Ipsos has issued their latest GamePlan Insights, detailing franchise engagement. According to the metrics of the study, it shows the ‘stickiness’ of traditional retail videogame franchises.
“When assessing the performance or health of a traditional retail gaming franchise, most people rely on unit sales or YoY growth,” says the report. “But often publishers and retailers do not understand who is driving the sales or whether they are likely to continue with the next installment of the franchise.”
“As keen observers of the gaming space, we are constantly in search of new metrics that offer a fresh and meaningful perspective for the industry,” the report continues. “One such metric is Franchise Engagement, which uses data from our nationally representative weekly GamePlan Insights tracker to provide a unique viewpoint on the ‘stickiness’ of a franchise. Franchise Engagement is calculated by looking at the ratio of Purchase Intent to Awareness and comparing the scores across a large number of franchises to provide benchmarks.”
“Among franchises tracked in the last 12 months, Elder Scrolls has the highest average conversion of Awareness to Purchase Intent: meaning a Franchise Engagement Ratio (FER) score of .563. Since January 2011, not only has Awareness for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim doubled, but Purchase Intent has doubled as well. As a result, it has maintained an impressive conversion ratio and is growing at the ideal scale. Improving upon the open-world gameplay consistent with the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim is an Action RPG set in a fully realized fantasy world filled with lively cities, towns, and expansive wilderness,” the report notes. “While the sales ceiling for Elder Scrolls may be lower than powerhouse franchises such as Call of Duty and Madden, it has an avid and growing fanbase and a bright future. Assuming Skyrim receives the critical acclaim that many in the industry are predicting, loyal fans will continue to evangelize the franchise to friends and family. This bottom up approach takes time to develop (the first Elder Scrolls launched in 1994), but clearly Bethesda has developed a rock solid foundation and has identified a winning formula for a successful and healthy video game franchise.”
