Even though Microsoft is doing well in the UK, they think that the battle of Armageddon will most likely end in a climactic showdown with Nintendo -- with the casual gaming market hanging in the balance. With this in mind, EMEA VP Chris Lewis wants to make clear that Microsoft is fully prepared for battle, and will unleash the hype machine at this year's E3 extravaganza. Speaking to MCV, Chris had this to say:
“Our drive is to appeal to a wider genre with more casual types of gaming. Clearly we need to continue toward more casual-based gaming experiences, and more peripheral-based gaming experiences in front of the screen. You’re going to hear more about that at E3. For 360 to appeal in the way we want it to and for us to achieve our aspirations, we need to be in the broader space as well as investing in the core element.”
With Sony deciding to semi-mirror Nintendo from the onset with little success, It will be interesting to see if Microsoft can do any better at taking on the casual market that Nintendo has firmly in its grasp. The Xbox Live Vision camera has been under-utilized thus far, to put it nicely, and I'm not convinced that adding a Wiimote like device of their own is going to further Microsoft's cause any further. Something tells me that it's just going to have a few mini-games thrown at it, and will barely cause a ripple in the 360's arsenal if such a device sees the light of day. Then again, I've been known to be wrong before.
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Contest:
11:09 AM on 06.28.2007
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So.... mini-games then
Oh, have the tables have turned you FPS/3rd person shooter machine maker you!
Sure is a bit ironic, isn't it? Nothing like strong sales from a competitor to make you rethink your current position.
Teaser statements FTL.
I don't see how casual games are going to help MS make money. We already have SOL.EXE on all our computers already. They've been giving it away for years. With SOL. The Zone, (hell MSN Messenger has Checkers in it for pete's sake) Do they think that now we're going to suddenly start wanting to pay for this after shelling out $400 for an HD game console? The 360 is going to have to drop considerably in price before the casual crowd is going to start messing with getting a 360 for "casual" games, because currently, there's no soft, fuzzy feel to using the Xbox. It does a million and one things in one box and doesn't lend itself to "casual, friendly" right out of the box.
MS, stick to what you do well right now and save this whole casual hooey till next gen. That should be about 2 years from now according to MS' methodology.
Enjoy this picture with a nice delicious bowl of soup or hot coffee.
Your mom, your sister, your cousin that never played videogames before is not going to pick up a Xbox360 and start playing it. They designed it in mind and in spirit for high-end gamers and that is exactly what they should stick to. The market is big enough for both, but if they start trying to bully in on something nintendo has mastered for years, they are going to end up like sony.
I really don't see why now they would suddenly be dying for casual gamers. Other than trying to monopolize the industry. The real comedy is the idea that hardcore gamers said only nintendo fans buy nintendo, everybody else buy PS3 and Xbox360 now even Xbox360 and PS3 are looking to abandon them. This is why being a fanboy sucks sooner or later your system of choice will abandon you for bigger revenue.
Well, I guess they do sell the $299 model still, but with no hard drive it's not exactly ideal in terms of Live Arcade casual games. And it's still $50 more than a Wii.
Also, a price drop would bring in more people. Do away with the core, and drop the price. And, FFS fix those Red Ring Issues, and not by changing the color of the LEDs.
Also, cocks.
Xbox360 fails a bit on the first part because the casual audience does not want to spend $400 on a game console, they probably have a cut off at about like $300 and below... as for the second part, the 360 is mostly just FPS and T-M rated games, appealing to an older audiance... It has a select few games like Viva Pinata and Banjo Kazooie, but a select few won't cut it; they are gonna need A LOT of those kinds of games if they want to grab the attention of the casual audience, and so far it just plain ain't happening.
The reason why Nintendo dominates this area is because they have a price that is good for the casual audiance and their console is filled with the kind of fun games that the casual audiance loves to play (mini games and family friendly titles)...
really, Microsoft stands no chance at taking over Nintendo's market, they should just focus on competing against Sony, since they appeal to generally the same kind of audiance... That's kind of the genius behind the Wii's success, instead of trying to directly compete against the other consoles, Nintendo just decided to appeal to a different audiance and let those two duke it out... with the wii's low price and drastically different game selection, even if someone gets a PS3 or a 360, there is still a fair chance that they will Still get a wii in addition to them (where as a 360 and PS3 combo is more rare and only for the most hardcore due to high price, and many similar games)
listen i love gaming,i've owned ps1,ps2,xbox,xbox360 i even had pong and intelevision but i have no interest right now in the ps3.yes it's due to the hefty price tag but most of all it's due to lack of games.when more exclusive games come out for the ps3 i'll more than likely pick one up but not before at least a $100 price cut or they sell it for the same price as i bought my 360 for.untill then i'm quite satisfied with my good old Xbox360..
i think most people are in the same boat as me,so Sony better do something quick or they'll lose people like me forever.
"I'm surprised nobodies turned this into a ps3/xbox360/nintendo fanboy debate. The title of this thread is just asking for it."
"I'm not really too impressed with the Wii so far,"
"lol @ Sony"
"'Casual Gaming' is a some bullshit made up to make people happy about cooking fake food and then not being able to eat it. Yeah!"
Why did you have to antagonize them?