Analyst: Mass Effect 3 'Most Promising' Retail Game Of E3

Video game research firm EEDAR has named EA and BioWare's upcoming Mass Effect 3 as the "most promising" retail game shown at this month's E3 expo, citing purchase intent and online media consumption. EEDAR's research involved analyzing page views, purchase intent and video views through its media partners, IGN and GameTrailers, to rank which of the games shown at E3 had the highest sales potential at retail. "EEDAR has had strong demand from its retail partners to create an objectively quantifiable method to measure the commercial potential of games showcased at E3 2011," said EEDAR's Jesse Divnich, saying that its new report "highlights the collective activity of over 20 million consumers during the week of E3." According to EEDAR, Mass Effect 3 had the highest number of recorded page views among all tracked games. The firm says that its data indicates the game could sell in excess of 20 percent more copies than its predecessor. "We are excited to see that there was such a high level of interest in Mass Effect 3 during E3, especially when you consider how many amazing games were on display at this year's show," said BioWare VP of marketing Patrick Buechner. The top 20 most promising retail releases showcased at E3 2011, according to EEDAR, are as follows: 1. Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts) 2. Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts) 3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda) 4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard) 5. Assassin's Creed Revelations (Ubisoft) 6. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Sony Computer Entertainment) 7. Batman: Arkham City (Warner Bros. Interactive) 8. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo) 9. Halo 4 (Microsoft) 10. Infamous 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment) 11. Duke Nukem Forever (Take-Two) 12. Star Wars: The Old Republic (Electronic Arts) 13. Tomb Raider (Square Enix) 14. Gears of War 3 (Microsoft) 15. Rage (Bethesda) 16. BioShock Infinite (Take-Two) 17. Super Mario 3D (Nintendo) 18. Resistance 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment) 19. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Microsoft) 20. Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom) Note that EEDAR's research methodology weighs all three factors (page views, video views and purchase intent) with its own internal metrics. While Mass Effect 3 had the most page views, it was actually Modern Warfare 3 that topped the list in both purchase intent and video views, despite its placement at number four. EEDAR's report also named Nintendo the most-watched publisher of the show, saying that the announcement of its new Wii U made it stand out above all other publishers. "While investor reception was slightly negative, EEDAR believes the initial sentiment from the finance community was premature and unwarranted," said EEDAR. "EEDAR believes that as Nintendo continues to release additional information regarding the Wii U, investor sentiment should reverse." The most-watched platform of the show, says EEDAR, was Microsoft's Xbox 360, which came out on top in both purchase intent and page views. The firm cited its continued perception as "the quintessential core gaming platform" of this generation, as well as the long-anticipated announcement of Halo 4, as contributing to its placement. For further analysis, the full report is available here [note: PDF format].