Newsweek dissects what's wrong with the 360
In what looks to be a three part series detailing what's wrong with each new gen console, Newsweek's dreadlocked game journalist, N'Gai Croal has penned an article dismantling the apparent success of the Xbox 360. The article centers around a theory that Xbox afficionados will be familar with, the Xbox 360 can't seem to nab the mass market demographic. As evidence, the article points out that the Xbox 360 has managed to have hit games month after month, yet hardware sales have remained relatively sluggish. This seems to illustrate that the Xbox 360's demographic (much like the original Xbox) is centered around hardcore gamers that buy more games than casual gamers. In other words, these hit games aren't driving casual gamers to purchase an Xbox 360.
Another reason, as noted by Croal, is that many original Xbox fans have yet to move on to the Xbox 360. This is evidenced from Microsoft's Chris Satchell's comments during the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year: "We've sold 10.4 million [Xbox 360s], but the stat you may not have heard is that over half of those sales are from people that didn't own an Xbox 1." If that is the case, notes Croal, then Microsoft is having a problem converting it's original Xbox fan base. The reasoning for this is simple enough, the Xbox 360 doesn't have a new Halo game. He extends this argument, saying that Microsoft is essentially forcing Halo players to convert by making Halo 2's upcoming map pack exclusive to the Xbox 360.
All in all, the article states that the Xbox brand will likely not achieve mass market success of the PS2 until the release of the next Xbox, an event the article refers to as the "best case scenario." We're not sure we agree with all of Croal's theories, but he makes an interesting argument nonetheless. In particular, we do agree that Microsoft has had trouble creating its own casual IPs, whereas Sony has a slew of them, including games like Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and others. Microsoft, on the other hand, came up with Voodoo Vince and Blinx. We'll give you that one N'Gai, we're just not sure about the rest.
What do you think, can Microsoft successfully reach out to the casual market during this generation? What's the answer: Live Arcade, the Vision Cam, a great platforming franchise? Tell us what you think in the comments.
[Via GameDaily]
