User Perceptions of Facebook Games

Abstract

The popularity of social network sites have helped build and popularize the social (network) game genre. Presently, there are reports that social games are still growing in the established video game industry. This study focused on a giant sector of social games, that is, Facebook games. Particularly, the main goal of this study was to assess the general attitude, habit, and behavior of people who currently or previously played Facebook games. Of the 287 who completed the survey on Facebook games, over 70% indicated that they no longer play games on Facebook (i.e., past Facebook gamers). Respondents reported that the main reasons they stopped playing a Facebook game was due to being bored with the game, the game was too time-consuming, and real-world money and more friends were needed for the game to be fun. When asked what features would be associated with the “ideal” Facebook game, many indicated features such as fast loading time, good graphics, game rewards, and an option to play the game without needing real-world money.