NPD study finds 40% of recent game purchases were impulse-driven
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Oct 16th 2009 at 10:58AM }
NPD's Matthew Tattle notes that it's surprising to find impulse purchasing going on during a recession, but that "it's clear that hardcore gamers will find a way to satisfy their need for something new, different and enjoyable." Or, maybe, their ADD is just kicking in and they can't focus on the fact that we're in a recession?
The average impulse purchase was under $27 (USD), as compared to the average $42 planned purchase. The study also found that females were more likely to buy on impulse and that 15 percent of purchases were made through online transactions. So, apparently some impulse purchases were on Impulse.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kinsey @ Oct 16th 2009 11:00AM
Most of my games are impulse drieven for sure.
Space @ Oct 16th 2009 11:50AM
if they are considering cheap pre-owned games impulse driven then I guess I'm in this group as well
Kinsey @ Oct 16th 2009 3:18PM
InFamous, Batman: AA, and Halo: ODST bundle were my latest inpulse buys. Thje first 2 were on sale on release when I got them and no regrets, very glad I picked them up. ODST is a great game but not worth the 70 bux they asked for. I got the bundle to match my Halo 3 Xbox so to me it worth it for that.
note: I still have yet to beat all three games :(
Wes @ Oct 16th 2009 5:35PM
They might be referrnig speicially to Wii Fit, Wii Resort sales? With the rediculous amounts those crappy casual games are selling at, its almost half of that 40% of the market if not more.
xenocidic @ Oct 16th 2009 11:09AM
XBLA surely leads me to make some impulse purchases
Like the "hey, I really enjoyed Portal! I should buy it again now that it's available on its own! 200 cheevos!"
(GLaDoS isn't as charming the second time around, FWIW)
RobLink (Alex Kidd incarnate) @ Oct 16th 2009 11:18AM
Yeah, those extra levels weren't really worth the 1200 space bucks.
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 12:49PM
Isn't "space bucks" a Spaceballs reference? I'm not sure people are going to make the connection here.
GewurztraminerX @ Oct 16th 2009 11:17AM
Are they impulse purchases if they happen nearly every week on Tuesdays?
*cough*RockBand*cough*
Guilty.
copa @ Oct 16th 2009 11:18AM
"40 percent of game buyers purchased on impulse in the last six months" is a very different statement from "40% of recent game purchases were impulse-driven." I have made an impulse purchase in the last six months, but most of my purchases are planned.
You may want to clean up that headline.
AvA (ice~) @ Oct 16th 2009 11:19AM
Very rarely do I impulse buy a game, especially if I don't know much about it. I've made mistakes before, when I was a wee little lad with a nintendo 64 then gamecube, and every game I bought on impulse sucked hard...
so now I research, or base my purchases on A) who makes the game. B) have I heard good things about the game? C) will my friends be getting it and can I play it online with them. Impulse buy i do not :O (not saying there's anything wrong with it though)
Courtney @ Oct 16th 2009 11:21AM
Steam and D2D sales probably get me to impulse buy games more than anything else, particularly cheap indies or older titles.
whylekat @ Oct 16th 2009 12:53PM
I agree with older titles & retro games. But really anything new, or at least this gen new.. There's so much buzz over the internets that's it's kinda hard NOT to research a game before I buy it. Even if it's just the basic plot and gameplay mechanics.
AwesomeTown @ Oct 16th 2009 11:41AM
Hell yea, it's impulse. I have a terrible addiction to purchase games during sales. More recently, Prince of Persia for 360 for $10 from Gamefly Store, Company of Heroes gold for $5 from D2D, and World of Goo pay what you want birthday sale. How can you pass those up?
Dante G @ Oct 16th 2009 12:22PM
Same here. Great sales are hard to resist. I've bought the orange box ($10), Plants vs Zombies ($7.50) and the ten pack of indie games ($30) on Steam so far this year. That's like 16 games for less than 50 bucks... how could I resist?
The only bad thing about buying things on sale is that I don't have time to play all the games I buy. I still have on my shelf almost 20 unopened games... and that number is gonna get larger since I just ordered Mario & Luigi 3, Pokemon Platinum and Prof Layton 2 from amazon with the buy 2 get 3 sale :-/
baby sea tuna @ Oct 16th 2009 11:43AM
It is on rare occasion that I buy a game impulsively these days. I don't know if it's the economy or the fact that I just bought a house or that my girlfriend's on furlough or what, but I can't afford to buy a game that I'm questionable about any more. It's unfortunate since I've definitely loved some games in the past that I've picked up randomly, but for now I'll have to trust reviews and pedigree rather than positive word-of-mouth.
Preston @ Oct 16th 2009 11:51AM
A recent study suggests that I have regretted 40% of all my impulse purchases.
butaneko @ Oct 16th 2009 11:53AM
Deals on Cheap Ass Gamer cause me to impulse buy a game like every week. my backlog right now is embarassing.
Ben @ Oct 16th 2009 12:24PM
Definitely since I've been using steam and other digital distribution, my buying has been a lot more impulsive. It's just so easy
TriviumSuffocationTheBlackDahliaMurderLambOfGod @ Oct 16th 2009 12:28PM
I usually have planned out what I want to buy in my budget. My only impulse buys are games that are $40 or below, but not new $60. I know enough about the new games to decide if I'm buying or not.
X3HaloEd @ Oct 16th 2009 1:01PM
Sometimes I buy crappy $60 games on impulse just because I'm sick of playing all my other games over and over again. This is how I came to own a copy of Wolfenstein.
bluetev @ Oct 16th 2009 1:25PM
Not Uncharted 2 or Killzone 2 - I salivated over those 2 games for months.
Marty @ Oct 16th 2009 8:10PM
um, Uncharted 2 came out three days ago.
BigD145 @ Oct 16th 2009 1:28PM
Under $27? That's not a surprising impulse buy.
Bunny Xbox @ Oct 18th 2009 6:48PM
What is NPD stand for?
Dreaded Fear @ Oct 16th 2009 3:03PM
I only buy games on impulse if it is on sale. Most of the the games I have on steam are bought because of the ridiculous sales they have. I just bought Dawn of War 2 right now!
IGLAW @ Oct 16th 2009 5:48PM
Oh you, Impulse. Get out of my Fences installation you little scamp.
IGLAW @ Oct 16th 2009 5:48PM
Also my only recent impulse buy was of Valkyria Chronicles.
Tooootally worth it.
Au @ Oct 17th 2009 1:14AM
Actually, the recession is ending in Canada as well as around the world. It's just the states that hasn't pulled itself out of the brink yet.