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[superjona]

Hello fellow GAF'ers,

I am a Master's Student in Communication Sciences at the University of Ghent. For my thesis research, I am investigating some of the recent developments in the gaming industry. More specifically, this research aims to determine how exclusive games, subscription models (along with their streaming capabilities), and game development studio acquisitions influence modern console purchases.

To make the above a little more concrete: we are focussing on services such as Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now, and recent gaming studio acquisitions made by Microsoft (e.g. Bethesda, Activision...) and Sony (e.g. Bungie) in the "new-gen" era of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S family of consoles.

If you've got five minutes to spare, you would help me out a ton by filling in the survey. As a thank you for helping me graduate, I am handing out five (5) Amazon gift cards worth $10 USD (or an Amazon gift card of an equivalent amount in your country) randomly to all participants who have successfully completed the survey and have entered their email addresses. If you would like to enter the raffle, you can enter your email address at the end of the survey. Providing your email address is only required if you wish to enter the gift card raffle.

Would also love to get the discussion going about this. My research was definitely inspired by my own opinions as Game Pass made me switch to Xbox Series as my preferred console.

https://ugent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_865w0btmKxWSH4O

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Punished Miku]

I got a series s because of GP.

 

[superjona]

To be honest, I wasn't sure if it classifies as 'spam' or not. I'm definitely not a new member here, and I've come across numerous other academic survey posts by using the search function.

 

[brian0057]

Neat.

 

[.Pennywise]

My opinion is that Game Pass will doom the gaming industry and that is not legal, also I hope Microsoft is stopped from buying ActiBlizz as that's not organic enough (like Sony buying Bungie, or upping the videogames MSRP to $70, that would be a good example of organic things).

Now if you excuse me, I have to play GT7 (which costed me 80€ upfront) so I can farm some cars that otherwise would cost me 40$.

 

[blacktout]

I'm taking the survey now and appreciate the thoroughness of it, but you should add a third "no preference" option to this question:

If there were no premium subscription services on the market (Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now) and recent company acquisitions (2020 and later) did not occur, my preferred console/brand would be:​

​

Context: I'm a Nintendo guy primarily, and probably wouldn't have any preference at all for either brand (owned a PS3 that I rarely played and have never owned an Xbox system) under your hypothetical.

However, the value proposition of Game Pass and the fact that Microsoft bought the publisher that owns two of my favorite non-Nintendo IPs (Doom and Elder Scrolls) has me strongly considering getting a Series S when I can scrape together $300. So I don't really know what to answer on that question, given the current options.

 

[Mr Hyde]

I didn't buy a Series X because of Game Pass.

 

[Comandr]

I completed your survey, but declined the reward offer. I'm a slut for PlayStation. Their library really appeals to me, the franchises appeal to me. That said, I noted that GamePass is the better service, hands down. However, being primarily a PC gamer, I can largely enjoy the best of both worlds there. PS5 for exclusives, and a PC to enjoy GamePass. I personally think there is little reason to have an Xbox these days if you have a moderately powerful or modern PC.

 

[superjona]

I'm taking the survey now and appreciate the thoroughness of it, but you should add a third "no preference" option to this question:

​

Context: I'm a Nintendo guy primarily, and probably wouldn't have any preference at all for either brand (owned a PS3 that I rarely played and have never owned an Xbox system) under your hypothetical.

However, the value proposition of Game Pass and the fact that Microsoft bought the publisher that owns two of my favorite non-Nintendo IPs (Doom and Elder Scrolls) has me strongly considering getting a Series S when I can scrape together $300. So I don't really know what to answer on that question, given the current options.

I appreciate your input! I should've worded that better mentioning that Nintendo should not be considered (since the thesis focuses on PS5/Series). Definitely very helpful insights.

 

[Fbh]

Answered, didn't even troll the pronoun section.

To me the most important thing when it comes to consoles are still the exclusives.
As a device I like almost everything about the Series X more than the Ps5. It's smaller, looks much nicer, Gamepass offers a great value, it's considerably cheaper (at least in my country, fuck Sony), has better backward compatibility, the store is better integrated in my country (easier to pay in the local currency with a local payment options) and in recent years I've found MS to be more consumer friendly than Sony.

But I still want a Ps5 more because I want to play God of War Ragnarok, and Horizon, and Spiderman 2, and Wolverine, and FFXVI, and FFVIIR Part 2, etc more than anything that MS has shown so far.

 

[Dick Jones]

Done. Best of luck OP.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Hello fellow GAF'ers,

I am a Master's Student in Communication Sciences at the University of Ghent. For my thesis research, I am investigating some of the recent developments in the gaming industry. More specifically, this research aims to determine how exclusive games, subscription models (along with their streaming capabilities), and game development studio acquisitions influence modern console purchases.

To make the above a little more concrete: we are focussing on services such as Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now, and recent gaming studio acquisitions made by Microsoft (e.g. Bethesda, Activision...) and Sony (e.g. Bungie) in the "new-gen" era of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S family of consoles.

If you've got five minutes to spare, you would help me out a ton by filling in the survey. As a thank you for helping me graduate, I am handing out five (5) Amazon gift cards worth $10 USD (or an Amazon gift card of an equivalent amount in your country) randomly to all participants who have successfully completed the survey and have entered their email addresses. If you would like to enter the raffle, you can enter your email address at the end of the survey. Providing your email address is only required if you wish to enter the gift card raffle.

Would also love to get the discussion going about this. My research was definitely inspired by my own opinions as Game Pass made me switch to Xbox Series as my preferred console.

https://ugent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_865w0btmKxWSH4O

Hey OP,

Nice job. I completed your survey but I think your focus on the three main aspects of platform-exclusive games, portfolio of exclusive studios and subscription services have somewhat marred your survey and will skew the responses in such a way as you won't get the information you're actually trying to get.

Firstly, those three facets are not exhaustive and there are a number of other important factors that influence consumer buying decisions that you're not actually testing for in your survey.

Secondly, the first two; i.e. platform exclusives and in-house studios, are two sides of the same coin. Your survey seems to assume that gamers actually care more about the number of first-party studios themselves rather than the games said studios produce. The game studios are a means to an end and the only reason (at least I want to believe) that gamers get excited about studios and studio acquisitions (ugghhh!!) is because they care about the games that will be the result.

In separating out "exclusive games" from "exclusive studios" in your survey, essentially asking the same question twice and using that to try to draw dubious conclusions about gamers' attitudes towards studios and studio deals.

 

[IDKFA]

Done. I'm a slut for a survey with a possible reward, especially an Amazon voucher to further feed my bibliomania.

 

[superjona]

Hey OP,

Nice job. I completed your survey but I think your focus on the three main aspects of platform-exclusive games, portfolio of exclusive studios and subscription services have somewhat marred your survey and will skew the responses in such a way as you won't get the information you're actually trying to get.

Firstly, those three facets are not exhaustive and there are a number of other important factors that influence consumer buying decisions that you're not actually testing for in your survey.

Secondly, the first two; i.e. platform exclusives and in-house studios, are two sides of the same coin. Your survey seems to assume that gamers actually care more about the number of first-party studios themselves rather than the games said studios produce. The game studios are a means to an end and the only reason (at least I want to believe) that gamers get excited about studios and studio acquisitions (ugghhh!!) is because they care about the games that will be the result.

In separating out "exclusive games" from "exclusive studios" in your survey, essentially asking the same question twice and using that to try to draw dubious conclusions about gamers' attitudes towards studios and studio deals.

Thank you!

The focus is indeed on the three main aspects. There are indeed a whole lot of other factors in play, but since a master's thesis is fairly short, we (my promotor and I) decided not to take those into account. Getting all this research design, analysis, reporting of results, economical/societal relevance, and previous literature study into less than 10K words is going to be a pain.

Very valid comment regarding the two sides of the same coin. I assume you're particularly talking about that last question where you have the make a Top 3? I added that one last minute to get a quick overview of responses for preliminary reporting, which is due very soon. In the other parts of the survey, you might have noticed that some questions about exclusives and gaming studios were worded the exact same way. The reason for this is that these are validated scales already used in previous research. By comparing these (e.g. "exclusives have made me reconsider what console to buy" vs "recent acquisitions have made me reconsider what console to buy"), I hope to find some statistically significant differences. I hope that makes sense? Your means to an end wording is absolutely valid. It's being discussed in my literature review that the effects of studio acquisitions should indeed reflect, future exclusive games in a couple of years or so.

Thank you all for filling in my survey, you have been awesome and I've already reached the required sample size for a 95% confidence interval. Doesn't hurt to get more, of course

 

[kanjobazooie]

Done.

I didn't read the long text before the questions tho. I hope I didn't give you the right to take my baby.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Done.

I didn't read the long text before the questions tho. I hope I didn't give you the right to take my baby.

No, he just asked for a kidney (if there is ever a need for it and you are a very good donor, so you have a good chance of being safe).

You only need about half of one anyway!

 

[Zeroing]

Took the survey, best of luck OP.

 

[Kuranghi]

Five (5) gift cards to give out randomly?!?? Not to be blunt, but fuck you and give me money for my time lol.

Don't you have a stipend from the university to help you complete your thesis?

 

[superjona]

Five (5) gift cards to give out randomly?!?? Not to be blunt, but fuck you and give me money for my time lol.

Don't you have a stipend from the university to help you complete your thesis?

“Not to be blunt”

These things are all out of our own pockets. PHD research is (usually) funded, Master’s theses are not. I don’t have a job yet to throw that kind of money around, that’s kinda the point of graduating. Five gift cards/$50 is already a multitude of the usual and average amount. You’re free to ignore the survey and spend your time elsewhere, of course.

 

[Ailike]

Self Selection Bias: The Thread

 

[superjona]

Self Selection Bias: The Thread

Perhaps, but I wouldn’t know how to approach this any other way…

 

[Topher]

Cool survey. Well thought out.

 

[prinz_valium]

Done

Not sure tho how useful I'm with a strong console preference of one side

 

[MikeM]

Did the survey.

Summary: quality games over subs.

 

[Rest]

I intend to buy other products from this brand.​

I really don't know what this question means. Does it mean games?

 

[Rest]

Perhaps, but I wouldn’t know how to approach this any other way…

Did you post it on reddit's various survey subs?

 

[Radical Dreamer]

third gender xd

 

[superjona]

I really don't know what this question means. Does it mean games?

It's from a validated scale from previous research. I would say you'd have to think of either the Xbox or the PlayStation brand if that makes sense.

 

[Rest]

It's from a validated scale from previous research. I would say you'd have to think of either the Xbox or the PlayStation brand if that makes sense.

Your explanation makes no sense. It's a console, people are expected to buy games and controllers. Are you talking about miscellaneous accessories? Does the question assume people will only use Gamepass, and would not buy standalone games? Does it mean other services like a hypothetical music streaming service? When it comes to consoles I'm not buying brands, I'm buying hard products that I expect to perform a function.

The question as phrased didn't provide me any information to know what it meant, because there are some assumed items that I mentioned like games and controllers that I would expect any purchaser would buy with the console, which would mean just about every answer for that question would be positive. That makes me wonder what the point of a question is that only catches a handful of outlier responses. So if the meaning of the question does not include the assumed items of games and controllers, what is it asking?

 

[superjona]

Did you post it on reddit's various survey subs?

Haven't yet! But that wouldn't really solve the self-selection bias, I believe. Online surveys are pretty much always influenced by this.

Your explanation makes no sense. It's a console, people are expected to buy games and controllers. Are you talking about miscellaneous accessories? Does the question assume people will only use Gamepass, and would not buy standalone games? Does it mean other services like a hypothetical music streaming service? When it comes to consoles I'm not buying brands, I'm buying hard products that I expect to perform a function.

The question as phrased didn't provide me any information to know what it meant, because there are some assumed items that I mentioned like games and controllers that I would expect any purchaser would buy with the console, which would mean just about every answer for that question would be positive. That makes me wonder what the point of a question is that only catches a handful of outlier responses. So if the meaning of the question does not include the assumed items of games and controllers, what is it asking?

Those are fair remarks. Even though I can definitely understand 'buying a hard product' instead of a brand, the purpose of this hypothesis is to check whether or not subscriptions make a meaningful difference in brand loyalty, which has been measured with scales like these in previous research. Standalone games and official controllers are indeed expected - that's an oversight I should have made more clear.

Miscellaneous accessories would be a good fit for this question. If you chose PS5, and PlayStation releases a new random new product you might be interested in, do you intend to buy PlayStation's product more than competing brands?

In any case, thanks for the valuable insights. Hope that clears things up a bit

 

[ReBurn]

I already have ten dollars. What else you got?

 

[Rest]

Haven't yet! But that wouldn't really solve the self-selection bias, I believe. Online surveys are pretty much always influenced by this.

There's also the Steam forums, maybe CAPCOMunity (or whatever they may have changed the name to,) hitmanforum.com used to be pretty busy, but I haven't been there in a while. Gaiaonline also had a gaming forum the last time I looked there. I'm not sure what other active gaming forums are out there these days.

 

[Hari Seldon]

What are you doing with this data? Gathering data from a video game forum about video games is not IID and therefore you better not be assuming a normal distribution and all of the shortcuts that assuming one gives you, otherwise your “research” might as well be a magic 8 ball in terms of how valid it is.

 

[Bluecondor]

Hey OP,

Nice job. I completed your survey but I think your focus on the three main aspects of platform-exclusive games, portfolio of exclusive studios and subscription services have somewhat marred your survey and will skew the responses in such a way as you won't get the information you're actually trying to get.

Firstly, those three facets are not exhaustive and there are a number of other important factors that influence consumer buying decisions that you're not actually testing for in your survey.

This is a really important point that you should consider including in the discussion section of your thesis.

I am a business professor (in management), and just from my familiarity with consumer behavior research, there are many contextual factors that influence buying decisions like console choice. I understand that you are trying to isolate the three factors of your study, but you should not ignore the huge influence of other contextual factors that impact product buying decisions. For example, factors related to the brand (like brand loyalty and brand image) have a considerable influence here. Take Nintendo fans for example, as gamers who have a strong affiliation to the Nintendo brand typically favor Nintendo in buying decisions.

I'm not sure which academic discipline you are in, but if you want to cite some (older) influential articles in the academic study of marketing in business administration that emphasize the impact of branding on consumer behavior, here are a few from the field's top journal (Journal of Marketing) that have each been cited several thousand times on Google Scholar:

Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Means-End Model and Synthesis of Evidence
Valarie A. Zeithaml First Published July 1, 1988 JOURNAL OF MARKETING

Marketing Universals: Consumers’ Use of Brand Name, Price, Physical Appearance, and Retailer Reputation as Signals of Product Quality
Niraj Dawar, Philip Parker First Published April 1, 1994 JOURNAL OF MARKETING

Here is a highly-cited article on a related topic in another top marketing journal (Marketing Science):

The Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Satisfaction for Firms
Eugene W. Anderson, Mary W. Sullivan
Published Online:1 May 1993 MARKETING SCIENCE

Here is a highly-cited article on reputation and strategy in a related field, Strategic Management in the field's top journal:

Reputation and corporate strategy: A review of recent theory and applications
Keith Weigelt, Colin Camerer
First published: September/October 1988 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL

Again, this is just something to consider for the discussion section of your thesis. I always like to mention other academic research areas when I write the discussion section of an article, as this often heads off critical comments from faculty on thesis/dissertation committees (i.e. if you have a marketing faculty on your committee for example) and/or if you submit a scholarly article for publication to anticipate a possible objection/criticism from a reviewer or editor.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Xbox: At this point there are definitely more Xbox games that I want than PS games. Game Pass is also far and away the best value on consoles. On the other hand there is no gyro aiming and that's a major issue for me.
PS5: Most Sony exclusives are meh to me, but there are a few that I really want to play like Naughty Dog games and Returnal. In the end I'll just have to either stream those or wait for PC ports. There is gyro but it's barely supported.
PC: It's stupidly expensive even without the GPU shortages. But I can afford it. It will eventually get all the console exclusives. With some tweaking I can get gyro aim on most games.

Conclusion: Probably gonna stick with PC alone. If cloud streaming at some point approaches the quality of local gaming than I can hopefully use that and not have to think about hardware at all.

 

[AutumnLeaves]

Cheers mate, completed it!

 

[existensmaximum]

Done!

 

[NahaNago]

Done as well.