Game Design, Programming and running a one-man games business…

Politicos > Gamers (for sales).

According to a recent perusal of my ad stats, it seems that I get a better return on investment advertising Democracy 2 on politics commentary sites than I do on news sites. I get as many site visits from both, but the people coming from the news sites are more likely to buy.

I can’t pretend to be massively shocked. Hardcore gamers tend to be a bit more demanding of games visuals, many of them refusing to even consider playing a non 3D game. A lot of gamers also have a ‘shopping list’ of features that MUST be in every game if they are to buy it. They demand multiplayer, co-op, extensive mods, variable resolutions, a persistent world, HDR lighting, several hours of music, etc etc.

People who don’t generally play games tend to be more impressed just by how easy it is to play, and how much fun it is. They don’t automatically compare a game to it’s rivals, as they haven’t played them. Very few people who bought the wii as their only console ever bitch about its low-poly models. They have no means of comparison, and don’t care.

Perhaps this explains the whole casual-games boom? These gamers don’t know any different. They don’t demand multiplayer or 3D, because they don’t know what they are. They just want fun. Happily, they also don’t know about pirate websites (or are too sensible to risk using them). Anyway you look at it, these people are a desirable group to sell my games to. Thats’ something I decided today :D


One thought on

  1. I’m sure advertising Democracy (a game about politics) on politics sites generates sales for reasons other than great graphics. It’s obvious that more people from the politics site would buy the game as it plays to people interested in the subject matter. I never bought Democracy because I have little interest in politics, not because it didn’t have 3D graphics or an extensive score. I bought Kudos: Rock Legend though ’cause rock is cool ;-P

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