Would you pay to play?

First off let me say that I have absolutely no proof that this is going to happen. In fact Sony maintains the policy that they are NOT going to do this, but take a ride on the conspiracy train with me for a bit and tell me your thoughts.

Would you pay to play? With the PSN down for more than 3 weeks Sony took a significant hit to their stocks. Add that with the free content being given away and the Identity theft program (which I'm still waiting for) Sony has got to be hurting in the financial department right now. If I know anything about businesses (not saying I do) it's that they never can make "enough" money. Sure a company can make enough money to cover their expenses but they never make "enough" money. So what happens when Sony decides that they need to make up the losses they suffered during the network down time?

Charging for online play.

(Let me state right here that this is NOT Sony's policy, and they have stated multiple times over the years that they do not want to charge for online.)

But let's imagine for a second that they do start. They could say something like 'Due to the new and increased security on the PSN our operating costs have increased unexpectedly. It is due to this reason that we are forced to start charging for PSN online play...' If they did this would you pay for it? If you would how much? $5 a month or $50 a year? But hey since we're riding the crazy train let's go to the next stop.

Playing to pay games.

(Again I have ZERO proof that this will happen. In fact I can't even think of a reason why this would happen, but it certainly is possible.)

What would you do if Sony started charging you to play games. Impossible you say? No. Let's think about something for a little bit, how much control does Sony have over the PS3? Probably a lot more than you think. Yes they can block out your online ability, but can they block more than that? Yes. Before you say "no" think about it. With each update they change the operating system on the PS3. On update took away backwards compatibility, one update changed the XMB, one update made it so the PS3 can auto shutdown. Whose to say that Sony can't make it so that you have to pay to use your PS3?

Finally again, this is all just speculation and with no credible evidence to support this.

If Sony started charging you play your PS3 would you pay? What if Microsoft start charging you to play your Xbox? What if all the gaming companies started charging? Would you pay to play?

Research Article Review #1

Last year, I embarked on what I’m hoping will be a lifetime of learning. Media Psychology is what I am passionate about, and I have done research in my specific focus of interest; gaming. Part of the challenge of research into gaming psychology, is the plentiful research into gaming and aggression (more on that eventually), and a lack of much else. I decided I was interested into possible correlations between gaming habits (e.g., game choice, online vs. local play, content, etc.) and personality (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) or motivation. My first study conducted measured online vs. local game play preferences as a function of level of extroversion. I will post that study soon.

As part of that research, I looked at a wide variety of previous research on gaming and came across some very interesting research. One of the articles that helped me the most was this one by Mark D. Griffiths, Ph.D., Mark N.O. Davies, Ph.D., and Darren Chappell, B.Sc.. It gives demographic information about gamers and some other variables. Though this study is only done with EQ gamers, and computer gaming (not necessarily console gaming), it provides a good blueprint for further research into demographics.

This article presents research conducted via online questionnaire. Questions were asked measuring how much time gamers spent playing, whether they had to give anything up (like sleep or school focus), whether gamers were married, how old they are, gender, etc. What they came up with may or may not surprise you. Though the article is definitely worth a read because it provides insight into the specific methods and materials used for the research, as well as the reasoning behind the research, I will quickly summarize their findings, but you can find the full article here.

Gender

81% male
19% female
.01% unspecified

Age

8% 12-17 years
59% 18-30 years
22% 31-40
8% 41-50
3% over 50

Player Nationality

77% North American (US and Canada)
20% European (12% overall from UK)

Marital Status

55.5% single
1.5% separated
3% divorced
30% married
10% living with partner

Education

29% current or recently graduated undergrad student
13% postgraduate qualifications
23.5% some college
20% schooling through 16 years (high school)
.5% no schooling after age 11

Occupation

28.7% IT related
20% students
6.9% unemployed
remained in various fields including (but not limited to) armed forces, lawyers, tradesmen, unlisted, etc.

Playing History

average playing history 27.2 months
Playing Frequency
average frequency per week 25 hrs

Favorite Online Gaming Features

24% social game
10.2% grouping together
10% guild membership
6.9% assisting noobs (my term, not theirs)
6.5% playing solo
5.7% magic use
5.4% hand to hand combat
5.2% role playing
3.3% pvp
12.2% other

Least Favorite Online Gaming Features

18.7% immaturity of other players
15.4% selfishness of other players
14.8% camping
13.3% slow levelling
13.1% pvp
5.9% loss of experience after death
4.4% hand to hand combat
3.7% solo play
1.9% role playing
1.7% team play
1.7% assisting noobs
.2% magic use
5.2% other

Activities Sacrificed to Play

22.8% nothing
25.6% other hobbies
18.1% sleep
9.6% work/education
10.4% socializing with friends
5.4% socializing with partner
4.6% family time

The author suggests further research may include studies including players of other games, as demographics reported here may be specific to type of game and medium used for playing. In other words, this study was done specifically with EQ players, and doesn’t necessarily generalize to all kinds of gamers. It is a stepping stone.

I chose this article because Dr. Griffiths has done a lot of research into different gaming related variables, and I appreciate that his research is objective. There are those who are pining for the death of gaming, while several studies have shown it is not the seeming evil and aggression CAUSING (ugh) hobby it has previously been labeled. There are benefits to game use, and since we cannot (and some of us don’t want to) get rid of it, I believe understanding more about those who play, and their reasons for doing so, will help us mold it into the tool it could be.