Digital Distribution of Video Games - An Empirical Study of Game Distribution Platforms from the Perspective of Polish Students (Future Managers)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to execute a comparative analysis of services and distribution platforms used to purchase computer games. The article is a continuation of the research focused on the popularity, use and impact of games on the behavior of a prominent population and analysis of the typical e-shops with games. Authors has chosen four the most common amongst students computer game services and platforms simultaneously found in the first hundreds of searches in Google to carry on analysis. To support this research authors decided to use CAWI methodology to assess nine groups of features: transparency, site navigation, quality of information, product search quality, advertising, the quality of the order processing, way of visualization and product promotion from the customer’s perspective. Platform analysis was carried out according to: installation package support, application design, search engine quality, transparency, product presentation and security. A qualitative study was conducted to select a sample of selected students using the point method and the point method with preferences to evaluate the distinctive features of the services. A group of over seven hundred randomly selected people from the university was examined. This approach was based on the structure of the article consisting of the presentation of the research hypothesis, the description of the methodology and the research sample, and the analysis of the results and their discussion together with the resulting conclusions. The results of the work may be used by the owners of computer distribution services or platforms and website designers.