I have been playing Candy Crush Saga on my iPhone since high school. Although I am not playing as often now, I could still remember the addiction I had toward this game. There were times that I dreamt of myself playing Candy Crush! Today, I finally solved the mystery of why I was so into the game by encountering an article on Times called “Candy Crush Saga: The Science Behind Our Addiction.” In the article, there are nine reasons of why people are so addicted to the game:
- It makes people wait
- People fall for sweet words
- It allows people to play with one hand
- There’s always more levels
- It is free, yet easy to pay for
- It taps into people’s inner child
- It is an escape
- It is social
- It grows into people’s mind
All of the factors above are related to the psychology of the consumer, but if we look from the marketing perspective, this game is literally “getting into the mind of the consumer.” (Product Positioning) It has wisely used people’s psychological characteristics to attract customers. Although the game itself is free, the revenue it generates from selling the add ups is around $875,382 per day. This number shows that this game is a success as a business.
(Photo credit: TIME illustration / Hands: Getty Images)
Resources:
Dockterman, Eliana. “Candy Crush Saga: The Science Behind Our Addiction.”Times. N.p., 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://business.time.com/2013/11/15/candy-crush-saga-the-science-behind-our-addiction/?iid=biz-main-belt>.
“Product Positioning.” QuickMBA. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/ries-trout/positioning/>.