After months of high sales on games like Gears, 10 million 360’s sold in a little over a year, and the over hyped, over the top release of Halo 3 you would wonder why I am writing a post with such a title. It would seem as though everything was fine in Xbox land. Although I have been feeling this coming on for a while. It all started with Diddy Kong racing on DS, a game that you would expect to be coming to DS but not developed by a company owned by Microsoft. They made some money out of this Mario Kart clone but it only wet the appetite of the software giant.
Viva Pinata, an exclusive that has been framed as the franchise to win the little ones to the white concave box called Xbox 360, flopped with the kiddies but was a sleeper hit with the hardcore. Now it has been announced for the DS and is rumored to hit the Wii. Although the main focus is a control scheme everyone can use. If Viva on DS or Wii sells what will become of the next Xbox?
You may not understand my concern but lets play with some numbers. This summer was set to be that time when the Xbox team makes some money. They had lowered the cost to make the 360 and it was making them money with each console sold; but Microsoft had to eat a 1 billion dollar hit because of Red Rings and is fighting a class action suit over scratched disk’s due to faulty hardware. Halo 3 is set to stop this money bleed by selling games and consoles a like. But what will do it for Microsoft next year? We need games that will sell hardware to make it to J. Allard’s 1 billion units (I think the 360 will only hit 40 million at the most). Reality is sinking in though and it bites. The Wii is selling to people who don’t play games, which is who both Microsoft and Sony want to hit.
So, will the next Xbox be basically the same box but with a radically new controller? Casual games are the future, and if Microsoft doesn’t accept this then they will be left behind as the industry moves forward. Although I don’t think any gamer wants underpowered consoles with simple casual games your mom will play (except the 10 million that have been buying the Wii and are grabbing them the day they arrive).
-Matthew “Webnet” Moore-
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October 2, 2007
#1
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If it were to have motion sensing it better be 1 to 1 accurate or it’s a bust. That’s the main problem with the idea in the first place. When you perform a motion with it, it should work 100% of the time. Not to mention that the sense of a clear boundary with a analog stick. It’s what makes it work as well as it does. Motion sensing doesn’t have that. Figuring out a middle ground is what is going to have be figured out.
As far as casual gaming being the wave of the future for the gaming industry, I agree, but the entire industry can’t just make games with the casual and novice player in mind, not that you said that.. If you look at other industries you’ll see that none of them only cater to the novice and gaming shouldn’t be any different. It’s mainly those same casual and novice players who are completely ignorant to the fact that games are made for every audience. Not just kids as most of them continue to believe only because kids aren’t afraid to fail at them initially, with the intent on getting better. Most adults have been conditioned to avoid failure where ever possible, as with videogames being consistently left up to the kids to enjoy without the fear that adults have of looking dumb the first few times.
October 16, 2007
#2
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i think the wii is a kiddy crap system and what is all this casual game talk screw that shit i want a powerhouse console with great graphics and gameplay screw the wii and ps3 xbox 360 rules
November 23, 2007
#3
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WTF? “Casual games are the future” are you a moron? Not the future for real gamers. Sony is dead, overpricing ***********.
December 21, 2007
#4
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yes the new xbox is sort of like wii but it has a camera not remote also if you need remotes there are 4 in the box with it and the xbox will be called xbox 720
January 3, 2008
#5
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Well, there’s no reason the Xbox can’t target causal gamers while retaining the hardcore ones. In fact, you don’t really have to do much to retain hardcore gamers. THey’re already fans, so just keep giving them games they like while stretching out to others. Nintento is focusing on this stretching out, and doing a fine job of it. However, while many longtime hardcore fans are out there buying up Wiis along with their grandparents, some may be turned off by the super focus on casual gamers and find alternatives with Xbox and the PS3. But when Microsoft and Sony go full-force into the causal market, the hardcore gamers will end up staying where they are – they’re not going to quit gaming are they? Of course, you have to cater to them as well, but its easier to retain hardcore gamers than bring in new fans.
Xbox may be able to do this by pumping out more casual games with the system they already have. People aren’t going to buy an Xbox just because of Viva Pinata for their kids, but if Xbox had a ton of similar games, then maybe they would. Of course, at this point, the Wii is synonymous with “family fun” and parents and kids know this and go after the Wiis. Microsoft may or may not be able to drum up the marketing power to give the 360 this perception, but maybe with the launch of a new system, they can retool it as family-friendly as well. As long as Microsoft does this while holding on to hardcore game licenses, they should be fine. You can add as many Viva Pinatas as you want, but as long as you have the games like Halo and whatnot, the hardcore will still be there.
January 6, 2008
#6
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I have a Wii, a PS3, and an XBox 360… My Wii and PS3 collect dust. I don’t want to have to consider how I’m sitting to play a game…. I have more important things to think about… like playing the game! It’s rediculous to cater to people who are going to buy nothing more than the console to play Wii Sports and Wii Play. They may buy like 3 games in their lives, but they aren’t going to be the ones reserving COD4 or anything else for that matter. The Wii is a passing fad and Nintendo hit that market at just the right time, but it’s short lived. MS should keep doing what they do best. Put out games that are engaging, realistic, and fun.
January 24, 2008
#7
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ok i have to say this cause ive been all over the net and ive talked to a lot of ppl and so far this is what i have figured out about the next Xbox. so to start it will have controllers and a console to connect to the tv and internet and it will use some kind of new media format that ms will probably make for it ( ive heard some thing about digital media, and i read in a magazine about a new media format called holographic storage that can hold up to 1.5 TB each.) the system will have a very large HD in it maybe a 1TB or more. the controllers will also have there own built in memory to store save files and profiles, but also its own high definition touch screen. the controller will also double as a portable gaming devise, that will have wii-fi and bluetouth and other wireless forms, and be able to surf the net with. and play smaller hd games on it out side of the house.