A recent study has underline the impact of reviews on sales. After reading positive reviews and playing Plants versus Zombies for the first time, most participants gleefully accepted a copy of the game instead of their promised cash fee. Those who were shown poor reviews just took the money.
In addition, when those participants were asked to review the game and assign a score, those who had been exposed to good reviews scored the game more highly. Electronic Entertainment Design and Research ( EEDAR ), a games-focused research firm, used 165 students from Southern Methodist University for the study. Split into three groups, the first were shown
A spokesperson for EEDAR commented that, "even with first-hand experience of time spent playing the game, those exposed to high review scores give the game a higher review and those exposed to low review scores gave the game a lower score."
With the turbulent financial climate and the ever escalating mania of publishers' marketing efforts, it's now more important than ever to compare notes with friends , seek out demos and betas , and read reviews by publications you trust.
[via Edge ]
