Paying for beloved game characters: congruence with ideal others predicts purchase intention

The game industry is booming and has received increasing attention from researchers in recent years. While many researchers have taken an interest in the congruence between game avatars and the ideal/actual self of players, the current study provided an initial exploration of ideal other-image congruence (i.e., congruence between the game character and the image of the player’s ideal others, such as ideal lovers, friends, etc.) and its relationship with purchase intention. The present study comprised a sample of 11,586 players of a role-play game (Genshin Impact) who took an online survey that assessed ideal self-/actual self-/ideal other-/actual other-image congruence, character liking, character attachment, and purchase intention. The results demonstrated that (i) ideal other-image congruence outweighs other image congruence variables, (ii) ideal other-image congruence has the highest correlation with purchase intention and (iii) character liking and character attachment mediate the relationship between ideal other-image congruence and purchase intention. The present study provided the first evidence for the existence and potential importance of ideal other-image congruence, and multiple directions of future research from this new perspective are discussed.