The opinions “This game sucks!” or “This game rocks!” may carry more weight then first thought in regards to video game sales if a survey done by Marketing Interactive 6 (MI6) is correct. According to the study, the number one influence on consumers buying a video game wasn,t due to advertising or commercials. The strongest influence on potential buyers was through word of mouth from family and friends. The ads and game demos start to carry more weight once customers are in the final stages of making a decision to buy the game. The online survey was done my Frank Magid Associates and queried over 2,000 consumers between the ages of 13-39. The participants taking the survey were from a pool of PC gamers and console gamers, both hardcore and casual.
Thirty seven percent of the gamers surveyed apparently made up their minds after their first impressions of a game and did not need further information while 27% looked for information immediately after learning about the game. 36% gathered more information at a later time.
Most of the surveyed participants agreed that game marketing advertising did a good job at presenting visuals for their games that the ads were sorely lacking in details, depth and information about the game itself. Undoubtedly, advertising agencies still perceive the majority of gamers as those who are merely attracted by bright colors and flashy graphics, when in reality, they are searching for hard facts as well. Of all the advertising mediums, the gamers felt that television ads needed the most work in improving their message.
If word of mouth dominates over traditional advertising, perhaps more money could be dedicated by game companies towards producing better games in place of spending many millions of dollars on advertising mediocre titles which lose them money.
