Celebrities Sell More Games Than Reviewers

The video game industry sees a lot of titles released each day, week, month and year. But because the number of new releases is so big, not a lot of them really stand out, and it's up to the marketing department of every publisher to make sure that the game gets promoted as it deserves.

Usually, this means buying ad spaces on popular gaming websites and hoping that their reviewers will give a high score to the game. But now, according to marketing research firm EEDAR, it seems that this might not be the best course of action, as it has released a report on how much celebrities make games sell and how big an impact reviewers have on the sales of a game.

The report, presented by analyst Jesse Divnich, showcases how the battle between Guitar Hero and Rock Band was won by the former, due to ads that featured celebrities, like Heidi Klum, Kobe Bryant or Alex Rodriguez, even though it didn't gain a higher review score than the title developed by Harmonix

“Using celebrities in a mass-market media campaign is certainly one of the most effective ways to create the perception of being a must-own title,” he said. “In fact, the Guitar Hero/Rock Band war is a perfect example of how Guitar Hero was ultimately able to gain mass-market acceptance through celebrity endorsements and advertisement even though editorial reviews indicated that Rock Band was a better product.”

At the end of his presentation, Divnich revealed a truth that will dominate the game market in the next few years, until users will get a firm understanding of reviews and won't be led by ads to buy new titles. “In this new gaming market, when targeting a mass-audience, it is not always the best products that succeed, but often what the consumers believe is the best product.”

How much do ads and promotional clips influence you in buying a video game? Does seeing Heidi Klum in her underwear rocking out to Guitar Hero make you buy it in favor of the much better Rock Band? Leave us a comment with your opinion.