Understanding the Behavioural Intention to Play the Nintendo Switch: An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract

Ever since the first games launched in the 1970s, the rapid growth of the video games market has successfully attracted more and more purchasers. In this study, we use Nintendo Switch as a case study to examine the extended technology acceptance model (TAM), which integrates the factors of Perceived Playfulness and Compatibility to determine their relevance in the usage behavior. A total of 266 questionnaires were obtained using snowball sampling and analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The study results revealed that the expanded TAM model can be effectively used in this context and it also showed a good fit for the proposed model from the data analyzed. Attitude explained an R2 of 0.85, which indicates that 85% of the variance in user’s behavior intention is accounted by attitude. Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness were significantly positively associated with attitude. Perceived Playfulness was significantly positively associated with Perceived Usefulness. This study also addresses the implications of the findings for researchers and the game marketing strategies practitioners.