On Tuesday we posted the official Best of E3 awards, but do they really make a difference? Do what the critics feel are the best of the best actually translate into higher sales? UBS analyst Ben Schachter seems to think so, compiling this handy chart to prove it.
"Do awards translate into higher sales? The answer is yes, but not always. Additionally certain categories have a higher correlation between awards and sales. Since these awards began in 1998, the Best Console title has sold an average of 2.42 million units life-time in the U.S., according to NPD," Schachter explained.
Poor Jet Grind Radio. Had my beloved Dreamcast not taken a fall you would have been right up there as well. Schacter goes on to mention that while this works for Best Console title, it doesn't work across all categories, notable Best In Show, with past winners including the PSP and Gamecube, both of which performed poorly in the face of competition.
If you ask me, it isn't so much the receiving of an award that causes the jump in sales. The E3 Critics awards are an indicator of what games the press and reviewers were most interested in. The games the press get the most interested in are the games the press write about. The more positive coverage a game gets in magazines and online, the more likely people are to buy it. It isn't so much people buying the games because they won the awards...people buy the games because the press love them.
Isn't that a rather self-important view, you ask? If you look back at some of my favorite games over the past couple of years you'll see that there are obvious exceptions to the rule. Going to exclude myself from this based on Iron Man alone.
Do E3 Awards Translate into Big Sales? [GameDaily]