CNN: Only 10 Percent Of Players Finish Games

[WhiteWolf]

 

A report just published on CNN.com gives some surprising numbers regarding how many players actually finish games.

 

In the article, author Blake Snow quotes Activision production contractor Keith Fuller, who says, "What I've been told as a blanket expectation is that 90 percent of players who start your game will never see the end of it unless they watch a clip on YouTube."

 

John Lee, VP of marketing at Raptr and formerly of Capcom, THQ, and Sega, says that "bounce rates" (players that quit a game before completion) have risen in recent years. "Just 10 years ago, I recall some standard that only 20% of gamers ever finish a game," says Lee.

 

Lee's company, Raptr, is an online service that tracks players' online play sessions and achievements. According to Raptr's internal data, only 10 percent of people who played Rockstar's epic Red Dead Redemption (shown above) completed the final mission.

 

While it should be noted that this data is only from players who are a part of Raptr, and should't be considered as such, I can say that the 10-20 percent completion rate gibes with numbers that several people in the game industry have told me over the years.

 

The article gives several reasons for this trend. One, as the gaming population continues to age (the average age of a gamer today is 37 years old), time becomes a more precious resource to gamers engaged in parenthood, careers, and other activities.

 

Secondly, the rise of online multiplayer mean that players often spend less time with a game's single-player component. Other factors include other digital distractions like Facebook, smartphones, and Twitter.

 

While this article isn't the last word on the subject, due to a lack of hard numbers to back up some of the claims, it does seems to strike at a phenomenon that is real – at least in a growing segment of the gaming population.

 

What do you think? Do you often abandon games before you complete them?

[Buzz]

Most people are only interested in MP now a days. Even on IVG I know many people who hardly finish any game

[CM Sunny]

bullocks

I complete every game I play

[avkash]

me too, the only game i left is MW2, i played it for like 10%, that was enough nonsense

[dante77]

10%? that force me to ask how reliable is CNN

[avkash]

not much frankly, buy hey, we have another thread to post, who cares

[Big Boss]

I have completed UC2, GOW 3, Infamous 2, DBZ RB1, RDR and KZ2 out of some 40 odd PS3 games.

And dont even ask me about PC, PS2 and PSP games. HUGE BACKLOG.

[i_rock098]

other 90% play frisbee with their disc?

[avkash]

I have completed UC2, GOW 3, Infamous 2, DBZ RB1, RDR and KZ2 out of some 40 odd PS3 games.

And dont even ask me about PC, PS2 and PSP games. HUGE BACKLOG.

once i start a game i usually finish it, i prefer not playing 2 games simultaneously as I mess up controls, except that I always have the SSF4 disc handy

i have backlog too, still to start inFamous 2, and guess what, I pre-ordered it, logic fail

[LagWarriorZergey]

Well guess am part of those 10% . Need to b damn interested in a game or bored to death to jump in the SP lol

[winny29]

I am part of the 90%

 

And I see many gamers who don't finish the game. And as somebody pointed out, MP gaming is one of the reason. Further, I think with the plethora of games available, people try to experience as many games as they can and end up finishing very few.

[Yellow Flash Of The Leaf]

I finish the game like a baus5!!

[avkash]

i dunno ,out of the many games that are available, I pickup only the ones that appeal to me.

the ones that appeal to me, i make sure i finish them.

 

i have games that I have not begun, by that is the point, if I begin them I will finish them before moving on

[Ne0]

I'm easily amongst them. I've completed only 2 games in the past 6 months (witcher 2 and LA Noire)

[CarbonCore]

I like buying and collecting games more than actually playing them

 

Although if I like a game, I pretty much complete it minimum twice and usually more, and make up for the games I did not finish.

[Aftrunner]

I think my complete percentage stands at 75 or so. It takes me time to finish a game but once I start I usually do finish it. Unless the game is spectacularly bad and I cant even force myself to get back in.

 

However, if I include steam into it, it probably goes down to 60. Goddamn sales.

[devil_angel]

I would've believed this in the Pentium 3-4/PS1-2 era......but with the level of difficulty games pose these days, eat sh*t CNN

 

*No offense to genuinely difficult games that release even today

 

 

EDIT: My percentile should be above 95% (I take a millennium to complete each game)

The only ones I did not finish are the ones which would have killed me if I had continued to play them

[CarbonCore]

Is the article about 90% of gamers not finishing games or 90% of games being left unfinished?

[devil_angel]

Is the article about 90% of gamers not finishing games or 90% of games being left unfinished?

Psssssssssst.......it's about you bro

[dylanjosh]

I've completed every game I've played, save for Oblivion.

 

Then again I only play on my xbox and I don't play that many games. Only very few games on release and most I buy from TP at low prices and then sell them again. Cheapo.