Empirical study on Game Transfer Phenomena in a location-based augmented reality game

Research on Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) has demonstrated that playing video games can lead to re-experiencing images, sounds, tactile sensations, spontaneous thoughts and actions, sometimes triggered by physical objects/events associated with the game. Location-based augmented reality games posit interesting questions regarding GTP, particularly because they use physical locations, they overlay digital images in physical contexts and the gameplay shifts between the virtual and the physical world. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of GTP and the role of immersion, augmented reality and sound in a sample of English- (EnS) and Spanish- (SpS) speaking gamers of the game Pokémon Go (PoGo). A total of 1313 gamers (Mage = 31.47) were recruited online. GTP was less common than in previous studies; however, 82.4% had experienced GTP at least once. The SpS showed higher prevalence of GTP and played more intensively. Automatic mental processes predominated in the EnS, while behaviours and actions were more common in the SpS. The absence or presence of video game features seems important for the way GTP manifests. For instance, tactile hallucinations were more prevalent, while sensations of self-motion were less reported. Playing with augmented reality (AR) and sounds showed significant correlations with various GTP types, but not with re-experiencing images from the game. More gamers who reported the sensation that Pokémon were physically present or looked for Pokémon outside the screen while playing, as connotations of immersion, had experienced GTP. Experiencing GTP while playing may be more common in location-based augmented reality games, compared to other games.