Lewis: 360 cuts will 'open mass-market floodgates' Options

[Xbox-Scene]

Lewis: 360 cuts will 'open mass-market floodgates' Posted by XanTium | March 13 16:08 EST | News Category: Xbox360

From gamesindustry.biz: [QUOTE] Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Lewis, newly promoted to full oversight of Microsoft's entertainment business in Europe, said: "There are some sweet spots of pricing, particularly in parts of Europe, that do genuinely open up larger communities to the console and certainly Euro 199 is one of those pricepoints. It's a perfect time to open up the mass-market floodgates." Coming in the wake of the demise of the Microsoft-backed HD DVD format, the price reductions are also designed to counter increasing Sony momentum, which saw SCEE president David Reeves boast earlier this year that PS3 had already overtaken 360's installed base in Italy, Spain, France and Germany, despite 360's head start. "On a general level I certainly wouldn't trade places with any other platform holder right now," insisted Lewis. "Yes, I acknowledge that we're not where we should be in certain parts of the geography. We aim to rectify that and this step is a key stage towards it. You will see others, they will be significant," he added. [/QUOTE] Full Story: gamesindustry.biz

[halcyonx12]

The floodgates would be open if the 360 could take japan, then gamers would have more confidence in the system because the part of the world that produces much of the world's great video games will accept the 360 as the system of choice. Now they don't, so it's unlikely that a lot of Japanese game producers will create a lot of content and support it on the 360. Right now most development companies are looking toward the Wii for profits with a high software attach rate and user base, as well as having a lower barrier of entry because of the lower price and because it caters to a wider range of age groups.

I know that hardcore gamers would love one of the HD systems to be winning the console war, but it won't be the case. Hardcore gamers are used to being catered to because they used to be the core audience for video games in general, but now the market is open far wider and game designers have to make sure that a casual gamer gets enjoyment out of a game just as much as a hardcore gamer to guarantee that the game will get good reviews (from the hardcore scene that really cares about a game) AND that the game will have a high attach rate (by everyone who plays games, including casual gamers).

Right now MS is trying to get their hand in too many pies (high def movies, movie downloads, audio downloads, portable media player, search engines, etc etc etc) that they can't dedicate themselves to serving only the hardcore gamers, and they're also missing the boat on the casual gamer. I don't think this price drop will put a bandaid on that.

Right now the battle MS is fighting is to keep 2nd place from Sony, they don't seem to be in it to win it. Funny though, if MS weren't there, then maybe Sony would be put to shame by now by Nintendo (or maybe Sega would still be around as a 3rd player, I dunno).

[ironopolis]

Right now most development companies are looking toward the Wii for profits with a high software attach rate

I was of the understading that the wii had a crap attach rate.

[scuba156]

since when has the wii had a high attach rate? last time i heard, the attach rate was around 3 while the 360 had an attach rate of 7.

and the 360 IS publishing japanese titles, like lost odyssey and blue dragon, which were both created by one of the biggest man who was apart of square-enix. IMO, the 360 has more japanese and kid titles than the ps3, and the quality of the wii titles is not up to scratch

[halcyonx12]

I was of the understading that the wii had a crap attach rate.

Dunno about that, the games are cheap and game reserves are high. The wii's attach rate is higher than the gamecube's, and the fact that there are a lot more Wii's out there means that even if it's a lower attach rate ratio, you will sell more total games. Say that there are 5 360's out there, and 10 Wii's. The Wii's attach rate is 2, and the 360's is 3. The Wii will still have 20 game sales and the 360 only 15.

About the Japanese games, they still don't have Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, they don't have a lot of the niche games either, they just have the middle ground. It's true though that the Wii doesn't have a huge software library of major games yet but a lot of developer priorities are shifting now because many developers just didn't anticipate the demand correctly. Look at how many PS3 exclusives announced that they weren't anymore all of a sudden, but at the same time it would be difficult to port the games to the Wii due to the different hardware. Rockband is one example, a version will be coming out for the Wii when it wasn't going to at first. There will probably be a lot more Wii-centric titles in the future.

This post has been edited by halcyonx12: Mar 13 2008, 11:51 PM

[scuba156]

but the 360 is still more than double the wii's attach rate so it selling more games in total. using your example of 5 360's and 10 wii's, with the current attach rate (3 for wii, 7 for 360), the 360 sells 35 games compared to wiis 30. but the real numbers are 17.50 mill 360's and 22.45 mill wii's, so the total game sales are around 67.35 mill for wii and around 122.5 mill for 360, almost double

wii games may be cheap but there is a very good reason for that.

This post has been edited by scuba156: Mar 13 2008, 11:56 PM

[halcyonx12]

but the 360 is still more than double the wii's attach rate so it selling more games in total.

the wii games may be cheap, but theres a very good reason for that. using your example of 5 360's and 10 wii's, with the current attach rate (3 for wii, 7 for 360), the 360 sells 35 games compared to wiis 30

True, but a lot of the games that are selling high on the 360 just weren't available on the Wii, who knows if the attach rate would be higher if the major releases were there? The Wii was kinda ignored by developers at first.

[scuba156]

i updated my post.

alot of 360 games are not possible on the wii without a serious downgrade. not just in graphics, but gameplay and physics as well. a consoles power isnt just for graphics

i think the wiimote is the wiis greatest feature (obviusly) but is also its downfall due to it not being utilized in games to its full potential, or even half of its potential

This post has been edited by scuba156: Mar 14 2008, 12:01 AM

[shenmuemaster]

I expect the 360's sales to increase after a price cut, especially in Europe. Nor sure how much of an increase tht'll be exactly but an increase nonetheless...

But to be perfectly honest, I couldn't give a flying shit about the sale numbers....aslong as the 360 keeps kickin out more excellent games (picked up Gears of War again and played through the campaign on insane with my mate on LIVE co-op, fucking amazing game...bring on GOW2 in Nov) I'll be happy. PS3 can boast about its BluRay capabilities all it wants, I'm still not getting one, I'm not a movie enthusiast, I'm a gaming enthusiast, and thats why the Xbox 360 is best suited for me. The PS3 still doesn't have the game library to do the console justice, especially for its price tag. Again with the Wii, for me, the novelty would wear off in a matter of days, Ive always said that the Wii is the 'Guitar Hero' of consoles, fun at parties playing with a load of mates, but not for playing alone on a long session on a lazy sunday afternoon...well thats my opinion anyways

I used to care about the console war, now I don't really care, I believe the 360 is the best system out there, and Im not arsed about the 3 RROD, I'm on my fourth 360 so far, aslong as my console is covered by its warranty I wont complain (when I returned my Xbox to be repaired I recieved fantastic service, amazed how quickly it returned especially since it was over the few weeks before christmas)

Again this is MY opinion...