@article{Blom2023b,

title = {The Genshin Impact Media Mix: Free-to-Play Monetization from East Asia},

author = {Joleen Blom },

url = {https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/23/article/910024},

issn = {1934-2489},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-10-23},

urldate = {2023-10-23},

journal = {Mechademia},

volume = {16},

issue = {1},

pages = {144-166},

abstract = {In the first quarter of 2022, the free-to-play game Genshin Impact (2020) surpassed a revenue of $3 billion dollars (US) from their mobile phone players.1 Genshin Impact is currently one of the highest-grossing games on the market since its official launch on September 28, 2020. The above revenue number is from sales through the App Store and Google Play alone, and it does not include the game’s PC and PlayStation versions. The game also has a significant global impact; while it makes the most sales in the Chinese market (ranking number one in revenue) and Japan (ranking number two), the United States ranks number three.2 In 2021, the game’s developer, HoYoverse, generated almost $1.5 billion USD in revenue from in-app purchases, a number that was doubled compared to the prior year, with Genshin Impact as their top-grossing mobile game.3



Genshin Impact can only be described in a multitude of adjectives. It is a cross-platform, free-to-play, open-world, role-playing game with anime-inspired characters. Players can roam the virtual world of Teyvat doing just about whatever they want, ranging from completing the main quest, playing through story quests, traversing dungeons, building a home base, fishing, fighting monsters, or just wandering through the world’s villages and cities. The game bears a resemblance to Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs); before its official release, the game was considered by entertainment website Polygon to be a clone of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017),4 and even reported by the game news website Kotaku to be similar to the Tales JRPG series.5 The most lucrative element of this game is its characters. The game operates on a monetization model in which the game itself is free to play but offers in-app purchases. These purchases predominantly take the form of game characters that players can attempt to obtain through a gacha mechanic, where players make small purchases to roll for a desired character, which they may or may not obtain.



In light of this special issue of Mechademia: Second Arc’s focus on new approaches and analyses of the media mix, this article aims to shed light on [End Page 144] the monetization model of free-to-play games within a media mix practice with characters at its center. As Marc Steinberg explains, characters function in media mix practices as the devices that connect audio-visual media (such as manga, anime, and video games) and objects while simultaneously forcing the proliferation of these media and objects.6 Genshin Impact both follows and diverges from this aspect, because, although the Genshin Impact characters proliferate across different media such as an online manga, an upcoming anime, and even social media like YouTube and Twitter, the free-to-play game is the primary medium to which all these media are directed. As this article shows, the characters are used as a device for the game’s monetization strategy to connect its different sources of income into a single game service instead of an entire media mix.},

keywords = {Characters, Free-to-play games, In-app purchases, Media mix, Monetization model},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Alha2023c,

title = {The Evolution of Pokémon GO: A Survey of Finnish Player Experiences},

author = {Kati Alha and Elina Koskinen and Dale Leorke and Elisa Wiik},

url = {https://gamescriticism.org/2023/07/25/the-evolution-of-pokemon-go-a-survey-of-finnish-player-experiences/

https://gamescriticism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/alha-koskinene-leorke-wiik-5-1.pdf},

issn = {2374-202X},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-04-30},

urldate = {2023-04-30},

journal = {Journal of Games Criticism},

volume = {5},

issue = {1},

abstract = {In this article we unpack responses (n = 1,741) by Finnish Pokémon GO players

to an open-ended survey question “how has your experience of the game changed

throughout the time you’ve played it?” The survey, conducted in 2019, provides

insights into players’ attitudes towards Pokémon GO’s evolution in the first three

years since its release. We analysed the data using thematic coding, producing 61

codes grouped under eight broad categories: content, way of playing, significance,

nature of the game, social aspects, perceptions, demands and context. Our

findings highlight players’ reaction to changing demands from the game as it

incorporates new content, becomes more social and its player base solidifies,

producing a complex and sometimes contested affective relationship with the game

and the wider community of players. In the era of service-based game development

where game companies struggle to keep their games engaging and profitable years

after launch, our study offers a broad and diverse view into post-launch changes

from the perspective of the players.},

keywords = {Free-to-play games, Games-as-a-service, Location-based games, Player studies, Pokémon Go},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}