Yo Im on a games design degree, and desperately in need of some information about whether people bother to finish games they buy, percentages, demographics etc... but I cant find anything Does anyone here know of any resources where such information could be found?? Thankyou very much for any help, it comes much appreciated Failing that, how many of the games you buy do you play to the end? Personally I'm a gaming freak, and generally when I buy a game I abuse it until my fingers bleed and I've completed it

I can't tell you any demographs, but generally, I complete games that I find interesting enough as long as I play them. If they get too boring or grow old after a long play, or if there are major flaws to them, I often uninstall them as soon as possible. My time is valuable so I don't want to waste it on an annoying game experience.
If the game is good and holds many interesting area's or gameplay elements, I'm in for a replay, otherwise I'l just leave it where it is to pick it up again later, maybe.

Since I often only buy those games that I think are interesting, I finish about 80 - 90% of the games I get. That doesn't include the demo's I try before buying a game though... :)

What exactly do you need this info for? Research into gaming habits or such?

OK thanks... would you consider yourself a hardcore or casual gamer?

Im making a design document for a new breed of FPS that im designing for a major project on my course and need some research into whether most people complete games or not

I always complete games if they are easy and have an interesting story - I want to find out the answer to the mysteries and find out how it ends. Games with no story I don't care whether I finish them or not. And of course a lot of games have no end - MMORPGs, sims, and some arcade games just go on forever.

If a game is good, and not too insanely hard, I will finish it. If it's bad, or too hard, I won't finish it.

For example: I finished Half-Life 2. I did not finish Far Cry, because I cannot get past the soldier room in the last level, no matter how hard I've tried (I've probably spent the evenings of two weeks trying to get past that room in different ways). Both of these games were excellent, though! Other games that are great and finished include the Mechassault and Mechwarrior series.

I played through the RPG Sudeki until I met the final boss, and I can't beat him -- I'll have to travel all over the world again and level up until I can do that, and that doesn't appeal so much. Great-looking game until that point.

Games that just aren't good enough to keep playing -- Doom III fall in this category :-) I imagine you can think of others.

When I was younger I would play through every game that came my way to completion. Later, I stopped playing a game if I got stuck at a point, then gave up. These days a game has to be pretty damn good for me to put up with it's failings. Hell, I've got Prince of Persia 3 sitting here (the sequel to a game I hated, and the sequel to the sequel of a game I loved) and I don't know if I can even be bothered installing it.
I don't know whether my expectations have gone up, my time has gone down, or I just don't get into games as much as I used to, but these days it is very rare for me to finish a game.
Best to stick to my code.

Ok...

Games with a very complete and in depth story I tend to complete, games that are weak in that area, or do not immerse me I tend to drop. Its probably more about the immersion then anything. I rarely have the time to play games, but when I do, if its good I cannot put it down, if its bad, i tend to let it sit and collect dust, and come back occasionaly.

For the record book, I complete about 30% of the games I play. Furthermore the games I have completed are mostly story-driven games (FF's, ParasiteEve, Metal Gear, Fable, Etc)

I am not sure how much of the market I represent, but my completion percentage has gone right down for a few reasons:

1) I have another big hobby.

2) I have the money to go out and buy whatever tickles my fancy. As a kid I would receive 1 or 2 games max and complete them religiously.

In relation to the above point I believe growing up, understanding design principles, and generally being very cynical inadvertently takes the charm out of a game you now find generic that would of got your worked up a few years ago.

Definitely a case of "been there done that" when I put a game down.

3) Emersion is a big point for me. Viewtiful Joe on the GameCube was a punishing title, but it's fresh combat system, and intensity had me feeling like a king when I overcame waves of enemies.

Paper Mario: Thousand year door is a strange scenario. I enjoyed the game until I got stuck, simply not knowing where to go, or what to do next, but I do not like using walkthroughs so I just stopped playing it (I am most probably unique to this point).

4) Dedication. I am a huge Nintendo fan so the key Mario n' Zelda games are getting completed at all costs. Many games I buy seem like access baggage not worth my time though.

-hplus0603:

I am in the same situation as you with Half-like 2/Farcry, but I stopped playing the latter early on when I was in the jungle at night. I felt the game lost its pace, and became unnecessarily boring.

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Original post by sunandshadow I always complete games if they are easy and have an interesting story - I want to find out the answer to the mysteries and find out how it ends. Games with no story I don't care whether I finish them or not. And of course a lot of games have no end - MMORPGs, sims, and some arcade games just go on forever.

I am the same. I usually stay away from games that I suspect have a weak story, except for fun little arcade games like Frozen Bubble.

For me, I find that I'll finish a game if it isn't reptitive, I just played Resident evil 4, and I found it just perfect, it finished without me feeling like it was repitive or too short. It also had a easy, normal, professional mode, like many games do, I find that pretty important because everybody has there opinion of how easy games should be, and at certain times people want easier or harder games, depending on their situation.

I would also say that introducing many things to do also helps me finish games. That's not just environments, new weapons or collectibles help, but mainly exciting new elements to play, such as new enemies, or puzzles, can really help.