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fans , and it also provides the Kardashians with multiple platforms on which to advertise each of their endeavors . The more you participate in the transmedia aspects of their business , the more information you are privileged to as a fan and viewer . Kim Kardashian : Hollywood is successful and popular in the context of the constant presence of the Kardashians in the media . Kim Kardashian : Hollywood makes liberal use of social gaming aspects to further compel the player . The casual gaming industry has found effective ways to exploit players and their money through friendly competition and collaboration . iPhone games have followed Facebook ’ s lead and realized that if you get people ’ s friends hooked , you can get them hooked as well . In Kim Kardashian : Hollywood , when you become friends with another player in the game , you can invite them to do a photo shoot with you , which also allows you to get more stars more easily . You can also date people you are friends with in the game . Dates require a lot of energy and money , but they also boost your celebrity level . As the game says , “ Dating famous people will get you more fans , too .” This means that if you want to date someone in the game that you know in real life , it benefits you if they do well in the game , and vice versa .
As embarrassing as it may be , there is an added element of peer pressure to continue playing if your friends or significant other are also still playing . There is even a leaderboard that tracks your fan base and celebrity status in comparison to your friends , other users , and some of the made up characters in the game . This competitive aspect adds to the temptation of in-app purchases . Having a visible leaderboard in the game is an incentive for players to use any means possible to beat out the people they know in real life . Both the use of time constraints and the use of competition seem to be effective means of eliciting spending from players , particularly in comparison to games without this format .
Since the game is part of their business , it also includes in-app purchases . As someone who avoids in-app purchases at all costs , Kim Kardashian : Hollywood makes them very tempting . Every action in the game costs energy , which you only have a limited amount of . Energy is replenished automatically over time , but you can also buy more through the app store . Photo shoots and commercial gigs have a time limit in place , so once you start , if you don ’ t finish in , say , five hours , you get a bad score on the gig and lose fans or form a bad relationship with
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