There is currently a discussion on the Indiegamer forums about themes and their place in selling games:

Why is Water Bugs selling better than cosmo bots, Bricks of Atlantis selling better than Bricks of Camelot and Big Kahna Reef selling well?

I believe it’s not only because of the underwater theme i.e. rising bubbles, little fish swimming back and forth, coral reef etc, but the colour BLUE.

First, you can make many themes relaxing — a snowy bluff, a Carribean island, even space nebulae — so don’t make the mistake of writing up “underwater” as the universal relaxing theme. And blue does have a relaxing effect on the psyche. But does a relaxing, underwater theme sell a game? Zuma and Luxor were huge hits; both had highly energetic Egyptian themes. And those outsold all the examples by magnitudes. What about Bejeweled’s quasi-space theme? Sci-fi and techno, but it’s still a huge seller. I think theme is a very narrow scope to be analyzing, especially if you think that’s what’s selling the game.

And that’s a hole that I think many developers fall into — they see an Egyptian themed game that sells tons and make an Egyptian themed game themselves. Sure, it must help with initial player recognition, but that’ll only help it get kicked off to a quick start. Once it’s on the Top 10, you can bet the vast majority of players will be checking out that game, theme aside.

I think, instead, the water flows in the opposite direction. Players may be slightly turned on by a theme, and only initially, but at the same time may avoid other themes like the plague. You need only to look at the people around you for a good “don’t do this” template. Girls generally don’t like space themes. Boys generally don’t like cartoon themes. Old people don’t like “cool” themes. Young people don’t like rigid, literary themes.

To chalk a game’s success up to a theme is ludicrous. Sure, the theme has a part in the equation — just like gameplay, polish, and value do. Don’t try to oversimplify the problem.

Instead, focus all elements of your game on your target audience. If you want to reach women getting off work and wanting to relax, then make the theme relaxed; a beautiful twilight field, perhaps. Make the gameplay relaxed. (Read: easy.) Make every moment of that woman’s experience with the game a relaxing experience. But don’t put in an underwater theme thinking that is the single element you need to win that customer.

And, yes — colors have psychological impact upon their viewer. A little study in color theory will go a long way. But that is only one element (color) of only one element (theme). The rest is up to the rest.

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