ESTADOS FINANCIEROS CONSOLIDADOS
5. GESTION DE RIESGOS FINANCIEROS Y DEFINICION DE COBERTURA
For the Guild Wars 2 survey, 10 questions were completely approved, 10 were partly approved and 5 questions were completely rejected, while 7 questions were partly rejected. When analysing the various clusters, the individual factors as well as the skin-centred factors were partly approved with average means of 3,7, while
67 the clusters of feelings of immersion and the game-centred factors scored an average mean of 3,6. The remaining clusters showed no meaningful tendencies with average means between 2,8 and 3,1. The high average mean for the individual cluster is limited by the fact that it only consists of 3 questions, out of which only 1 got completely approved, whereas the other 2 show no clear tendency. The completely approved question received the second highest approval rate in the survey with a mean of 4,59 and a variance of 0,6 when asked about the importance of financial stability.
Out of the 5 questions for the skin-centred factors, one was completely approved, 3 were partly approved and one was partly rejected. Question 46, which was completely approved, received the highest approval rate in the whole survey, when players were asked if they wanted a skin to be aesthetically pleasing, which reached a mean of 4,84 with a variance of only 0,18. The three questions that were partly approved asked firstly, if skins can enrich the gameplay experience, which was partly approved with a mean of 3,88. Secondly, if players are willing to spend more money on a skin with cool additional features, which received a mean of 3,86 and lastly, if looking cool is an important factor, which was partly approved with a mean of 3,67.
When looking at the results for the individual questions, situated at the third place with a mean of 4,48 and a variance of 0,6 is the question, if a higher level of character customizability has a positive influence on the player´s willingness to spend money on skins. Guild Wars 2 players also agree, that if a gaming company has a negative reputation, this would have a negative on their eagerness to purchase decorative items with a mean of 4,43, although the variance of 1 also indicates some outliers in this regard. The necessity of the expectation to play the game for a long time in the future was approved with a mean of 4,41 and a relatively low variance of 0,8. The question if skins can also have a negative impact on the gaming experience was approved with the mean of 4,12, which is equal to the results from the question, if players use skins to represent their ideas of how a character or object should ideally look, although the variance of the first question with a value of 1,3 is slightly higher than 1,1 for the latter. Having a subscription fee was mainly seen as having a negative impact with a mean of 4,11, but with a variance of 1,3 again showed a disparity in the opinions of the participants. Situated in the last place of the completely approved factors is the question about the importance of the artwork when purchasing a skin, which received a mean of 4,04 and again scored a relatively high variance of 1,3.
68 When examining the only partly approved questions, liking to get positive reactions by others reached a mean of 3,97 and was thus at the very border of being completely approved. With a mean of 3,81 Guild Wars 2 players also partly agreed, that they will give positive feedback to other players if they like the skin or creative choices made by that player. The survey participants also agreed with a mean of 3,9 that they are also willing to spend money on games that they paid money for. The majority of players also feel at least partly emotionally attached to their characters, as this statement received a mean of 3,75. Liking to play attractive characters cumulated in a mean of 3,67, followed. Most players also buy skins with the intention to show their support to ArenaNET, the developing company behind Guild Wars 2, which is indicated by the mean of 3,62, although a high variance of 2 shows diverging opinions about this. The last factor that can be seen as partly approved was question 42, which asked if the option to trade skins between players is seen as positive, which received a mean of 3,52. When examining the completely rejected questions, the participants answered that flirting with other players was of the least importance to them, with a mean of 1,34 and a low variance of 0,6. When asked if Guild Wars players would appreciate the implementation of a player-to-player skin marketplace, the results indicated a partial agreement with a value of 3,52. But the players agreed in their opinion, that if such a marketplace was to be implemented, it should not use a real currency as means of exchange, as it reached a mean of 1,73 and was thus the second most disproved question. Although the variance of 1,3 shows that there are deviations from the public opinion, players still agreed that a high price doesn’t make a skin more prestigious with a mean of 1,78. With a variance of 1,4 Guild Wars players showed an even higher variety of opinions when asked if they are motivated by the fact that other players might get jealous of their skins with a mean of 1,82. The recognition value is at the last place of the completely rejected factors with a mean of 1,98 and a variance of 1,3. When looking at the variance, only 2 questions surpassed a value of 2. Using characters to show a different side reached a variance of 2,1 (mean = 2,37), which is equal to the results of the question, whether a higher emotional attachment leads to a higher likelihood to buy skins (mean = 3,65).