The game-genre preferences of 1,950 South Korean mobile game players

What is it about?

This chapter presents a study that explored the mobile game-genre preferences of 1,950 South Korean students. To understand the casual mobile game player, numerous factors were examined: what gaming platforms were most preferred; how often, where, and why mobile games were played; what were the most attractive game characteristics; psychophysical changes experienced during gameplay; and the most popular genres played. Relationships between the popular genres and age and gender, as well as academic grading and level were also examined.

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Why is it important?

The findings create a clearer picture of the mobile game player, revealing that mobile gameplay is more of a situational activity than a social replacement, often played during periods of interruption or idle time and lasting for short intervals. ACTION, ADVENTURE, ARCADE, BOARD, PUZZLE, SIMULATION, SPORTS, and STRATEGY were among the most popular genres played. Statistically significant relationships were found between genre and age and gender, with the younger and older students as well as males and females favoring different genres. For example, PUZZLE-themed games were popular among the older females, whereas ACTION-themed games were preferred by the younger males. Significant relationships were also found between genre and academic grades and level, with differences found for genre preferences between high- and low-performing as well as vocational high school and college students.

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