October 16, 2007 - A new study by a San Diego-based research group has found that games with a higher volume of "accomplishments" generally sell better and receive better critical reception than their less goal-oriented counterparts.
According to a report by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research based on a study of the Xbox 360's Achievement system, games with more Achievements - which the study refers to generally as Accomplishments - correlate with both a higher Metacritic metascore and higher gross sales in the United States.
"Consumers want their games to include both variety and abundance of Accomplishments," said Geoffrey Zatkin, COO of EEDAR. "Our research shows that incentives such as Accomplishments impact sales choices such as which game title to buy and which platform to buy it on; they also extend the replayability of a title."
The research also indicated that games incorporating online elements into their Achievements generate 50% more revenue than those that don't and that titles can generate up to 50% more revenue by including Achievements into their viral marketing strategies.
In a news release announcing the results of the study, EEDR said the data suggest that, despite the popularity of achievements in Xbox 360 games, developers are still not using the system as well as they could be. Of the 4,615 achievements incorporated in 124 retail and 63 downloadable game titles available for the Microsoft Xbox 360 from Nov. 1, 2005 through June 1, 2007, 29 percent were completion Achievements - one of the easiest types to develop and integrate into a game.
The company also found evidence that gamers are taking the time to review the available Achievements in games before buying them and that games that keep their Achievements secret generate less revenue than those who reveal them to players up-front.
