Video game players are furious at the lack of cross-platform gaming options despite the fact that digital game downloads are on the rise, new research has revealed
The survey of 11,400 global consumers by payment firm WorldPlay found that 65% consumers said they would resell some of their digital and video games, while 57% said they would buy second-hand content.
China had the biggest appetite, with 82% of consumers keen to resell, followed by 78% in South Korea and 66% in India.
In the UK, almost half said they were interested in reselling their digital purchases, while 55% said they would buy second-hand digital products.
However, the research also found that 84% of consumers who had downloaded a game on one device felt frustrated because they could not access versions of the game on other devices.
Colin Murray, video games VP at WorldPay, said: "Restrictions have always existed around the ability to access video games on different devices. However, an evolution is taking place in terms of consumer demands over how and when they access content and games they have purchased.
"Consumers have shown a willingness to pay extra for this functionality, and if video game merchants consider reviewing the rules around multi-device accessibility, it could present additional revenue streams."
Content from our partners
Overall digital downloading had increased, with 64% of consumers saying they had downloaded more content due to the closure of physical shops.
The e-book device was the most popular, with 39% saying that they had downloaded content on it over the last 12 months, while the PC is the number one device for storing and accessing all forms of digital media.
When it came to payment methods, ease of use was essential, with 75% saying they had felt frustrated when they could not use their favourite payment method, while 31% said they were annoyed at pop-ups and redirections.
Karl MacGregor, digital VP at WorldPay said the industry needs to do more to educate consumers on what they can legally do with the content they’ve purchased:
"As the digital content and video game industries evolve following massive growth and the closure of physical stores, we are seeing a growing demand from consumers to sell on or exchange content they have purchased"
The research also found that one-off payments were preferred over subscriptions, but that subscriptions were growing in popularity, with 38% and 39% of Chinese and Brazilian consumers signing up for dating site membership and film subscriptions.
