Study: A Chum’s Advice Tops Game Purchasing Influences

A recommendation from friends is three times more likely than traditional marketing practices to influence videogame purchasing.

This according to research conducted by communications agency Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. The survey polled 507 U.S. residents that were over 18 years of age, owned a videogame system, bought a least one videogame in the last six months and played a game at least one hour per week.

Friends were found to be the most trusted among all spheres of influence, even out weighing the opinions of family members by a factor of two. Following friends on the list of influencers were retail, online demos, reviews and advertising.

The study also found that hardcore gamers, dubbed “Influence Multipliers” in the report, wielded an inordinate amount of influence when recommending games, due to their advanced knowledge and a projected view of them as being more wired into the gaming community.

Waggener Edstrom Senior Vice President Dan Gallagher explained:

Compared to all video gamers, Influence Multipliers are a hyperinfluential subset of friends who are also far more connected to other gamers. As a result, Influence Multipliers have an outsized network influence effect on their gaming colleagues. By targeting the media channels that Influence Multipliers rely on, marketers can optimize their marketing spending.