Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Why Mobile Games are Addicting

Patrick Johnson

Mr. Reuter

Economics

March, 30, 2015

Why Mobile Games Are Addicting


Why do so many people play mobile games? it is because they’re fun?, is it because they’re free? is it because they’re at the touch of our fingers?, al are correct but the real reason is because they are addicting and they are purposely made that way.

Game developers purposely make their games to be addicting to earn higher revenue compared to their competitors. According to the Google Play Store some of the top rosing games are Clash of Clans, Candy Crush, Game of War, and Hay Day all of these game are specifically programmed to be addictive in that in the first few minutes of the game you are put through a tutorial and begging levels that draw you in by completing these levels you are advancing quickly through the game causing a form of thrill, through this thrill your brain releases dopamine.through the dopamine pathway. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that when you are rewarded releases dopamine through the ends of neurons in the brain and are absorbed through dopamine receptors at the ends of other neurons. This can later lead to desensitization in which, much like addiction the same feeling of you previous high’s eventually become weaker due to your body becoming used t to the drugs, desensitization is much like that in when that game begins to become harder and harder you become rewarded less and less dopamine is released along with it. Game like Candy Crush and Clash of Clans make so much money is that when desensitization hits these games have in app purchases to help not only further advance you in the game but help players become invested in their games again.

Popular games like Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, and Game of War annually gross over a billion dollars because they are so simple. Many mobile games are just simple puzzle and strategy games that take little effort into playing and when you advance further the difficulty only goes up a little depending on which game you are playing. These game developers make a lot of money because the games are free to play meaning you don’t have to pay to download the game in the app store making it sound like they would actually be losing money but the fact is that so many players buy in-game items that they keep generating money for example research done by Forbes shows that Supercell, the makers of Clash of Clans has “8.5 million daily players generating $2.4 million every day, sometimes more. Supercell is already at a run-rate of more than $800 million for 2013, having earned $179 million before expenses in the first quarter alone. If Supercell plays its cards right, it could reach a billion”(Forbes).

These companies make all this money through the process of hedonic adaptation or cut off time. For example in Clash of Clans when upgrading a building there is a set time for that building to be upgraded, but the further you advance in the game the longer it takes for those buildings to be upgraded and thus hedonic adaptation is introduced, Clash of Clans is essentially cutting you off in the time of need, the buildings in the beginning of the game took less time to upgrade and so you weren’t as invested in it, but the once easy to upgrade building that took 10 minutes now take 3 days and you are more invested in that upgrade fueling your addiction, but how does the game company make money of this? simply, gems. In Clash of Clans you are given accelerators called gems and that you can receive  through clearing obstacles and completing achievements but you only receive a set amount of gems that dwindle in comparison to the gems you can buy for varying monetary values ranging from $5 to $100 setting you up with a large amount of accelerators giving you the edge compared to your friends but this is the main way they game companies make their profit, a negative externality to some, others a positive.

Many mobile game produces use simple tactics to draw you in and keep coming back for more much like an addiction. But many, like me, might say mobile games are addicting if you really look into it, but others disagree because in the end its just a game.

Bibliography

"Game Theory: Candy Crush, Designed to ADDICT." YouTube. YouTube, 31 July 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

Shvebish, Gal. "10 Things That Make an Addictive Mobile App." TNW Network All Stories RSS. N.p., 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

"Dopamine." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

"The Science behind Mobile Game Addiction - GameAnalytics Blog."GameAnalytics Main. N.p., 27 Nov. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

Rad, Chloi. "Mobile Game Play Time Up 57 Percent Since 2012 - IGN." IGN. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

Farrell, Joseph. "The Fascinating Psychology Behind Free-To-Play Mobile App Games." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

Strauss, Kartsen. "The $2.4 Million-Per-Day Company: Supercell." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

25 comments:

  1. It's interesting to think that these games were made specifically to be addictive and that these companies make millions or even billions of dollars from a simple app store game. I knew that these types of games made a ton of money but never realized the extent of it. These games also are easy but difficult enough to make it a challenge and encourages consumers to buy extra things on these games to make it through levels and this releases dopamine due to the addictive nature of them, like you said in your essay.

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  2. I can't believe some people spend as much as they do on mobile games. How can you jusity spending more than 99 cents on a little thing for a little game on your phone? Free to play games are not fun unless you pay for all the extra stuff with micro-transactions, which add-up to a lot of money wasted on an app you might get bored of in a month.

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  3. Another factor that I think leads to the popularity of mobile games is the fact that they are mobile. This means you can play your game when your stuck doing nothing. I think that once you start playing a game when you could be doing something else, the addiction you speak of takes over. I thought it was interesting how the farther you get in a game, the more likely you are to stick with it and become even more addicted to it.

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  4. I really like playing Clash of Clans, because usually I'm not at home so having something to play anywhere is really convenient. It's also not that time consuming, I just log on to check on things and then I can go back to what I was doing. It's really interesting that games can release dopamine, I never knew that video games had that kind of power. Which would make sense why a lot of people feel the impulse to make in-game purchases, so their brain can release those dopamines that CoC once did on its own.

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  5. This is some real interesting stuff about the dopamine even though I can’t really understand it. It really makes me feel like I’m smart though! Anyway I completely agree that most mobile games draw you in using easy ways to feel accomplished and then steadily increasing the time it takes to do things. Not only do they do that, they also use your friends as bait. What a better way to play than with your friends right? It makes a relatively boring game 10 times more fun because you can joke around, mess with people, and win with your favorite people in the world. It is actually a common thing that video games do and I don’t blame them for it because it works. Developers have figured out what makes our brains tick and they’re using it to their advantage.

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  6. This is some real interesting stuff about the dopamine even though I can’t really understand it. It really makes me feel like I’m smart though! Anyway I completely agree that most mobile games draw you in using easy ways to feel accomplished and then steadily increasing the time it takes to do things. Not only do they do that, they also use your friends as bait. What a better way to play than with your friends right? It makes a relatively boring game 10 times more fun because you can joke around, mess with people, and win with your favorite people in the world. It is actually a common thing that video games do and I don’t blame them for it because it works. Developers have figured out what makes our brains tick and they’re using it to their advantage.

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  7. Games are easy to become addicted to, once you start a game and end up liking it you get this urge to become the best and thats when people start spending money and hours on a game. Clash of Clans is a great example too, because millions are addicted to this game, including myself. They make the games easy enough for us to enjoy, but hard enough to where we are willing to spend money on the game to become even better at it.

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  8. These mobile games are created purely for profit via in game purchases. It is annoying because they are created with that thought at heart, knowing that people are too lazy to wait, care too much about nothing and are willing to justify spending real money in a game. Buying it once makes sense, however the in game purchases are a driving factor in making those games wildly successful. At heart they are quite simple and may even seem boring, something no one would pay for. But, you do pay for it. You do.

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  9. I like how you asked rhetorical questions in the beginning of the essay to catch the readers attention. I also like how you included the names of very popular games that a large group of people play. It would have been cool to see statistics about the prices of games and how that affects the amount of people that are choosing to download these games.

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  10. This was a very interesting article. I did not know all that about mobile gaming and why they are mad the way they are. I assumed they were made to be addictive, which is obvious through games such as Flappy Bird and such, but I did not know how they do it and what it activates in the brain and what not. It's also ridiculous how much money these games bring in yearly, it must help the economy in some sort of way, or at least affect it. Aside from this thought, it is also bad in a way, that we spend a total of this much, because they are small, simple games that make people addicted. Regardless, it was an interesting topic and had a lot of good information.

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  11. This is an interesting piece that I enjoyed reading, I never knew about the connection between games and a dopamine high the brain. It is almost similar to addictive substances such as nicotine (though much less addicting), how we are roped in by our brain and feel the need to spend money. All in all an enjoyable read,

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  12. I thought that it was very interesting how you also got into the psychology behind how these mobile games get into the heads of it's users, and therefore makes them want to pay more money for the games. It's also staggering to see how much money these games make, over a billion dollars! That's insane. To think that something so simple could generate such a large amount of revenue for some developers that maybe invested a couple days worth of work into the game. Seems like a pretty awesome way to make money if you ask me. It's also interesting to think about how much money these games will continue to make, if someone spends $100 on a game, they can't simply delete it, if they don't delete it they won't stop playing it, and if they don't stop playing it; they won't stop investing into it. These simple games gross so much money it's ridiculous, but hey, that's capitalism at it's finest.

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  13. Dopamine is also released when a person does drugs too, this is what causes addictions. I find that very interesting the gems then make since. When you are cut off from playing it is like a withdrawal. You want to play more, but can't so you pay money for gems to lower the time you have to wait. I think it is a smart way to make a game, but limits then how games are made. They become pay to win which are no fun, because those who want to play the game the right way can't compete against those who pay for their levels. It is the sad truth what has happened to games today. Mobile gaming s slowly becoming the number one form of gaming for many reasons. Forcing game companies to adapted thier steal of games which means pay to wins.

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  14. Games like these can be very addictive but I still don't think that the sellers make that much of money because on Google play they sell games for free. Is the Sellers want to make money they have to have the games cost some money but I see that some games that are not fun should not cost money at all. And by just believing in the games that are fun can just make a greater amount of money for the company.

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  15. Mobile games are a fun and easy way to blow time. I think there a great advantage to those with children trying to stop there kids from crying, people that travel, waiting in appointments etc. It's interesting to see the levels of dopamine change in your brain when given the mobile games as a stimuli, no wonder why so many people are cracked out on them.

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  16. This goes back to the simple fact that people want what they cant have.If you take something away it is just going to make that person want it more . However I know from a personal standpoint that i am on my phone at least three hours a day. I think it would be beneficial for my phone to be taken away for a day or two just to disconnect from social media.

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  17. Its crazy to think that it is possible for these companies are making as much money of theses games as they are. What I really don’t understand is how do they know how to make the games as addictive as they are. Also how do they know what to make the prices in these games so that people will be willing to puchis the ingame items.

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  18. There are a lot of games that can be very addicting, but what I don't get is how these people end up making money from the games they create if they are free? Also people that play these games for a long time will eventually get tired of playing them and once that happens what would the game company do in order to make more money to keep their business going? So there are games out there that can be addicting but I think that after a while they start to get old and people start looking for new games to play.

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  19. It was interesting to read just how much money "free" game can make in just one day. It is true that mobile games are addicting. They are right there at our fingertips all the time, and we can play whenever we want. Evidence in your piece shows just how addicting these games are. Clash of Clans is a free game, but it's surprising to know that it makes about $2.4 million dollars a day, all because people are addicted. Overall, this was a very interesting fun topic to read about and you used sources well.

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  20. Games are more fun to watch and also to play. today children have more interest in games more then their studies because it's more fun and study also important. Games can be very addictive. Today so much people play clash of clans I don't play that game because I don't like it. this game make billions of droller per. I think this is very interesting topic because this is how people got into the psychology behind this mobile games get in to the heads of it users and make them to play more games and spend money for games. Today phones is best friend for people. it is also enemy because it's bad to our brain.

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  21. It’s such a genius money-making phenomenon to create an addiction for people out of something that takes so little to produce. It draws people in from the start and keeps them wanting more and more, soon offering incentives and digital items that can be purchased with actual money. While it may be an elastic good for some, some people may become so addicted that they will pay whatever price charged for those few extra coins to spend in the game. What level of delusion are we in that we are willing to pay real money that we go to work and work hard to earn only to spend it on virtual items that will only ever exist on a screen? People need to reconsider spending money on such items because in a few years down the road when they are trying to make ends meet in college or trying to get a job, they will see the the situation in hindsight and greatly regret it.

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  22. Its also interesting to think about free games because nothing is really free. Think about all the money and time that went into developing a game like clash of clans, they cannot sell it for no money. I think they use the scheme of being addicting to slowly get you introduced to the free game before they throw in advertisements and upgrading options, because then at that point you're so invested in them that 99 cents for a couple of gems a couple times a week is nothing. When all game players go for this the games make money.

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  23. It was interesting to read about the addicting games that keep customers wanting more. However, it would be interesting to know about how high the in-game prices could be raised, before the company's revenue would be negatively impacted. Is there a limit? Would customers eventually leave due to high prices? How high could this price really go? I believe the price could be raised substantially and it wouldn't impact the revenue of the company. Also, it was interesting to read about the cut off time that keeps gamers interested and willing to invest their time and money.

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  24. This was a good topic because a lot of us play games on our phones. I knew that the point was to get people to addicted to these games however I didn't know that it brought in 2.4 million dollars a day! That is just insane! I feel like no matter what game is out there for mobile phones and at any price people will for sure still play them and the inventors will still make money. This is a good topic and might make people think about how much time they actually spend playing games.

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  25. Download Game of War - Fire Age for your mobile (Available for iOS or Android)

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