Research Perspectives from the Gaming Industry

Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series

Speaker: Dr. Minakshi Trivedi, Texas Christian University

We follow a path of research that started with an exploration of the video gaming industry, and the impact of policy interventions that were put in place to safeguard consumers against the negative consequences of over-gaming and addiction. Using individual-level game usage and spending data from a gaming company in South Korea, we investigate the impact of these policies on both gamers and the industry. Combining the difference-in-differences approach with a regression discontinuity design and propensity score matching, we show interesting but counterintuitive results, with significant implications for policy makers.¹ Our explorations then take us to study the impact of (unknown) peer influence in the video game setting and some possible driving mechanisms. Using individual level data from in-game-purchases, we find significant impact of social influence even when peers are randomly assigned and unknown to each other. Finally, we are currently exploring the impact of emerging gaming apps for mobile devices and their impact on overall usage as well as policy interventions.