1

Gaming Influence Study July 2013

Introduction

2

This report explores the individuals and topics that are shaping influential conversations in gaming.

The results of this study may generate as many questions as they answer:

• Which companies and executives are driving the influential conversations on gaming?

• Why do bloggers overwhelmingly dominate the influential conversations on gaming?

• What role can executives play in boosting their brand’s influence?

• Why are consoles and handhelds such a hot topic?

We hope this document is both useful and stimulating. And of course, feel free to tweet about or share

the report using the hashtag #GamingInfluence, or debate the results with your peers.

Methodology

This report is based on 60 days of data taken between April 29th and June 27th 2013. The scope of this

report is based on the three main gaming consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, and Wii) and their

manufactures, active game publishers and studios as listed by Wikipedia, and all the games published

between the beginning of 2012 and the end of 2013 for consoles and PC as listed by Gamespot.

About Appinions

Appinions is the only opinion-powered influence marketing platform designed to give companies the

unmatched ability to identify, analyze, engage, monitor and measure influencers. Built on more than a

decade of Cornell University research, Appinions extracts and aggregates opinions from journey by

converting faceless touchpoints into influential trust points™ to optimize marketing efforts. For more

information on the science of influence marketing, visit http://www.appinions.com/.

How Appinions Analyzes Influence

3

Who is an Influencer?

Appinions defines an influencer as a person, brand or company that expresses a contextually

relevant opinion that is meaningful enough to elicit action from others.

How is Influence calculated?

Appinions calculates individual influence scores based on an influencer’s opinions for a given topic.

Scores are determined by the following criteria:

• Frequency of actions the opinions generate;

• Credibility of the publications in which the opinions appear; and

• Diversity of publications carrying the opinions.

Appinions calculates influence at the topic level to understand the relative influence of different topics.

What is the Net Influence Score (NIS)?

Appinions calculates topic influence scores, or the Net Influence Scores, based on the following criteria:

• Influence scores of each individual within the topic; and

• Number of trust impressions created by each influencer on that topic.

Trust impressions are driven and derived by what influencers are saying and the subsequent actions

taken by the audience.

What is the most “Actioned” opinion?

The most “actioned” opinions are the influential opinions that resonate the most and thus travel the furthest.

Influence scores in this report were obtained on June 27, 2013 and are based on data

60 days prior to that date.

37%

10% 10%

20%

10%

3% 10%

2012 Global Sales ($66B)*

TV/Console Handhelds

PC/MAC MMOs (PC)

Smartphone (Mobile) Tablet (Mobile)

Social/Casual

1,633

247 260

21

-

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

Consoles/Handheld PC Mobile Games Social Games

Net Influence Score

Consoles & handhelds win in sales, dominate in influence

4

Net Influence

Score

*2012 Newzoo Global Games Market Report

53% of revenue but

underrepresented in

conversations

Global brands such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo propel the consoles & handhelds topic while PC,

Mobile Games, and Social Games have yet to find many influential advocates.

Gaming is an industry where the bloggers rule the influential discussion

5

One reason why bloggers are so influential is that they publish content on

various gaming topics every day.

Bloggers enrich the stories by providing

more context and perspective.

Most “Actioned” Opinions

Writers Analyst Executives

“And while much of this year’s focus has been

on Sony’s new PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s

Xbox One, there’s little point to owning a

console if the games aren’t any good.”

Influencer: Harley Tsukayama

Source: Washington Post

“The console won’t ping Sony’s servers every

24 hours like the Xbox One, so gamers are

free to game in areas without Internet

connectivity, as long as they have disc-based

games.”

Influencer: Shawn Ingram

Source: GottaBeMobile

“When the smoke cleared, all that was left

was the PlayStation 4 basking in the glory

of everything that is great about the future

of gaming, and the Xbox One has been

stuck with the guise of being what gamers

don’t want.“

Influencer: Ron Duwell

Source: TechnoBuffalo

Influence

Score

Top 10

Influencers Description

192 Sal Romano Editor In Chief, Gematsu

189 Kevin Cassidy Editor in Chief, GoNintendo

187 Shawn Ingram Writer, GottaBeMobile

183 Jack Tretton President, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment

of America

179 Ben Gilbert Senior Associate Editor, Engadget

176 Don Mattrick Former President, Interactive Entertainment

Business, Microsoft

170 Michael Pachter Research Analyst, Wedbush Securities

169 Ron Duwell Writer, TechnoBuffalo

167 Hayley Tsukayama Reporter, Washington Post

166 Joey Davidson Senior Editor, TechnoBuffalo

Console manufacturers & game publishers top the gaming ecosystem

Influence

Score Top 20 companies

230 Microsoft

218 Sony

202 Electronic Arts

190 Nintendo

178 Konami

172 Activision

170 Ubisoft

169 Capcom

168 GameStop

164 Zynga

153 Square Enix

149 Facebook

149 Maxis

145 Google

143 Blizzard Entertainment

141 Apple Inc

140 Best Buy

136 Amazon

129 Nvidia

127 PopCap Games

6

Most “Actioned” Opinions by Top Companies

Nintendo and its partners are concerned with Nintendo’s

lackluster performance, which drives the most resonant

opinions concerning the brand.

“However, following Sony's announcement that the PlayStation 4 would allow

used games, Microsoft has stated that the Xbox One will also allow the same.”

Influencer: Microsoft Source: Forbes

“Sony also drew cheers from the audience at the Electronic Entertainment

Expo (E3) in Los Angeles when it said the PS4 would run second-hand games

and did not require an always-on Internet connection.”

Influencer: Sony Source: Reuters

“EA’s gaming pipeline clearly reflects the company’s focus on the Xbox One

and PlayStation 4. EA did not announce a single game for Nintendo’s platform,

citing lower demand for the console compared with Microsoft’s and Sony’s.”

Influencer: Electronics Arts Source: Zacks.com

“The company has struggled since November with the launch of the Wii U…

Nintendo Co. said it sold just 3.45 million units by the end of March, well

below the company's expectations.”

Influencer: Nintendo Source: Associated Press

“Games developer Ubisoft has told Nintendo it'll need to start shifting some

serious Wii U inventory before it grants the console any more exclusive

games like the critically acclaimed ZombiU.”

Influencer: Ubisoft Source: Kotaku

Sony execs Jack Tretton, Shuhei Yoshida and Adam Boyes experienced substantial boosts

in influence at E3 as their message drowned out their peers.

Executive influence lifts Sony at E3

7

Influence Score

before E3

Influence Score

after E3 Top 20 executives Description

92 191 Jack Tretton President, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment of America

168 170 Don Mattrick Former President, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft

171 168 Mark Pincus Former CEO, Zynga

149 164 Satoru Iwata President, Nintendo

163 161 Larry Hryb Director of Programming, Xbox Live, Microsoft Gaming

151 153 Eric Hirshberg President, CEO, Activision

130 152 Shuhei Yoshida President, Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment

149 149 Hideo Kojima Director, Metal Gear Solid V

138 149 Masahiro Sakurai Director of Software Development, Sora Ltd

147 149 Phil Spencer VP, Microsoft Game Studios

127 147 Frank Gibeau President, EA

123 147 Yves Guillemot Chairman, CEO, Ubisoft

150 146 Marc Whitten Chief Product Officer, Xbox One, Microsoft

128 145 Reggie Fils Aime President, COO, Nintendo of America

97 142 Adam Boyes VP, Third Party Relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America

124 138 Pete Hines VP, Public Relations, Bethesda

123 138 Eiji Aonuma Game Producer and Designer, Nintendo

109 135 Peter Moore COO, EA

118 134 Shigeru Miyamoto Game Producer and Designer, Nintendo

135 131 Neil Druckmann Creative Director, Naughty Dog

Executives’ most “actioned” opinions reinforce the narratives

“Shu Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, said the company's studios have more than 30 PS4 games in

development, including 12 brand new intellectual properties.”

Influencer: Shu Yoshio, President, Sony World Wide Studios

Source: E3 Presentation

8

“PlayStation 4 disc-based games don’t need to be connected online to play or any type of authentication.”

Influencer: Jack Tretton, President, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment of America

Source: E3 Presentation

“Xbox boss Don Mattrick believes concerns over connectivity are overblown, recommends Xbox 360 for those

without an Internet connection.”

Influencer: Don Mattrick, Former President, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft

Source: Gamespot

“Major Nelson, in a Reddit video interview, contradicted Xbox Support, stating, "Absolutely not, you will

always have access to the games you purchase.”

Influencer: Larry Hyrb, aka Major Nelson, Director of Programming, Xbox Live, Microsoft Gaming

Source: Reddit

“In an interview this week for CNN, Iwata admitted the company made missteps with the introduction of the Wii U.

But he remains convinced a strong lineup of upcoming Wii U software will get gamers excited about the

living-room console.”

Influencer: Satoru Iwata, President, Nintendo

Source: CNN

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

5/12 5/19 5/26 6/2 6/9 6/16 6/23

Timing matters: Xbox’s launch lifted its influence when competitors were out of the spotlight

9

Net Influence

Score E3 Conference and

PS4 Launch

Xbox One

Launch

Xbox expanded its lead by

launching Xbox One before E3

Microsoft layers success by launching Xbox One during a time with less industry “noise” and

leading influential conversations during E3. Sony’s launch of PS4 during E3 gave it a single boost

in influence and Nintendo, having launched Wii U months earlier, is left behind.

Wii shut out of conversations & industry comparisons

10

Influential opinions before E3* Influential opinions during E3**

Xbox:

13,969

Opinions

PlayStation:

8,418

Opinions

Wii:

1,496

Opinions

Xbox vs.

PlayStation

Comparison:

4,190

Opinions

* Weekly average opinion volume before E3 (5/12 – 6/8)

** Opinion volume the week of E3 (6/9 – 6/15)

Wii:

708

Opinions

PlayStation:

2,572

Opinions

Xbox:

5,377

Opinions

Xbox vs.

PlayStation

Comparison:

1,252

Opinions

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

5/12 5/19 5/26 6/2 6/9 6/16 6/23

Xbox One

Launch

E3 Conference and

PS4 Launch

Microsoft’s Xbox had five times more exclusive coverage than Sony’s PS4.

Xbox One wins by reaching a much broader audience compared to PS4

11

10%

41%

50%

No. of publishing

sources

Total no. of

publishing sources

2788

and

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

5/19 5/26 6/2 6/9 6/16 6/23

Microsoft initiated the DRM conversation but Sony took advantage of the issue

12

No. of Influential

Opinions

Regarding DRM

DRM Net

Influence Score Sony hijacks the

DRM discussion

during E3

Xbox One Launch

boosts DRM

discussion

Microsoft responds;

Sony exits the

conversation

Others DRM Net Influence Score

13

Contact Us!

To learn more about Appinions and our modular approach

to influence marketing, contact us at

info@appinions.com or +1 646-532-3062.

Web: www.appinions.com

Twitter: @appinions

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/appinions