Because talk is just talk. Sales are people who literally put their money where their mouth is. You can trash or hype a game until you're blue in the face, but somebody else who votes with his/her dollar has a real impact on where the resources of the gaming industry will be allocated in the future.
Money is a far more tangible and meaningful sign of appreciation than top ten lists and metacritic scores because people are sacrificing their limited financial resources which they guard more cautiously than their opinions.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
