A poll of 2,000 adults who game found the average gamer will spend £8.33 per month – or £96.40 per year – on a total of three purchases
A survey of 2,000 gaming enthusiasts revealed that the average gamer splashes out £8.33 per month a total of £96.40 annually on three purchases, with character skins, weapons and extra lives being the most popular items.
Interestingly, while 31% of gamers set a strict monthly budget for their gaming expenses, a whopping 39% confessed to not setting any spending limits at all. In a surprising twist, 23% admitted they often make impulse purchases rather than strategically planning their spend.
Despite the thrill of acquiring new in-game assets, 39% feel the money spent on these items is wasted as they have nothing tangible to show for it.
The study was commissioned by game developers, Unstoppable Games, to coincide with the launch of its new game Influence on June 27th – a game built on blockchain technology, allowing players to sell or gift their purchases.
Chris Lexmond, who developed the space-themed game using the Starknet tech platform, said: “We’ve felt for years that we spend hundreds or thousands on in-game purchases and have nothing to show for it, which has been revealed through the research.”
“For the first time, a blockchain game is giving traditional gaming a run for its money in terms of graphics, potential for mass appeal, and user-friendliness. Hopefully this will be a fix to all the stuff that makes gamers feel furious or worse still, feel like suckers.”
Adding to the frustration, more than half (56%) of gamers are annoyed that they can’t gift or resell the items they purchase in a game. A whopping 21% of gamers are peeved about the difficulty in selling their in-game assets to recoup some cash, according to data from OnePoll.com.
The survey also revealed that a solid 36% reckon they should have the right to flog in-game items they’ve bought, just like any other game or toy. Consequently, a hefty 67% would back this idea, with 29% most likely to gift them and an equal number saying they’d simply hang onto them.
When it comes to blockchain games tech that lets players trade in-game items for cryptocurrency or represent in-game items with NFTs nearly half (46%) are clued up on it. Among those who’ve dabbled in a blockchain-built game, 59% use their purchases for learning, 45% experiment with them, and four in 10 use them as a prototype for developing their own game.
One major perk of playing a blockchain game versus a mainstream one is that they can be built and maintained by independent members, not just a corporation or single entity. This comes as a third (33%) don’t believe these companies should have the power to pull the plug on games whenever they fancy, especially when users have splashed the cash during their gaming journey.
If a gaming company decided to shut everything down, a majority (59%) think they should offer refunds for any past purchases. Meanwhile, 38% reckon they need to consult players first, and 34% even think they should introduce a voting system.
Polls have revealed that the majority of gamers polled would value an option to re-sell in-game purchased items, using this as a method to recoup some expenditure.
Gamers also voiced the desire for enhanced storytelling and linearity within games, more opportunities for user-generated content, and ensured cross-platform compatibility.
Eli Ben-Sasson, Starknet’s founder had his say, revealing: “Blockchain gaming isn’t just a novelty, it solves real problems faced by regular people who love to play games. Until now, blockchains have struggled to handle the data needs for great games.”
“The big change happening now is that networks are massively ramping up the bandwidth of blockchains, so they provide a real option for both finance and entertainment, enter mainstream use, or meet all sorts of uses – from business to entertainment.”
