A simple question, why do we buy a game? 

As a gamer, the question seems simple.  Every year, people around the world spend billions of dollars a year on games, the systems to play them, and the extras that go with it.  In a span of less then half a century, gaming went from the newest fad, to one of the largest entertainment medium’s in the world, going from its first $1 billion year of revenue in the early 1980’s, to over $20 billion in 2008.#  To keep this continued growth, companies have to come up with ways to attract customers to their product, as well as keeping their current customers happy enough with their brand that they will purchase future products in the future.  How a company does this, is through the concept of marketing.

Marketing is defined as the activities of a company associated with buying and selling a product or service. It includes advertising, selling and delivering products to people. People who work in marketing departments of companies try to get the attention of target audiences by using slogans, packaging design, celebrity endorsements and general media exposure. The four 'Ps' of marketing are product, place, price and promotion.

In short, it is the way for a company to figure out who their customer is, how to sell to that customer, and how to keep that customer loyal to their brand.

Was the reason you purchased the newest game system because it is from a company you trust, maybe because the types of titles that will appear on the system suits your taste, or they just had you from the first time you saw what it can do?

That game that you have blind bought, was it the way the box art stuck out, or perhaps it was priced at a lower cost or on sale?

Every buying decision you make, be it a well researched purchase of a high profile release, to the impulse buy of a title you have never heard of, is influenced in some way by how that product is marketed.   
 
Think about the last three games you purchased, be it disc or downloadable, console or PC, and think about why you purchased it.  Go ahead and post them if you would like.