Revisiting Gender Preference for a First-Person Shooter Videogame: Effects of Non-Verbal Sensitivity and Gender on Enjoyment

Abstract

In this study we investigated the effects of gender (male vs. female) and nonverbal sensitivity (high vs. low) on game experience after playing a first-person shooter videogame. The results of Experiment 2 (n = 50) showed that participants with high nonverbal sensitivity experienced more positive valence and a greater level of arousal than participants with low nonverbal sensitivity.The biological sex of the participants became non-significant, after taking into consideration nonverbal sensitivity. The results of a mediation analysis showed that the emotional valence and arousal mediated the effects of nonverbal sensitivity on the enjoyment of the videogame.Implications with respect to a new understanding of gender preference for certain genres of videogames by identifying specific gender-related skills are discussed.

The effectiveness of using in-game cards as reward

“…Based on the experiment results, we have the following two findings:Boys have higher intention of using in-game cards as educational rewardsAlthough the analysis result listed in Table 8 indicates that boys have higher intention of using the game and having the in-game cards as rewards, many other researchers believe that females have higher intention to play educational game on the contrary (Hwang et al 2013; Lu et al 2011). There are two possible reasons that boys responded more positively to Behavior Intention factor in this research:Boys prefer playing competitive games (Hartmann and Klimmt 2006), such as first-person shooter videogame (Jung et al 2014). The proposed game is a kind of competitive game and is easier to engage male players.Girls have higher competition anxiety than boys (Hwang et al 2013; Chen 2010) and are less risk-taking in gaming than their counterpart (Szell and Thurner 2013); social games might be much easier to engage girls (Manero et al 2016).…”

“…Boys prefer playing competitive games (Hartmann and Klimmt 2006), such as first-person shooter videogame (Jung et al 2014). The proposed game is a kind of competitive game and is easier to engage male players.…”