Friends rank as the largest influencing factor in the purchase decisions of video games, according to a study released today by global integrated communications agency Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California, and Harris Interactive.
Industry trade groups say the video gaming software industry represented sales of more than US$11-billion in 2008, and games are expected to be a hot item for this year’s holiday season gift-giving.
The study indicated that word-of-mouth, led by friends, was three times as likely to influence the purchase of video games as traditional forms of advertising and promotion.
The data proved that word of mouth ranked highest of all methods buyers used to make purchase decisions. This was followed by retail, online demos, reviews, and advertising and promotion.
When the word-of-mouth category was examined further, the data revealed that friends were approximately twice as likely to influence the purchase decision as family members. Friends were also among the most trusted of all forms of purchase influence.
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