The Demographics of Motivations

A simplified version of the motivations assessment (rating 7 statements) was tested and produced results that were highly similar to the full assessment (rating 30 statements), though of course it would have been impossible to articulate the condensed scale without having the full scale. The results of the simplified assessment are presented here.

The four highest-rated motivations for playing an MMORPG were Achievement, Immersion, Socialization, and Escapism, in that order. The reported means are only representative of the sample, drawn mostly from EQ-clones (DAOC, SWG, AO, AC etc).

For the most part, the gender and age differences are what would have been expected. The only exception may be that female players might have been expected to rate the Immersion component higher than the male players. The table also shows the relative impact of age and gender on the motivational differences and the two seem to play an equal role among the motivations.