Study Says Almost Half of Games Sold are Impulse Buys
Any gamer out there can tell you that they have made an impulse buy or two over the course of their lives. Well it seems that according to a study that was conducted, the numbers may be a lot higher than we thought for impulse purchases when it comes to video games over the past 6 months.
The study titled “The Canadian Video Game Purchase Process” found up to almost 40% of gamers have made an impulse buy on a title within the last 6 months. They are attributing it to game packaging, in store images, and descriptions of the title.
“Clearly gamers are becoming much less reluctant to spend on games.”
“One would think it is a little unusual to see impulse purchases during a recession but it’s clear that hardcore gamers will find a way to satisfy their need for something new, different and enjoyable.”
So now the question must be asked. How many of you out there have made an impulse buy recently?
[Source]
16 Responses to “Study Says Almost Half of Games Sold are Impulse Buys”
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October 26th, 2009 at 7:43 AM
I’ve done this plenty of times… in fact-
One night I was up really late and wanting to play the PSONE Classic RB6 and I was just barely awake. I woke up next morning and I had the game, but didn’t even remember buying it.
Note: I wasn’t on ambien
October 26th, 2009 at 8:27 AM
Just this past weekend, I’d been thinking about buying Demon’s Souls. I was out of town visiting a friend, and I stopped into a shopping plaza to eat. While I was there, I visited the local Gamestop, “just to see if they have it.” They did, and now I do.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:18 AM
there no such thing as impulse buying for gamers. Its more like feeling the beast with-in
October 26th, 2009 at 10:08 AM
I purchase games on impulse from PSN more than from the store, because it’s so much quicker. Games in the store I do at least some research beforehand, including checking metacritic store. It should be noted also that generally people in 18-25 age range don’t totally feel the effects of the recession, as they’re working the same amount of hours at the same wage at the same place before and during the recession. E.g. a papa john’s employee gets a job in 2005, recession hits but he still has a job in 2009.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:13 AM
I make a lot of impulse buys, but they are almost always used games that I remember hearing about but never got around to playing.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:29 PM
I rarely make an impulse buy from a store unless I walk in and they are having some great sale that I didn’t know about. I would say about 70% of my purchases are pre-orders and another 25% are from games I try from GameFly and then decide to keep. I do make impulse buys from the PSN store every once in a while though, especially when they release price-cuts or games that have gotten a lot of hype and don’t release with a demo.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:32 PM
@onionpaper
It’s ok to work for papa johns that long, pizzas not bad.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:51 PM
l’ve got a question, who was the moron that did the study? Like this impulse buying of games has never happened
October 26th, 2009 at 1:00 PM
A lot of purchases in general aren’t impulsive? like how in Supermarkets they put the candy coated cereal at childrens height so the kid will beg mom to buy it? etc, etc.
human beings tend to be a little impulsive, nothing wrong with that in small doses.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:21 PM
First off that picture above is badass,
Second Impulse buys do happen alot, expecially when Best Buy has 3 for 2 sells
October 26th, 2009 at 1:43 PM
its kinda hard not to be impulsive when buying a game…
usually before a game comes out, we know a bit, or less than nothing, but they sell simply because of something… cool box art, nice name, amazing features *be them that or less than that*
also you have to factor in Sales/Trophies… I wanted blazblue for AGES and all i knew was it was made by the people who did guilty gear/hokuto no ken… found it at best buy for 3.98 usd, and bought it without question… this is prob how most games sell
October 26th, 2009 at 2:07 PM
Agreed- Gamestop never has “deals” and if they do- it’s like “buy 3 from this shitty bin and we’ll let you have another pile of shit for free!” My impulse buys come from online, and i shop around extensively for a good deal.
I will admit the PSN store makes it easier to buy shit quicker with less thought
oh did i mention i woke up one morning with an email confirmation for the Gun Metal Grey MGS4 special edition PS3 in my inbox.
$400 impulse, anyone got a one up on that?
October 26th, 2009 at 4:53 PM
That MGS4 gun metal PS3 is a sweet buy I can’t say I can top that unless you count winniing 5300 dollars at a random gas station slot machine and then buying myself and a friend a PS3 that night at Wal-Mart 2 60gigs.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:27 PM
wow. you’re a great friend. What’s your name, new friend?
October 26th, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Do drunk PSN purchases count?
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:06 AM
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