This blog post will be short and sweet, but I wanted to include a small portion about game research. Making a game is tough work. From the beginning of the idea, to launch the day of the game to the post-launch material, the whole process may take up to 3 years, and that’s the lower interval! Because of this, there are many games that do not see the light of day. Some are stuck in development hell and are always changing how they are thinking of doing something different, while others do release when they shouldn’t have (See Duke Nukem: Forever). If you are a publisher and you are deciding on the next course of action on what kind of game to play, or what features to add to an existing game, the next course of action would be to perform market research.
Market Research, in general, is done in the same way for every industry. You start with a problem, something you are researching to find an answer or solution. Once you have your problem defined, we move into secondary and tertiary research, in which we gather information relative to the cause. From here, you want to start collecting primary data, through the use of various observations, focus groups, and surveys. After you can come to a conclusion to the problem. To solve any problem for a large (or small) corporation/company, market research is essential for moving forward.
Within market research, the primary data is the most crucial to the operation. The different aspects and intricacies required when setting up focus groups and surveys are the most important. There are certain questions order and phrasing that can make the difference when obtaining data and with the use of different scales and measurements, all can make have an impact on the overall answers. The goal, in the end, is to find out what the user really wants.
https://www.polygon.com/features/2016/3/2/11107742/how-market-research-changes-your-games
Austin Easler Game Marketing 