci., Vol. 197, No. 2021, pp. 403–409, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2021.12.156.
[13] L. Wang, Y. Gao, J. Yan, and J. Qin, “From Freemium to Premium: The Roles of Consumption Values and Game Affordance,” Inf. Technol. People, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp.
297–317, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.1108/ITP-10-2019-0527.
[14] F. N. Hamid and A. Suzianti, “Driving Factors Analysis of Mobile Game In-app Purchase Intention in Indonesia,” ACM Int. Conf. Proceeding Ser., pp. 7–12, 2020, doi:
10.1145/3400934.3400938.
[15] K. C. Gianto, “Pengaruh Perceived Enjoyment Terhadap Continuous Use Intention dan Purchase Intention for Virtual Goods pada Game Pubg Mobile di Kalangan Mahasiswa Universitas Kristen Petra,” Agora, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 2–9, 2020.
