Study says word of mouth most important factor in games purchase intent

Word of Mouf isn't just your favorite Ludacris album, it's also apparently crucial in deciding whether or not consumers will pick up a game. A new study from (deep breath) Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California, and Harris Interactive concluded that word of mouth was three times as likely to affect a purchasing decision as opposed to traditional forms of advertising.

The study quizzed 507 gamers from July 6 to July 27 of this year. These gamers consisted of US adults who owned at least one gaming system, bought a video game in the six months prior to the study and admitted to playing a game for at least one hour per week.

The study also said participants identified special "Influence Mutlipliers," such as veteran gamers and the gaming community at large. These "Influence Multipliers" represented 21 percent of the gamers in the study, declaring they were the go-to people for friends and families looking for opinions on games. Boy, don't we know that pain!