So, I've been a member of vgchartz for almost 4 years now and (although I haven't posted in a while) I have a general impression of what we think of reviews, but I'd like to get a better impression of how gamers use reviews in their daily lives. It's clear we're part of the hype machine here by our circulation of critical reviews and creation of our own consumer reviews, but how do we actually use them in our purchase decisions? How big of an impact do they have on developers revenues, if any?

These are just some of the questions I would like to address for my class. The survey is completely anonymous and, when collected, will be analyzed through SPSS. The problem is, it has been kind of difficult to find enough gamers in my target demographic to take surveys and I could really use vgchartz help.

If you don't have time to take the survey (it will take about 5-10 minutes) I would really appreciate any thoughts you might have posted in this thread. If there is a lot of interest I will post any results I get back on vgchartz in about a couple of weeks.

Survey can be found here:

http://stedwards.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_803Y2TLyRP9j7og

Thanks everybody, and feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts or concerns. I'll get back to them as soon as I can.

polezo

Took the survey - Always happy to help a fellow vgcharter :)

Thanks!  I knew you guys would be helpful. :D

Help with ps3 break v1.2 dongle?

Hello. I have an authentic ps3 break v1.2 dongle (which was bought from http://www.ps3breakr4.com/revolutionary-ps3-break-v12-all-barriers-dongle-p-1.html).I connect my ps3 break to my laptop via USB, (currently running windows 7) butit does not display as a USB device or allow me to open it. I cannot access thedongle on my laptop in order to install the downgrade files I need to run on myps3. Can anyone assist?

- Currently running a PS3 Slim on 3.55, trying to downgrade to 3.41.

Thanks! 

I got nearly all the way through it and realised you didn't mean professional reviews online but instead only customer ratings on shopping sites.

ill do once i wake up lol.

I did it, you better be grateful. 

Indeed I think the survey could do with a definition up fron of what is meant by rating. Reviews I think are pretty much understood as coming from "professional" critics.

@ OP: I couldn't answer this question: "How many online ratings and/or reviews do you need to read before you feel confident purchasing or renting the product or service?"because it didn't have  an option I could chose. Suggestion: if "None" is going to be an option don't pre-script the reason, as there can be more than one reason. The question also has too many elements to consider when deciding on an answer, especially with the combining of renting or purchasing. Some people will rent a movie based on what's on the cover, but if they would think about buying a movie (without having seen it before) they might take the time to look up some reviews or ratings. Good survey design means one concept per question.

Similar with the how many online ratings/reviews I've posted question. You only limit it to the last 30 days. I might have done none in the last 30 days, but I may do them from time to time. So the honest answer is none (in the last 30 days), but also committing me to having the reason that I "don't post online ratings" makes the answer misleading for the purposes of the results of the survey. You could have 2 none responses : None (I don't do them) AND None (but I have done in the past and probably will do in the future).

You ask this question: How satisfied have you been with the video game purchases you've made based on online reviews? But you don't give anyone who answered No to the previous question an option to tick, because the question assumes I've bought a game on the basis of the online reviews. I answered "neutral" but as it's not a truly accurate answer.

"Do you feel that you've helped influence the purchase decisions of other gamers? If yes, please specify where you think you've had that influence" There isn't a "No" option. Perhaps turn it into "If you feel that you've helped influence the purchase decisions of other gamers, please specify where you think you've had that influence." or insert a "No" option.

You're not going to get any help with that here. We don't condone PS3 hacking, and moreover, it has nothing to do with the topic.

I just completed the survey. An interesting topic, but I do agree with some other posters that it would be helpful to clearly define what is meant by rating/review sites at the start of the survey. Good luck on your project.