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Sales vs review scores

So, it turns out that Enslaved: Journey to the West hasn’t sold too well, despite receiving generally positive review scores.

It does make me wonder what role reviews play in an age when the majority of players can download a demo and find out what they think of the game themselves. Beyond mentioning how representative of the final game the demo is, I suppose. If people are playing the demo and deciding it’s not worth buying, are the high scoring reviews out of touch with their audience?

And given that reviewers are generally receiving free copies of the games they’re playing, are they really best placed to suggest which games are worth my £40 the most? It would appear that a lot of gamers are generally holding off and waiting for short titles with no (or no compelling) multiplayer component to drop in price. Which is happening sooner and sooner. Enslaved has already been down to around £20.

Should reviewers be acting like informed friends, trying to pull the consumer towards buying games that may be more artistically worthy, or should reviews keep their audience’s tastes in mind, and point them in the direction of more of the same that they will enjoy?

In particular I’m wondering all of this on the eve of the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops. A game that’s sure to sell more than anything else this year. Aside from the advertising money from the hits you’ll get, is there any point in a website reviewing Black Ops (positively or negatively) at all?

  • http://game-linchpin.com Simeon Pashley

    Review scores very rarely influence the people who buy & play the game. These sales are known as “Sell Through” sales.

    Review scores largely influence ‘buyers’, people who buy games for the retail stores as they’re largely incapable of deciding this for themselves. Known as “Sell In” sales. The volumes these buyers commit to also drive marketing spend and other business aspects.

    However, high scoring previews don’t always generate high “Sell In” numbers as there are lots of factors that can defeat a high score.

    It’s all very interesting when you drill down but High Reviews != High Sales.

    Apart from all the science, everything we do in games is highly subjective and it’s mostly entirely random.

  • http://www.mainlyaboutgames.co.uk FreakyZoid

    I was under the impression that the buyers (or certainly the buyers
    for the “make you or break you” chains like Gamestop and Walmart) had
    to make their decisions way in advance of any reviews coming out?

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  • http://twitter.com/tomwfreeman Tom Freeman

    Great points. I think we’re at a stage where people are becoming very aware of the inevitable price drop. Consumers have a lot less money for games these days. But I do think many gamers who have games ‘on their radar’ are more likely to wait a read a collection of reviews before purchasing.

    Also worth pointing our that, as a new IP, Enslaved may be a slow burner. There will be less people enthusiastically waiting for its release, and more that have only noticed it now that the reviews have come in. I’m one actually. Thought the demo was too easy and hand-holding, but now I’ve seen the reviews its on my radar.