What is it that makes a game successful? Is it the word of mouth after the game already launches? Could it possibly be the reviews that come from online/print outlets? Honestly, in this day and age, who the hell knows. Let's look at a couple games that show just how screwy things are.

Boom Blox...a title that has garnered fantastic reviews...yet sales are not anywhere near what they should be. With a poor showing like this, you would think that reviews. Then we have opposite land...welcome to Carnival Games. This title got crapped on by reviewers...so much so, that I think a few went too far, and didn't understand the target audience. Reviews, once again, didn't matter...but we Carnival Games was reverse of Boom Blox. Carnival Games has done fantastically well, which is why there's a sequel coming to Wii, and a spin-off for the DS.

If we can see one trend forming, it's that for the most part, people don't listen to reviews. Yes, there is a group that uses them to help make judgments, but most people just buy what they want/like.

Article here (thanks Viejodani!)