Reviews more important than price

Consumers are more likely to base their buying decisions on review scores than on price, a new Moving Minds report from branding specialist Kinetic claims.

The study suggests that 71 per cent of those asked thought review scores were an important element of deciding which titles they should buy. By contrast, 64 per cent felt price was a key element. Packaging was named as the least important factor (eight per cent).

It also claims that 36 per cent of gamers either pre-order titles or buy them in their first few weeks of release.

More startling is the claim that only 12 per cent of gamers buy pre-owned titles – a number that defies that increasing focused placed on pre-owned on the High Street and contradicts a recent report by Newzoo that claimed sales of new boxed games now account for just 54 per cent of the games market.

Kinetic’s report adds that 54 per cent of UK adults are likely to buy a video game in the next 12 months and that 47 per cent of them will make their purchase online.