Planet Calypso economy subject of academic study
MindArk subsidiary First Planet Company announced that it is working with a Florida State University doctoral student in the College of Business on a new study about virtual world industries and virtual economies. According to First Planet company, this study will help to determine if a player’s experience with a product in a virtual world influences their intention to purchase a product and how that experience can affect a brand.
First Planet Company and business scholars at The Florida State University and Stockholm School of Economics have partnered to develop answers surrounding buying habits in virtual worlds. The study being conducted within the upcoming Miss Calypso beauty pageant on Planet Calypso seeks to understand how the mental state of a virtual world user influences his or her attitude toward, and intention to purchase digital products within virtual worlds.
“Despite the increasing attention that virtual worlds have seen with respect to marketing by companies, little is known about the perception of products within virtual worlds. Even less is known about how a consumer’s cognitive state resulting from an experience with a product in a virtual world may influence his or her intention to purchase a product,” said Rob Hooker, a doctoral candidate who is conducting an independent study in the College of Business at The Florida State University.
The 6th annual Miss Calypso beauty pageant will take place on November 22nd, at 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (Noon on the West Coast) in the MMORPG Planet Calypso. Results from this study will be available in Q1 of 2010.
