An Integrative Model of Predictors of Enjoyment in Console versus Mobile Video Games

This study tested a model of enjoyment of video games focused on three important predictors; interactivity, realism and spatial presence. In a large, randomized experiment (N = 257), players of traditional console games were compared with their counterparts playing on mobile devices. The hypothesized model included perceived interactivity, perceived reality and spatial presence, with enjoyment as the outcome variable. In the final analysis, the model showed that console games produced higher perceived interactivity and perceived reality. Perceived reality and skill were the most powerful direct predictors of enjoyment. Perceived reality and perceived interactivity indirectly predicted enjoyment via powerful effects on spatial presence. The results suggest that mobile games are highly enjoyable, realistic, and presence-inducing, but console games still exceed them on these variables. The results highlight the importance of studying enjoyment of video games in the context of a model that considers concurrent effects of several game perception variables.