In recent years, augmented reality games (ARGs) such as Pokémon Go have
become increasingly popular. These games not only afford a novel gaming
experience but also have the potential to alter how players view their
physical realities. In addition to the common experiences and
gratifications people derive from games, (location-based) ARGs can
afford, for example outdoor adventures, communal activities, and health
benefits, but also create problems stemming from, for example privacy
concerns and poor usability. This raises some important research
questions as to what drives people to use these new applications, and
why they may be willing to spend money on the content sold within them.
In this study, we investigate the various gratifications people derive
from ARGs (Pokémon Go) and the relationship of these gratifications with
the players’ intentions to continue playing and spending money on them.
We employ data drawn from players of Pokémon Go (N = 1190) gathered
through an online survey. The results indicate that game enjoyment,
outdoor activity, ease of use, challenge, and nostalgia are positively
associated with intentions to reuse (ITR), meanwhile outdoor activity,
challenge, competition, socializing, nostalgia and ITR are associated
with in-app purchase intentions (IPI). In contrast with our
expectations, privacy concerns or trendiness were not associated with
reuse intentions or IPI.