Player-Character Congruity and Immersive Experiences: Impact on Loyalty in Gaming

Abstract

Brand loyalty in a gaming context takes many forms, including conscious selection of brand, intention of game continuation, positive word of mouth, recommendation, or even active recruitment. As games can be played multiple times, player loyalty is essential to fostering an on-going relationship between brand and consumer. This study focuses on the theory of self-congruity, the congruence between one’s self-concept and one’s perception of a brand’s personality, and its impact on brand loyalty in the gaming industry, a market that has grown exponentially in recent years. Through 31 in-depth interviews, the initial qualitative research explores self-congruity (actual, ideal, social, and ideal social) and its relationship to the gaming environment and how that impacts brand loyalty. The findings of the first study demonstrated: 1. congruity between the player and game character, rather than the game itself, 2. the deeply personal approach to character design, and 3. the feeling of immersion in the game’s narrative. Based on the initial study findings, the second study was developed to incorporate flow theory that describes the nature of feeling fully immersed within the game. A conceptual model was created to integrate self-congruity and flow theories and their impact on brand loyalty. The model was then tested through 512 respondents of a self-reported survey. Results supported prior researchers’ findings, such as the relationships between player-character identification and flow as well as flow and loyalty. Yet, we found that ideal congruity may be a stronger indicator of loyalty as mediated through flow, while actual congruity may in fact inhibit the relationship. The results of this research provide a theoretical contribution by adding self-congruity theory to the flow and loyalty body of knowledge in the gaming space. Furthermore, the self-congruity measurement model provides an alternative measurement method to the previous player-character identification model. From a managerial perspective, the study results support an approach to game design that encourages character design suited to players’ ideal selves rather than mimicking their actual, “real world” selves.