Next for Microsoft Xbox: winning casual gamers Options

[Xbox-Scene]

Next for Microsoft Xbox: winning casual gamers Posted by XanTium | September 25 21:41 EST | News Category: Xbox360

From Reuters via Yahoo!News: [QUOTE] Microsoft Corp has cemented its reputation among hardcore gamers with the launch of alien shoot-out "Halo 3," but it is still struggling to attract the mass market audience that has flocked to Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii console. Widely expected to be one of the top-selling games of the year after its Tuesday debut, "Halo 3" should help Microsoft sell more of its Xbox 360 gaming machines and finally turn a profit in its entertainment division this fiscal year. Microsoft has said it had 1.7 million advance orders for the game in the United States, but it won't release actual sales figures for a few days. Microsoft knows it must attract casual customers as well if the Xbox 360 is going to be a living-room fixture. "That's the biggest challenge Microsoft has. They were never able to do that with the original Xbox and they will be hard-pressed to do it with the 360," said Todd Mitchell, an analyst with Nollenberger Capital Partners. Baker (Gartner analyst) said he expected Microsoft to ramp up marketing aimed at casual gamers in another month or so. "They've got a pretty good offering for casual gamers with Xbox Live Arcade, but the problem they have is they are not perceived as a casual gamer platform," Baker said. "They have to do some messaging and marketing to that consumer to let them know the Xbox 360 is viable." [/QUOTE] Full Story: Reuters via Yahoo!News

[elmo_sni]

had there been no RRoD and no abusive peripheral pricing the xbox 360 would of hit the spot...

[dvsone]

Yes this is going to be a tough job for both Sony and MS.

had there been no RRoD and no abusive peripheral pricing the xbox 360 would of hit the spot...

I guess your talking about the HDD and memory cards. Yeah those things are stupidly priced.


This post has been edited by dvsone: Sep 26 2007, 02:50 AM

[Heet]

I'd fix my hardware before I started drawing more attention to its problems, but thats me.

[devguy]

They need to:

1) Drop price of Core system to match or beat the price of the Nintendo Wii

2) Include a simple variety sports game (like Wii Sports) and a few Xbox Live Arcade titles

3) Fix the problems with the current 360

4) Match the Wii's $49.99 price of games

I believe the 4th is probably the most important. I work at Gamestop, and time and time again, when families are looking to buy a new console and they haven't decided which one yet, they look at the prices of the games. As it stands, almost all decent or better games we sell at Gamestop are $59.99 or more for the 360. On the Wii, we don't sell any game over $49.99. This causes them to think the solution is a no brainer and the Wii is >70% of the time, the choice by these families.

[bucko]

Nice I agree I don't think I've ever seen XBLA advertised (the games) on TV, correct me if I'm wrong (UK).

[minimoebius]

M$ has no chance of doing this in this generation.

Two win the living room price is key. Positive buzz and reliability are also up there followed by name recognition and features.

Right now Nintendo wins all of the top categories required to win the living room.

I think its too late to do anything this generation and next generation is key. However, microsoft has an uphill battle since they are now known for defective hardware (console, controllers, accessories, etc.). With the losses they have with the 360 RROD fixes, they also do not have as much to spend on the next generation. While microsoft has funds from other business units, they cant divert much from those units (and those units are not doing well at the moment either).

Nintendo is probably the best positioned company. Despite having the least expensive console, they make the most on each console and have the most console sales, So they have the most to spend on the next gen. Not to mention they have a very successful handheld division. Their success has given them good name recognition, and with another successful division, they have customers who are more likely to buy their products for cross platform functionality. The buzz will likely carry over to the next generation and with the funds they are pulling in now, Nintendo can afford to heavily subsidize their next console so that they can offer as many or more features as the other guys at a fraction of the cost.

[elmo_sni]

M$ has no chance of doing this in this generation.

Two win the living room price is key. Positive buzz and reliability are also up there followed by name recognition and features.

Right now Nintendo wins all of the top categories required to win the living room.

I think its too late to do anything this generation and next generation is key. However, microsoft has an uphill battle since they are now known for defective hardware (console, controllers, accessories, etc.). With the losses they have with the 360 RROD fixes, they also do not have as much to spend on the next generation. While microsoft has funds from other business units, they cant divert much from those units (and those units are not doing well at the moment either).

Nintendo is probably the best positioned company. Despite having the least expensive console, they make the most on each console and have the most console sales, So they have the most to spend on the next gen. Not to mention they have a very successful handheld division. Their success has given them good name recognition, and with another successful division, they have customers who are more likely to buy their products for cross platform functionality. The buzz will likely carry over to the next generation and with the funds they are pulling in now, Nintendo can afford to heavily subsidize their next console so that they can offer as many or more features as the other guys at a fraction of the cost.

i'm glad nintendo is on top... no one deserves it more then those guys