The first commercial computer game “Pong” was introduced by Atari Corporation in 1973. Now just over three decades, computer games have become one of the most pervasive, profitable, and influential forms of entertainment. In 2013, The Entertainment Software Association reported that the annual sales in the U.S. alone have reached 20.77 billion in 2012, with the average household owning at least one dedicated gaming platform (ESA, 2013). Furthermore, computer games are no longer merely a form of entertainment for young children and male teenagers, as the average age of the most frequent game purchaser is 30 years old and about half of these purchasers are women (ESA, 2013). In addition, there is strong evidence to suggest that contemporary computer games are driving cultural and societal advancements that serve and benefit gamers and non-gamers alike. For instance, computer games have been increasingly used to educate children and adult students (Annetta, 2010; Squire, 2005) and promote civic engagement (Bers, 2010). Moreover, studies report that consumers foster social gatherings and communities around particular games (Williamson and Facer, 2004), develop virtual world economies (Lehdovirta, 2010), engage with computer games as a form of professional sports (Seo, 2013), and find new ways to express their extended self (Belk, 2013). These few observations suggest that the consumption of computer games is becoming increasingly multifaceted and complex, offering consumers new avenues to traverse their real and online experiences. The topic of computer games has been increasingly gaining attention from the marketing and consumer research scholarship. While some early studies addressed the effectiveness of product and brand placement in computer games (Molesworth, 2006), more recent studies focused on understanding the elements of consumer behaviour emerging in digital virtual terrain (Dengeri-Knott and Molesworth, 2010; Lehdovirta, 2010) and the role of storytelling and competitive play in computer game experiences (Buchanan-Oliver and Seo, 2012; Seo, 2013). Given this emerging research interest in marketing and consumer behaviour literature, we call for future research to make significant contribution to our knowledge in this area.

• Yuri Seo(Victoria University of Wellington)