May 3rd, 2023, Rishad Dsouza
Final Fantasy has been in the news over the past few weeks and gamers in both the US and Britain have received the updates positively, shows YouGov BrandIndex data. Final Fantasy tops the chart in the US and takes second place in Britain in April’s biggest gaming Buzz movers.
YouGov BrandIndex Buzz score is the difference between the percentage of respondents hearing positive things (from friends, family, or the media) and the percentage hearing negative things about a franchise in the previous two weeks. This Buzz movers piece highlights the video game franchises that registered the biggest month-over-month upticks in Buzz scores.
The positive Buzz movement could have to do with the release of a PlayStation State of Play video, featuring 25 minutes of gameplay from the much-anticipated Final Fantasy XVI game. But the launch of Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters – which allows gamers to experience the first six editions of the RPG franchise – on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation IV may have also played its part.
Plants vs. Zombies claims the second spot among American gamers with a jump of 4.5 points in its Buzz score. Dota 2, which created a splash with its new update called New Frontiers, rounds off the top three in the US with a 4.2-point gain.
Among British gamers, it is Super Mario Bros. that takes the top spot with a rise of 9.5 points in Buzz scores, with sentiment plausibly lifted on account of the franchise’s film which has now raked in over $1 billion globally.
Speaking of boosts for a video game franchise due to parallel media, Pokémon takes the third spot in Britain with a 5.9-point jump, amid the launch of Pokémon Horizons. Horizons is the first Pokemon series without Ash and Pikachu as the mainstays.
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Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on major video gaming franchises. Buzz score is based on the questions: “Over the past two weeks, which of the following video games have you heard something positive about?” and “Now which of the following video games have you heard something negative about?” and delivered as a net score between –100 and +100. Scores reported represent the change between the 30-day daily average between March 1 – March 31, 2023 and April 1 – April 30, 2023. Scores are based on an average sample size of 333 gamers in Great Britain and 468 in the US. Daily figures are based on a four-week moving average.
Image Credit: Final Fantasy