'Pre-order problems could deter the most valuable consumers in the industry'

Consumers who pre-order spend twice as much on games as the average player.
Research firm Kantar Worldpanel says that consumers who pre-order spend – on average – £235 on games a year.
The statistic acts as a warning to publishers following recent consumer dissatisfaction over pre-order issues. These have included games not working as intended, overly complex pre-order programmes, stock of Splatoon being stolen from a truck, with no replacements made available.
Warner Bros cancelling its Batman Arkham Knight: Batmobile Edition, and widespread errors around pre-ordered copies of Metal Gear Solid V and Super Mario Maker by GAME.
“It is critical that retailers make the pre-ordering experience a positive one for consumers, particularly given how valuable these consumers are,” Fiona Keenan, Kantar’s UK strategic insight director, told MCV.
“In the last year they spent £235 on games, more than double that of the average games consumer – clearly any negative experiences should be avoided at all cost.”
However, she adds, “whilst the recent pre-ordering issues we’ve seen in the market may deter consumers from pre-ordering in the future, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll deter consumers from actually buying games.”
Pre-orders are currently a £145m business. The vast majority of pre-orders (65 per cent) take place online, said Kantar.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/pre-o...dustry/0156005