Test subject A: Kim
On the Knowledge of Gaming scale, Kim placed herself somewhere between None and Very Little. However, she confessed to having played - and liked - quiz-'em-up Buzz and post-pub favourite SingStar, and that she also enjoyed a little finger-wriggling with the PSOne version of Worms. She has tried a spot of Wii-based hand-waving, although she "got confused with all the coordination stuff".
Obvious conclusion
This is definite proof that you can't beat a healthy dollop of positive word of mouth to drum up some extra business. Y'know, friends talking about something being good fun because, well, it's genuinely good fun. It's that magical essence of honesty that wanky marketing 'creatives' simply can't concoct with transparent,wanky viral advertising.
So, a smart way to sell more games is to simply make good games. And to make sure they're perfect for parties where they can be exposed in all their gurn-faced glory to non-gamers. Oh, and throwing in some quirky controller device that temporarily transforms players into an axe-grinding God of the Rock probably helps as well.
