New Study Finds M-Rated Games Sell Best

New interactive entertainment research firm Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) has released data measuring to-date success of the latest generation of consoles, analyzing the significance of online functionalities and other market factors, such as the correlation between game review scores and retail success. The new study, titled "Console Intelligence Brief 2007" examines the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 since each consoles’ release through June 1, 2007, and comprises some 219 retail and 187 downloadable games made available on the new platforms, examined by genre, ESRB rating, gross sales in the United States, MetaCritic scores, online functionalities, multiplayer capability and other core game features. Among the sample results made available, the study found that critics’ favorite list and the blockbuster charts have a lot in common, with highly-rated titles selling up to five times better than titles with lower scoring reviews. Despite online connectivity being a marketing cornerstone for all new consoles, the study concluded that 45 percent of retail games are not utilizing it in any way -- 98 percent of Nintendo Wii games have no online functionality at all. Notably, according to the study, mature-rated titles, comprising 10 percent of all US retail games examined, have both the highest average MetaCritic scores and the highest average gross sales in the United States -- despite the fact that some major retailers decline to sell them. Less than 2 percent of all the titles released achieved a MetaCritic score over 90 -- and those games grossed sales up to 531 percent more than the industry average, the study says. It also found that 24 percent of all available titles are action games, though the shooter genre has the highest gross sales. Finally, the study has also found that the Nintendo Wii has seen more than twice the number of retail and downloadable game titles than either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 in the first 7 months after each platform’s launch.