Screen Digest has today
issued a report claiming that the Xbox 360 has hit a 'brick wall' in terms of European sales, hurt by its current inability to appeal outside of the adult male market. It's a common criticism that the Xbox 360 only serves shooting games and this perception of the console as a one trick software pony is also being blamed for the current downturn. "
The target market is still too focused on adult males and the brand does not enjoy the same cachet in non-Anglo Saxon markets as it does in the US and, to a lesser extent, the UK," the report suggests. "The FPS / shooter genre is well served on the Xbox 360 with numerous high quality titles, so satisfying the adult male demographic is not a concern, but failing to break out of a small number of genres and thereby appealing to groups outside of hardcore gamers is." In addition to criticizing the 360, the report also talks about Nintendo's Wii, stating that the lack of hardware supplies which has affected the market since day one is still of concern, but talks about an upcoming strong summer lineup of games and an enthusiastic market. The Wii, however, is not the winner here. The applause is reserved for none other than the world's favorite console, the PlayStation 3.
"The PS3 has reached 1 million sales in PAL territories according to SCEE. A price drop before year end is becoming inevitable and would be in line with previous PlayStation first time price reduction timings. This is certainly what is needed to boost sales however the education of consumers as to what is in the box and what its benefits are has not been forthcoming from Sony.
Most publishers European management teams feel that the PS3 will win out, especially in Europe where the brand still appears to be impregnable."
With regards to the Xbox 360, it should be noted that the realease of the Elite model seemed to have a positive impact of US sales while the PS3 faltered soon after. With a very pro-Sony European market, that's not to say such an occurance would happen again and a shift in the balance of power isn't out of the question. Much of this is just conjecture at the moment and I personally feel that the true war between the 360 and PS3 won't come until that fabled price drop hits. Then, the gloves are off.
[Joooooooe Buuuuuuuurling is to be thanked]
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
Likes
PS2, iPod Touch, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid, Dynasty Warriors 3
Meet the rest of the team
| BBcode help |
| [b]Bold text[/b] |
Bold text |
| [i]Italic text[/i] |
Italic text |
| [url]http://www.dtoid.com/[/url] |
http://www.dtoid.com |
| [url=http://www.dtoid.com/]Web link[/url] |
Web link |
|
| [img]http://www.example.com/robot.jpg[/img] |
 |
Post a comment! You can also post a photo below:
Comment with Facebook
Click connect and comment instantly!
|
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds
|
32 comments | showing # 1 to 32
|
Comment with Facebook
Click connect and comment instantly!
|
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds
|
Comments policy
Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?
Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!
Contest:
10:47 AM on 06.21.2007
| 
I work in a game's retailer here in Ireland and advise anyone lookin for a console to get a 360. By this time next year i think thing's will have changed tho and real competition will be a reality...'cept for the wii.
Since 360 sounds a lot like croissant croissant in French...At least to me...
Right you are. The controller is the one thing the Wii has going for it. Good thing it works ;-)
I don't think anyone would care, since it's pretty much a Gamecube witha a different case. But try putting it the other way: If it wasn't for the enhanced graphic power of the 360, would anyone care?
Bundled Peripherals + Console unit = Product, no matter if you put your budget on the controller or a new fancy multi core CPU/GPU :)
Tech people in EU still hate on MS for all their shit with windows over the last decade, so why stop now?
And until Nintendo actually starts treating the EU like a retarded baby that gets 19 hour old leftovers the day after Thanksgiving, no one is going to be overly enthused about Nintendo. Waiting 7 months to release most games is just plain retarded, no matter how much earlier you release ONE game over there.
I know Matthew Mac (Apple ftw) didn't mean tos ay the iPod was a fad but the Wii is a decent to average to good video game console that is easy to use for the general public and hardcore.
They look to be the same thing. Granted the "craze" might die down but it won't die off.
That being said, I don't know what the PS3 is going to offer that the 360 can't. The scenario is interesting because Sony & Microsoft are fighting for the same market share, it amazes me that people are still slow to realize what are smart move the Wii is by Nintendo.
But you know what? All these game analysts or reports are all bollocks, did any of them predict the scenario we have right now with the Wii selling like knives in Glasgow. No they didn't. They're not fooling anyone, so they had better just shut up with their 360/Wii/PS3 are all doomed for success or whatever, and leave quietly.
Well, if i had to guess, i would say that anaylsts and public opinion of the systems is based not only on the games on the systems as they stand now, but where they THINK the games will stand later, which in turn is partially based on what each company did in the past.
Looking at the current 360 and the old xbox, it seems that public opinion sees that both appeal only to older males, with mostly FPS type games and that was about it... The PS2 on the other hand, had a better range of genres and thus appealed to a more varied audience. Essentionally, the public opinion expects that PS3 to turn out much like the PS2 in terms of it's game library, appealing to a wider audiance than what the 360 will appeal to. That's aleast how i'm guessing the poeple and some europeans in this article are thinking.
@Synce
Well, from what it sounds like, all three companies are screwing over europe in one way or another... so i guess it more or less balances out
Oh hey Jim