The Xbox 360 is a hardcore system in casual clothing
Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 1:05pm by Jack
You have to hand it Microsoft. Even when they know that everyone knows they’re ripping off Nintendo as part of a campaign to sell their console to customers outside the male 12-25 demographic, they keep on keeping on.
First it was avatars. Then, the bright, white advertising campaigns of moms and girls having fun playing… well, I haven’t quite figured out what games those actors were playing because none of the non-traditional games they showed at E3 have popped up anywhere worth noticing (Lips, You’re in the Movies–where now have you gone?!).
Today, Microsoft has shamelessly stolen the Wii Ambassador parties that Nintendo used with incredible effectiveness in 2006.
“We’ve sold 20 million consoles to date globally since we launched three years ago,” says Heather Snavely, Microsoft’s director of interactive entertainment business global platforms. “In order to get to the next 20 million, we need to get a new audience of women and teens. We’re going after them in ways that are different than ways we’ve done before.”
The party hosts were 1,000 women who already had an Xbox 360 in their home. They were given a $150 pack of Xbox swag in exchange for hosting a party for at least 10 friends or relatives. The pack included Microsoft’s non-traditional gamer acquisition Hail Mary game Scene-It?, an Xbox universal remote, three-month subscription to Xbox Live, and 1,600 Xbox Live points to spend on “casual” games that were promptly deleted when their kids discovered them on the hard drive later that night.
Many hours were lost as people consulted the instruction booklets to decipher the controls. Many, many games of UNO were played. Soon after, the mothers undoubtedly returned those Xbox 360’s to their sons’ rooms were they belonged. They then went and waited in line at a Best Buy for the latest Wii shipment.
More seriously, this was a noble effort. With software, it’s often the second guy who sells the idea that gets the money, not the first. That’s fine. It’s what innovation really is. But there’s one issue here. The controller and the image it seared into consumers minds when they think about Nintendo.
Once a gimmick, the Wiimote has changed gaming, in spite of what detractors might say. Game quality aside, motion controls and the IR pointer are just a part of life now. We’ll see more of them in the future, not less. And that is why, hard as Microsoft may try to mimic Nintendo these days, their non-traditional marketing will fail. At least with the 360.
The 720? Well, you can bet it’s going to be a $200 motion control system–if they’re smart.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Yeah I’m not sure 360 owners and fans will be all that happy with this move. This is money that could be new games that is instead used to fight an uphill battle to include people the fans never wanted to see to begin with.
Meanwhile, Nintendo continues to actually apeal to that 12-25 demographic almost without effort, as their meteoric rise simply cannot be attributed to Nintendo fans and Soccer Moms alone. And the simple math of Wii userbase – Wii Fit (as the only “casual game” bought for itself) leaves roughly 27 million Wii owners who are waiting for meatier games, which is larger than the entirety of the 360 userbase, casual or no. The people have spoken.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
hehe- “nontraditional” clothing?
nintendo’s wii parties were a good idea, but i think the system sold it self to casual gamers, i mean, nontraditional gamers. word of mouth was more important eventually, and i can’t say i know anyone that was influenced by those parties to by a wii. i don’t even personally know anyone who even heard of them.
the xbox simply does not have the ‘oh it’s a simple remote/wand I waive around’ attraction’, and this mkting ploy will not do well for microsoft. that’s why they have to tie in guitar hero in all their family oriented commercials- it’s often HOW you interact with the machine that nontrads prefer over the game itself. imitating life is better for them than traditional controllers.
at least MS keeps up its wonderful rep of coming in second and trying to win the mkt. the real question is how these two will compete next generation. will nontraditionals even care that much to replace their wii? will MS divert money away from traditional gaming development, much to my annoyance? who knows??? though i’ve got my guesses.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
@deepthought: I knew you’d make a comment!
And P.S.: The Ambassador parties were the match, not the fire. It’s no surprise that people didn’t hear of them first hand.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Deepthought, MS is in a pretty big hole it dug for itself. Their hardcore fans won’t accept a $200 “waggle” console and they will fail to win non-gamers over because when competing with the Wii2 directly on the “waggle” front, they’ll come up short because Nintendo has more experience and recognition there.
I think people have this idea of a non-gamer/new-gamer/casual gamer who self-identifies with the label attributed to him by his/her critics and detractors. They say “Yes, this is my demographic. I look for casual games. I look for the “safe for casuals” label on every product. I will never change my gaming tastes and will soon quit because it makes market charts easier to read.”
The truth is it is not that simple. Customers move around and very rarely stand still. These non-gamers will either quit gaming altogether OR move upward in content and taste, but what they WON’T do is stay exactly where they are. That’s why all of these “casual games” that land on the Wii are failing. They already got a taste with Wii Sports. They want something else. It’s like saying people will eat baby food or breast milk for the rest of their lives because it was the first food they ever ate. In reality, they either move on to more nutritional things or stop eating (meaning they die).
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
@ Jack I know! I can’t help myself! irresistible impulse + twinkies +gta4 means I’m not accountable though.
also, i forgot to add in my original post, MS already has its core audience locked up and doesn’t need to market to them much- the meatier games do that on their own. This looks more like an attempt to position itself for the next gen more than capture this gen. It needs to start saying, ‘hey! we’ve got notrad suff too!’ now so it will be taken seriously when it focusses that direction with the next gen (and in doing so royally pisses me off and brings all fears of investment moving from hardcore to casual gaming to a realization).
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
“MS already has its core audience locked up and doesn’t need to market to them much- the meatier games do that on their own.”
Ah, but I disagree! Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space and the overall plight of EA right now says that there’s only room for so many “meatier” core titles at the top! Even Gears 2 is slipping, at least when it comes to Xbox Live online popularity.
But I do agree MS has their market sewn up. Now they just need to get it in their heads that a game doesn’t need a $100 million development budget to succeed Unless that $100 million title is GTAIV. But then again, Take Two was $15 million in the hole in 2008.
The sky is falling!
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
but those are different points… the meaty games are still what sells, regardless of how much room there is at the top. picking on new IPs that are selling quantities you previously defended for wii titles isn’t much of a point. also, EA sells plenty of wii games. you just don’t count them. gears 2 sold a ton. W@W is doing fine (well, on the ps60, but it’s sucking wind on the wii)
also, to clarify, MS’s hardcore the marketing is game-specific. console specific marketing can then hit the nontrads because all hardcore gamers, honestly, know that the most AAA hardcore titles are on the ps60.
also, you can’t assert the profitability of a project (gta4) based on the company’s profitability in one year. it’s a mindbogglingly wrong analysis.
which altogether leaves me confused as to your point? (besides agreeing that its cute when microsoft acts like they understand consumers.)
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I wouldn’t go knocking MS at this point. Overall I think the 360 is a much more well rounded system than the Wii and has quite a few things going for it that Nintendo just has no answer for. I think the way they’re going now, giving a ‘hardcore’ system a more casual edge has a better chance of succeeding than Nintendo trying to push the hardcore qualities of the Wii. Their markets are pretty different right now, but I see MS as having a much easier time to go gunning for the casual market than Nintendo trying to obtain the hardcore players, they’ve already failed at that twice.
MS will be one to watch next generation, Nintendo just plain cannot match their internet support, and the virtual console and wiiware don’t look so great in the eyes of people that aren’t looking for nostalgia because they’ve never played them in the first place.
It really doesn’t matter if MS is copying Nintendo’s marketing at all, it’s much more important that Nintendo seems to have to response to any of it besides sales numbers.If they want to keep the market they really should be putting some effort into it, god knows they have the money, and it’s doubtful their investing it in online infrastructure.
December 22nd, 2008 at 4:25 pm
“Their markets are pretty different right now, but I see MS as having a much easier time to go gunning for the casual market than Nintendo trying to obtain the hardcore players, they’ve already failed at that twice.”
This I agree with.
December 22nd, 2008 at 4:53 pm
All I have to say is GO GO Nintendo!
Xbox 360? I’ll get around to you in a year or so.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 pm
No way it’ll be way easier for Nintendo to grab “hardcores” than MS to grab “casuals.”
Look you to Japan, where Nintendo just got the most hardcore of hardcorey franchises on the Wii in the form of Dragon Quest, while MS continues to have problems even getting those “casuals” to even pay attention to them.
Wii is mentioned every time anybody talks about videogames, and has even changed the very way games are sold at Gamestop. MS’s influence is basically relegated to the internet alone, and their attempts at getting casuals have failed. PLUS, their hardcores are GOING TO BE LIVID if they sacrifice funds that should go to more hardcore games to try and get people they’ve just spent the last 3 years denigrating.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
But y’know what. The US, and Europe are way bigger markets than japan. The jp market is far less relevant than people like to think.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Jeff: “Yeah I’m not sure 360 owners and fans will be all that happy with this move. This is money that could be new games that is instead used to fight an uphill battle to include people the fans never wanted to see to begin with.”
Microsoft has enough money to sink into new games and uphill battles for decades and probably even centuries without any new revenue. I for one welcome our new casual-centric-but-hardcore-at-heart overlords.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
the wii is just a great system, and alot of fun. its time people just come out and admit it. the wiimote is the best thing since slice bread, motion controls, IR, audio speaker and all. need i even say that sony and MS are going to copy it to death next gen? forget about demographics or whatever. the wii just a great system, nintendo did something right, and people are buying it like there’s no tomorrow. its natural for competitors to imitate something so successful. its human nature, and 360 will get some success in that regard. if it ruffles feathers of hardcore teenagers shooting each other in the head during deathmatches, then so be it. they need not be the only club in town. there’s so many other types of gamers out there besides those guys, young and old. and there’s so many other types of games out there as well, especially on the wii. that’s one thing the wii has that is a big advantage over competitors……its diverse software lineup.
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
“Their markets are pretty different right now, but I see MS as having a much easier time to go gunning for the casual market than Nintendo trying to obtain the hardcore players, they’ve already failed at that twice.”
Well, Nintendo failed at it twice, but also succeeded twice as well, while MS never did. And right now, they claim to be succeeding, even with what, half Wii user base? The rules of the game does not change in the middle.
Wii core audience is there, just waiting for 3rd parties to put effort into it. I just wanna see how The Conduit or Madworld will fare. These are promising titles, flagship ones – that will cather to an audience that lacks quality games right now. Let’s wait and see.
Best!!
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
NEWS FLASH — Nintendo Innovates, others follow.— More at eleven
It has happened with force feedback, 3D platform games, Motion controls, controllers, the big push towards casual gamers plus many other things we now see on all consoles. Nintendo are the innovators.
This is hardly news. At all. This is just more food for fanBoys …
It has happened so many times its expected that the competition will follow, in some form or another. And surprise surprise, they are following. Good for Microsoft for trying to get a slice of the casual pie that Nintendo baked. Everyone else will try, so why not start now? The 360 has so many core games out now that it needs not worry about losing ANY of the core audience, so, why not go for some soccer moms and young girls? Diversify. However, i am not so sure microsoft knows how to make a great casual game, at least not yet, so it will be an uphill battle with the 360.
“Even Gears 2 is slipping, at least when it comes to Xbox Live online popularity” – That is due to the absolute garbage servers they set up that keep on booting people in mid game…..total crap for what is supposed to be THE BIG game this season. So instead of fixing the problem, they release another map pack without fixing the bloody servers???… more garbage. I predict a much more large “slip in popularity” online until they do something about this.
“Their markets are pretty different right now, but I see MS as having a much easier time to go gunning for the casual market than Nintendo trying to obtain the hardcore players, they’ve already failed at that twice.” “This I agree with”
Yes, I aggree as well.
Competition is good. I hope Microsoft Creates a great console next gen that combines BOTH the great aspects of the Wii and the 360. Maybe then, I wont need to own 2 different systems. I wont need to own different controllers and , most importantly,I will not have to listen to 2 different groups of FanBoys circle jerking with each other allllllllll generation long. about which is better “casual or hardcore”….
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:56 pm
“Wii core audience is there, just waiting for 3rd parties to put effort into it. I just wanna see how The Conduit or Madworld will fare. These are promising titles, flagship ones – that will cather to an audience that lacks quality games right now. Let’s wait and see.”
The problem with this is….it’s been 2 years and we’re still waiting. Sure The Conduit and Madworld are examples, but again they seem to be some of the lone lights in the darkness, and this is all assuming they are great games. I hope it leads to more, but I will definitely wait and see.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:08 am
“But y’know what. The US, and Europe are way bigger markets than japan. The jp market is far less relevant than people like to think.”
Yes, you are, of course, absolutely right. Japan doesn’t matter, and nothing from it is even successful this generation. Certainly the market leading console could not be from such a place, nor can the leading handheld.
Japan Matters, mainly because their games are more marketable here than our games are marketable there. they actually have a profitable business model for developing while Western developers continue to struggle. They will continue to be relevant and exist while Western third parties mostly contract and crumble.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:59 am
Of course rival game companies have taken notice of motion control success and will implement it into their next consoles…who couldn’t guess that? And is this such a bad thing? Must we result to kindergarten “You’re a copy cat!” name calling? In all these years of Nintendo-fanboyism I have just purchased my first non-Nintendo console…a Xbox 360. I have played more of my 360 in this past week than my Wii in the past 3 months combined. I still love my Nintendo, but my ‘gaming-sugar level’ is too low at the moment to boot-up my fanboy fueled pride.
Motion controls used by fellow console makers just increases competition which is always good for the consumers. I say “woot!”. You can’t blame MS for wanting a little bit of the casual pie.
Now Sony on the other hand….well…lets just say if the PS3 doesn’t get a price cut before Q3 2009…they’re screwed. Their ‘Home’ social software experiment can’t bail them out now.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:25 am
lol, Microsoft copying Nintendo again. How unsurprising. I can’t wait until they turn the Xbox 720 (or whatever it ends up being called) into the Wii 2.0 and all the snobby Xbox fanboys who’ve been dismissing the Wii and its success as a bunch of childish waggle nonsense are forced to play with Microsoft’s version of the Wii remote. As tiring as it is to see Sony and Microsoft endessly copying Nintendo instead of coming up with their own strategies or actually innovating for once, it’s going to be hilarious to see all their self-professed “hardcore” fans jumping on the waggle bandwagon the second Microsoft officially endorses it.
@Jake:
“Must we result to kindergarten “You’re a copy cat!” name calling?”
No, we don’t have to. It’s just fun to point out how absolutely predictable MS and Sony are, and how little they really contribute to the industry. All they do is follow in Nintendo’s footsteps. Is it such a bad thing, you asked? It is when only one of three competitors is actually trying to bring something novel to the market. Oh, wait, I forgot… Microsoft and Sony aren’t competing with Nintendo… and yet they somehow end up doing EVERYTHING Nintendo is doing with the Wii. Strange, that.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Can’t wait to see mom go on Xbox LIVE and listen to all the “ur gay” and “dick” jokes and accusations…
The big difference between the Xbox and Wii audience is that the Xbox LIVE core audience is so well-connected that they constantly push the casual gamers out.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
” Must we result to kindergarten “You’re a copy cat!” name calling? ” Apparently, some still must….
“I have played more of my 360 in this past week than my Wii in the past 3 months combined. I still love my Nintendo, but my ‘gaming-sugar level’ is too low at the moment to boot-up my fanboy fueled pride.”
That is exactly how I feel, I hope next year to get a BIG boost in Nintendo pride with some quality games, but now, its pretty much 360 all the time.
“Motion controls used by fellow console makers just increases competition which is always good for the consumers. I say “woot!”.”
Yeah, its going to happen sooner or later, Microsoft might as well get started with it. After all someone needs to keep the FanBoys happy and let them sing ” copy cat copy cat” all day long . Competition is good. I hope next gen that Sony, or Microsoft or Apple, or someone gives Nintendo a run for the money….
““Wii core audience is there, just waiting for 3rd parties to put effort into it. I just wanna see how The Conduit or Madworld will fare. These are promising titles, flagship ones – that will cather to an audience that lacks quality games right now. Let’s wait and see.””
Unfortunatly , we have been waiting for more than 2 years. however, we have had some GRAET first party titles during this time. But the wait is still to long for 3rd party development on the Wii.
Much to long.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I totally agree with the article. When I got my 360 last month it came preloaded with a bunch of Arcade titles such as Bejeweled, Pac Man, Uno and what not. So my mom actually wanted to check it out and played the aforementioned demos but then after a bit decided to quit (didn’t like the controller for Pac Man at all). Well the next day I deleted them because they were just being HDD hogs. But the Wii did it first the way it was supposed to happen. Now let’s see if Nintendo can bring this innovative style up a notch and take it HD.