Microsoft gets serious about expanding demographic reach

[Carl B]

Well, this I would not have expected... but that in itself may be why it's a good idea for Microsoft to go through with it in the first place.

Anyway, interesting read - prepare for Fergie Fudgehog and 'Viva Pinata!'

...Microsoft Corp. has a strategy to win over a whole new generation of consumers and his name is Fergie Fudgehog.

The software company plans to unveil Fergie and several other children's animal characters today with an entertainment concept called "Viva Piñata" which Microsoft plans to turn into a Saturday morning cartoon show this fall and an Xbox 360 game by the holiday season. In a deal with children's entertainment and licensing firm 4Kids Entertainment, which licensed Pokemon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the technology giant is reaching out to younger gamers in an effort to promote its latest console, Xbox 360, to the entire family...

Most surprising of all though, I found it on the front page of the Post. They must really be digging the idea!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/15/AR2006031501145.html

EDIT: Didn't realize this was already posted in the 'games' section. Ah well whatever... It was really the demographic outreach initiative I was looking to discuss more than the Pinata game itself, but ce la vie.

 

[blakjedi]

In terms of demographic appeal its a good idea especially with the tie-in. "Fudgehog" is an especially bad name... expect a whole slew of water cooler jokes when that does arrive. Plus the Sonic tie in is really too close for comfort if I were Sega.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I watched the promo video at the officail website. It was...pretty ghastly. Pixar wannabe's with none of the class IMO. Didn't look well targetted at kids to me either, but it probably wasn't indicative of what the kids programme will be.

 

[Carl B]

In terms of demographic appeal its a good idea especially with the tie-in. "Fudgehog" is an especially bad name... expect a whole slew of water cooler jokes when that does arrive. Plus the Sonic tie in is really too close for comfort if I were Sega.

Yeah I think the branding choices are the product of coke lines being done at Redmond, but the concept overall is a good one. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

@Shifty: Didn't realize there were videos also - might have to check those out and see what the 'Pinata' is all about.

 

[scooby_dooby]

i dunno, seems a wee bit half-backed to me, i mean is one game going to sell this console to kids? 360 is predominantly adult, violent games, I think they're gonna need more than 1 game for 10 year olds to get their parents to slap down $300.

The timing is right though, next holiday, may boost sales even further.

 

[Inane_Dork]

If MS wants to sell more than the Xbox, this is the kind of content they need. The Xbox was a success in the core market but not elsewhere.

And yeah, this is just one game, but if MS puts weight behind this, 3rd parties are likely to follow the cue. They'll never grow unless they take steps, and this is a step.

 

[Bobbler]

I'm not sure I really believe they are trying to necessarily expand the market so much as tap the market that is already there (and possibly show other developers that games outside of sports titles and adult games can sell). Although the TV Show tie-in is a bit weird -- I can't imagine they are banking on that to create a new market for themselves... possibly banking on kids wanting to get the game and the household to already have the console? getting the kids into gaming on the Xbox -- all it took for me to love Nintendo was a single game when I was little, after that I was hooked on gaming and Nintendo was my love for many years.

I dunno. Gotta start somewhere I suppose.

Besides, if the gameplay is solid I don't see why adults can't enjoy it =p

 

[scooby_dooby]

Ya it's a start, I think it might be the wrong time in the lifecycle to do such a high-profile childrens game though, with a $300 pricepoint and no other childrens games, it's gonna be a hard sell. You're right though, maybe they can use this to attract more types of these games, and then if they release VP2 in a couple years with a $199 pricepoint it could really take off...

 

[Magnum PI]

400 $ that's a lot for a child's toy

 

[thatdude90210]

Live arcade is very kid friendly. The easy to learn, not too graphically challenging, $5 - 10 price point games are perfect for kids.

 

[Sis]

400 $ that's a lot for a child's toy

By this logic:

• My girlfriend enjoys playing Zuma. $400 is a lot of money for a game you can play on the PC.
• I like to play Geometry Wars. That's suddenly a $405 dollar game.
• I use the Xbox 360 as a DVD player. $400 dollars, that's a lot for a dvd player.

 

[Carl B]

I think Live Arcade is great, but you're not going to buy the 360 for your pre-teen kids for the sake of child-friendly Arcade games. Honestly if you're buying 360 for your kids and not yourself, you probably don't know much about Arcade to begin with. What this is is an attempt to form an anchor franchise on the opposite end of the age spectrum. I think for that purpose $300 is a little high as well, but who knows, maybe they'll drop the price of the core console come Christmas time.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Live arcade is very kid friendly. The easy to learn, not too graphically challenging, $5 - 10 price point games are perfect for kids.

Great point. I honestly don't understand why, given Bill Gates personal philosphy, they don't fund and release an entire series of education brain-training childrens games for delivery over live for Free.

Not only would it help drive sales in a HUGE way among parents, but it would provide free educational tools for any kid that had access to a 360.

 

[blakjedi]

Great point. I honestly don't understand why, given Bill Gates personal philosphy, they don't fund and release an entire series of education brain-training childrens games for delivery over live for Free.

Not only would it help drive sales in a HUGE way among parents, but it would provide free educational tools for any kid that had access to a 360.

Now THAT is damned good idea mate!

 

[ninzel]

So MS wants to replace Nintendo as the Disney of the gaming world. Should be interesting to see how this pans out.

 

[randycat99]

Why don't they just lock in an exclusive game franchise with Disney or Pixar? If anybody has the deep pockets for that, it would be MS. Plus, that would gain instant credibility with the kid market (vs. trying to build your own character franchise which would undoubtedly meet head-to-head competition with Disney and Pixar).

 

[AzBat]

Why don't they just lock in an exclusive game franchise with Disney or Pixar? If anybody has the deep pockets for that, it would be MS. Plus, that would gain instant credibility with the kid market (vs. trying to build your own character franchise which would undoubtedly meet head-to-head competition with Disney and Pixar).

Microsoft and RealNetworks announced an agreement last October(as part of the antitrust settlement) where Real will "develop a series of new casual games for Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360." Basically you can probably expect all of the RealArcade games to made available on Xbox Live Arcade. Some of them already are. Unfortunately I don't think much, if any, are for free. I'm sure Microsoft has more plans for Xbox Live Arcade, but you would think that if they were going to really push it they would have made some big exclusive agreements by now. Maybe they're waiting to do that if and when they release an iPod killer for the Xbox 360 that plays XLA titles?

Tommy McClain

 

[GB123]

Why don't they just lock in an exclusive game franchise with Disney or Pixar? If anybody has the deep pockets for that, it would be MS. Plus, that would gain instant credibility with the kid market (vs. trying to build your own character franchise which would undoubtedly meet head-to-head competition with Disney and Pixar).

I can't think of a Disney game which has actually done well on any console.

<< scratches head... nope

I like the idea about educational games on live though ...

 

[Carl B]

More educational games on consoles *period* would definitely be a win for society in general. I definitely think the medium has a lot to offer.

 

[blakjedi]

I can't think of a Disney game which has actually done well on any console.

<< scratches head... nope

I like the idea about educational games on live though ...

Aladdin when doen by SHiny entertainment.