Rovio: Casual gamers use word of mouth, don’t read reviews

In the casual games market word of mouth trumps reviews, so says Rovio.

Speaking at Gamelab in Barcelona, Rovio’s VP of mergers and acquisitions Teemu Huuhtanen stated that while coverage of casual titles is important, most successful titles benefit in a far greater way from word of mouth.

Huuhtanen explained the main reason for this was due to the fact that most casual gamers don’t read reviews or blogs.

We try to monitor social media, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and even reviews,” Huuhtanen told the audience. I think they are all important, especially in the beginning. But I don’t think many casual gamers actually read any blogs or reviews – they hear about games from their friends, mostly.

But to gain momentum in the beginning, it definitely helps to get good reviews.”