Analyst: Men more likely than women to buy games based on reviews

Video game analyst Newzoo has released a new report that looks at how men and women discover and choose games in the West. 

The company suggests there are some clear differences between the ways people unearth new titles, and claims that women generally choose games based on recommendations from people they know, while men are more reliant on reviewers and online video channels. 

As the graph below shows, 45 percent of women asked said they use family and friends for recommendations, compared to 32 percent of men. Meanwhile, 19 percent of men said they choose games based on reviews and game sites, compared to just 13 percent of women. 

There are bigger contrasts elsewhere, with 29 percent of men relying on recommendations and advice from online video channels, compared to 16 percent of women. Curiously, a similar amount of men and women said they find new titles through online advertising and TV commercials, and there was only a small contrast when it came to social network updates and news posts. 

Digging a bit deeper, Newzoo also looked at what specifically draws men and women to certain games, and posted some more interesting findings.

"More than half of all the men we surveyed found the following important when deciding to play a game: completing objectives and achieving goals (55% of men vs. 49% of women), challenging strategic aspects (51% of men vs. 39% of women), player/character progression (50% of men vs. 38% of women), and exploring worlds and storylines (50% vs. 37%)," reads the report.

"There was just one factor that women found more important than men: games that are easy to quickly pick up and play (53% vs. 48% of men). It is also the most-common thing women find important when it comes to reasons for playing, and the only gameplay factor over half of female respondents chose. Still, men also find it important for games to be easy to pick up and play."

You can get a more in-depth look at Newzoo's findings by checking out the full report. Just click right here.