Vantagem competitiva em jogos eletrônicos do gênero MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games): um estudo de caso em Final Fantasy XIV – A Realm Reborn

Abstract

The increasing advancement of technology allows for the development of a wide variety of electronic games. An ever-growing number of diverse products are being released and made available on various platforms, reaching virtually everyone on a global level. Therefore, the objective of this work is to identify the key factors that contribute to the success of an electronic game, aiming to understand the main motivations of consumers for this type of product. To achieve the proposed objective, an exploratory case study of the electronic game Final Fantasy XIV - A Realm Reborn is conducted, which has received numerous awards and is one of the major references in the field of MMORPGs. Starting with a literature review, the main factors that motivate these consumers to play and continue playing a particular game were identified. These studies were used as the basis for generating a qualitative interview guide, divided into the five fields of competition proposed by José Celso Contador (1995). This author presents five fields in which a company can compete: price, product, deadline, service, and image. Each field presents the key success factors to be explored for achieving a competitive advantage. Subsequently, this instrument was sent to digital influencers and players, both in Brazil and abroad, to gather their opinions and infer which of the presented factors can generate a competitive advantage. Based on the findings, it was possible to verify that the main fields of competition where FFXIV stands out are price, product, and service. "Story," "responsiveness to community feedback," "pay-to-play," "fair microtransactions," "internal balancing," and "accessible on all computers" were identified as the key success factors that can differentiate the analyzed game. The results of this work serve as motivation for developers in this industry to align their objectives with the desires of their users, in order to better understand their respective audiences and use management techniques to enhance customer satisfaction. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]