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| Halo 3 Discussion High Among Casual Gamers A new report from BrandIntel finds that while Halo 3 has historically appealed to a more hardcore gaming audience, it has recently generated significant awareness and engagement in the casual gaming community prior to and after its release on September 25. The BrandIntel report, titled Halo 3: Consumer Insight Monitor, analyzed consumer sentiment and discussion share around Halo 3 as well as Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, a game title that appeals to the more casual gamer. While Halo 3 performed as expected in the hardcore community, it over-achieved in the casual gaming community, indicating that the game has been successful in generating broader interest and may point to the long-term success for not only the game series, but for Xbox 360 as well.  Based on analysis of consumer-created content, the Halo 3 Report captures data from January 1, 2007 to October 4, 2007. Additional key findings from the study include: - In the months leading up to Halo 3's release, there was a positive correlation between Halo 3 and Xbox 360's discussion levels-as Halo 3's discussion increase, so too did the Xbox 360's engagement with the casual community. - Sentiment for the Xbox 360 also improved, indicating that gamers who were previously unsure about purchasing the console, are more convinced that it's a worthy purchase. - Sentiment in the casual community for both Halo 3 and Guitar Hero 3 was very positive, with an average of 3.9 and 4.0, respectively. - Although Guitar Hero 3 has the advantage of generating traction on casual gaming sites, Halo 3 still managed to generate a greater amount of discussion among casual communities. In August and September 2007, Halo 3's casual discussion more than doubled Guitar Hero 3's discussion volume. The BrandIntel Halo 3 Report provides research, marketing, communications and customer relationship management executives with actionable information to support decision-making through a better understanding of consumer usage behavior, as well as industry trends and influences. The report highlights the video games and manufacturers that have generated the most positive discussion and sentiment in online consumer communities such as blogs, discussion forums and other social media sites on the Internet. For this report, BrandIntel tracked more than 78,000 raw search results on the Internet but refined those results through technological filters and human analysis to utilize only the highest quality data - totaling more than 5,600 consumer mentions on Halo 3 and Guitar Hero 3. This report follows BrandIntel's September 2007 Top Video Games Consoles Report, which found that although Xbox 360 held the top spot with hard-core gamers, Nintendo Wii had the highest intent to purchase scores and appeals to a broader consumer base due to its price, innovation and ease of use. "As seen with the success of the Nintendo Wii, gaming manufacturers are beginning to understand the importance of engaging a casual gaming audience, as this group can be a vital demographic in driving sales and new market opportunities", said Alan Dean, V.P. of Business Innovation at BrandIntel. "Once gaming manufacturers begin to see the sales results that the casual gaming community can deliver, particularly after the 2007 holiday season, I believe that manufacturers will respond by developing more game titles geared towards this particular group moving forward." write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Game News :: home page |