UK consumers: In-app purchases damage game enjoyment

British consumers believe that in-app purchases reduce the enjoyment of games.

However, the latest data from Ipsos Connect’s GameTrack survey also shows that gamers believe that the free-to-play model is a ‘good’ thing, because it allows people to sample a wide variety of products.

48 per cent of British consumers were agreed with this sentiment, with just 14 per cent who disagreed (the remaining 38 per cent either had no opinion or were unaware of the topic).

In terms of value for money, 30 per cent of UK players feel that free-to-play games offer better value than premium titles, with 25 per cent that disagreed with the statement.

However, the perception amongst consumers in Britain is that in-app purchases are rarely implemented well. 47 per cent said that microtransactions ‘reduce the enjoyment of playing these games’, with just 13 per cent disagreeing with that statement.

The survey was also carried out for France, Germany and Spain, all with similar outcomes. However, German and French consumers differ slightly as more disagree than agree that free-to-play games offer better value for money than premium titles.

Across all four markets, 43 per cent of consumers agreed that free-to-play is good for allowing users to sample games (versus 13 per cent who disagree). 24 per cent of people said that free-to-play titles offer better value for money (versus 23 per cent who disagree). Meanwhile, 40 per cent of respondents said that in-app purchases negatively impact game enjoyment (versus 13 per cent who don’t think that).

In total, there were 8,088 respondents to the questions across the four countries.

The research was conducted by Ipsos Connect’s GameTrack project. For a more detailed analysis, check out next week’s MCV.