MS aiming for "kids market" as well?

[scooby_dooby]

I understand your point, MS should've taken care of this, expecially if they are planning on marketing to kids. Actually, if you search this forums for threads on this topic, you'll see I was one of the most vocal people that slammed MS for NOT fixing this problem(it only requires 2 rubber pads to elimnate the problem completely).

However I completely disagree with your assesment of the impact of this, it's a totally minor issue and does not in anyways prove that MS does not intend on marketing to kids.

Small oversight? Yes. Big Issue? No. Indicitive of MS's marketing plans? No.

p.s. I never said anything to you about 'facts', it was a sarcastic response to someone else. You can't even read my posts before replying?

 

[rounin]

Small oversight? Yes. Big Issue? No. Indicitive of MS's marketing plans? No.

Then I guess we'll agree to disagree (we haven't even talked about heating issues )

p.s. I never said anything to you about 'facts', it was a sarcastic response to someone else. You can't even read my posts before replying?

From what I can see, he was supporting your point of view in terms of disagreeing with me and offering evidence that MS now wants to move into the kids demographics. I had assumed the sarcasm was aimed at me My bad.

 

[<nu>faust]

there is a clear difference between thinking that ms's intentions of marketing to kids is a bad idea at this moment and denying the fact that ms is trying to sell to kids (or it's doable.)

As far as i know ps2 went through 12 hardware revisions, dics scratching issues that 360 owners is not something that can't be corrected or something that would affect ms long term goals. Price point of 360 compared to the competition,the lack of parental controls & family friendly content are subjects to change and full of unkowns for the moment, what if ms cuts the price of 360 next holiday season and matches rev in price(core sku)?What if ms puts tons of nick toon based properties on xbla and advertises heavily on kid focused media?

 

[<nu>faust]

p.s. I never said anything to you about 'facts', it was a sarcastic response to someone else. You can't even read my posts before replying?

so your sarcastic comment was targeted towards me? i don't get it

 

[rounin]

there is a clear difference between thinking that ms's intentions of marketing to kids is a bad idea at this moment and denying the fact that ms is trying to sell to kids (or it's doable.)

Oh of course MS has a desire to break into the kids market but my point was that MS has not shown that it is serious about doing so. If they were serious, they would have planned their product for this from the beginning. Their console would not be as fragile and childscary (as opposed to child-friendly?) as it is right now. In my mind, with the quality that Nintendo has put in their efforts (in terms of design, pricing, marketing, PR, etc), MS falls far, far, far short and hence I would say its not a serious endeavor.

 

[<nu>faust]

Oh of course MS has a desire to break into the kids market but my point was that MS has not shown that it is serious about doing so. If they were serious, they would have planned their product for this from the beginning. Their console would not be as fragile and childscary (as opposed to child-friendly?) as it is right now. In my mind, with the quality that Nintendo has put in their efforts (in terms of design, pricing, marketing, PR, etc), MS falls far, far, far short and hence I would say its not a serious endeavor.

well as i said before i think the fragileness issue is something that can(and most probably will) be fixed easily ,also i don't see the pricing issue as a big handicap unless revolution launches way below the expectations..somewhere like $150-$199. Then we come to marketing,effort&pr...yes i do agree they are far,far, far below nintendo at the moment but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try to reach younger segments of the market or can't succeed if they play cards right.As most ppl know; they are far,far,far,faaaar below sony and nintendo in japan, does that stop them from trying to get a foothold there ?

I remember how heavily jallard heavily emphasized on how they will try to reach as many as ppl possible during e3 unveiling of 360.(do you remember that 1 billion customers,gamergirll stuf?) .....well i say they will need some yugi-oh playing youngsters and animal crossings playing females in addition to their halo-nation if they really wanna expand the market and hit big sales numbers.

 

[rounin]

well as i said before i think the fragileness issue is something that can(and most probably will) be fixed easily ,also i don't see the pricing issue as a big handicap unless revolution launches way below the expectations..somewhere like $150-$199.

I was looking at what they have done (oversight of basic kidproof features) and drawing a (logical?) conclusion that the console is not designed for the kids demographic. The auxiliary is that they have not been serious about breaking into the kids market.

As for pricing, isnt that around the range that people are predicting the rev to launch at? The whole console doesnt seem to be too expensive to make.

Then we come to marketing,effort&pr...yes i do agree they are far,far, far below nintendo at the moment but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try to reach younger segments of the market or can't succeed if they play cards right.As most ppl know; they are far,far,far,faaaar below sony and nintendo in japan, does that stop them from trying to get a foothold there ?

Of course they should try, because it is business. But they shouldn't give it such a half-hearted effort. With Nintendo's reputation, price range, and whole-hearted commitment to its market segment, parents already know what choice to make. Then again this wasn't part of my original argument

 

[Li Mu Bai]

They may try, (as they tried & are continuing to try in jpn) but are doomed to failure. They sought out & obtained the hardcore visual mainstream graphic whore, & this is the audience they will keep. I doubt many "E publishers" would even seriously pursuit development on the platform, it's a complete waste of their time & money. It simply does not fit their established demographic, the Rev & PS3 are simply far better suited.

 

[<nu>faust]

well i think it's too early to critisize microsoft for not trying hard enough to reach different segments of the market( or calling their initial efforts half-hearted) when they haven't even been able to fulfill the demand arose from the hardcore gamers/early adopters and create a broad portfolio of high quality games yet.It's been less than 2 months Give 'em some time: if ms do not take necassary steps to solve the issues that you mentioned(disc scratching, parental controls,price point..etc) by the end of this year and if the efforts of ms to reach younger segments stays just as promoting rare games.....then we'll have right to wite them off,it's just too early now.


as a note: i do not expect revolution's launch price to be cheaper than $250 ,we all know nintendo will try to cut every corner that they can and put efficiency/cost effectiveness as the most important factor during the design phase of rev, but there is a limit to how low spec they can go . If porting games to rev from other platforms are not gonna be a problem like reggie says then the production cost of rev can't be dramatically lower than the competition imo.


Plus with sony positioning ps3 as the ultimate hightech media center/super computer magicbox with a possible high price point , i do see microsoft's chance of gaining some ground in E and T market (if they play their cards correctly of course) I really like that putting nicktoon games on xbla idea. I hope you are listening major nelson

 

[EndR]

"There has been no confirmation to date on any specific gaming titles to de developed under the terms of the new agreement, though it is thought likely that Rare, which has the most experience in developing children's games for Microsoft, may be involved in the creation of an entirely new IP, or the next-generation re-invention of a classic children's branded game."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14127
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Someone said something about reading comprehension??

 

[Li Mu Bai]

"There has been no confirmation to date on any specific gaming titles to de developed under the terms of the new agreement, though it is thought likely that Rare, which has the most experience in developing children's games for Microsoft, may be involved in the creation of an entirely new IP, or the next-generation re-invention of a classic children's branded game."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14127
----------

Someone said something about reading comprehension??

Comprehend Blinx 2, Crazy Taxi 3, Voodo Vince, Psychonauts, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, etc. cumulative sales. Now comprehend these numbers & consider their R&D, marketing, distribution, etc. Yes the picture becomes quite clear from a developer's POV of what platform to avoid.

 

[EndR]

Comprehend Blinx 2, Crazy Taxi 3, Voodo Vince, Psychonauts, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, etc. cumulative sales. Now comprehend these numbers & consider their R&D, marketing, distribution, etc. Yes the picture becomes quite clear from a developer's POV of what platform to avoid.

ehh.. I wasn´t referring to you..

(and to comment on your post, granted.. Xbox was aimed at a higher consumer age-point than the others, therefore those game sucked at retail. MS was not activly pushing to broader their games portfolio as they are doing now. We will see far more games aimed for the younger audience than Xbox had. Hmm.. maybe the Xboxes will have the same problem Nintendo has, but vice versa. NIntendo struggles to have success with "adult games", MS might struggle with games for younger demographics. The efforts of what MS will be doing this gen with 360 are still to be seen... )

 

[Li Mu Bai]

ehh.. I wasn´t referring to you..

(and to comment on your post, granted.. Xbox was aimed at a higher consumer age-point than the others, therefore those game sucked at retail. MS was not activly pushing to broader their games portfolio as they are doing now. We will see far more games aimed for the younger audience than Xbox had. Hmm.. maybe the Xboxes will have the same problem Nintendo has, but vice versa. NIntendo struggles to have success with "adult games", MS might struggle with games for younger demographics. The efforts of what MS will be doing this gen with 360 are still to be seen... )

The 360 is aimed at the exact same audience EndR. Anything remotely resembling a colorful child's game simply will not sell, whether it's quality sw or not. (hell, it doesn't even have to really be a juvenile game per se, but simply has to appear to be one due to the mascot/protagonist's look) If the said title doesn't mesh with the more mature tagline that the XBX created, & the 360 is continuing to perpetrate (with the majority of future software announcements, screenshots, etc.) it won't sell imo. The Nintendo analogy was apt, except we know that mature games can sell upon the GC (& upcoming Rev. if the past can be used as a predicator) MP, (1,323,897) MP:Echoes (601,453) RE:Remake, (554,489) RE0, (469,990) RE4, (614,476) etc. "Exclusivity," even if it be timed seems to be the major sales incentive for mature themed titles to sell well on their platform.

I know your comments weren't directed at me, I was just using them to illustrate my point. Will the 360 ever see child-themed games sell in such quantities? Unlikely. But as you said, we haven't seen the results of MS's efforts this next-gen as of yet.

 

[Ty]

The Nintendo analogy was apt, except we know that mature games can sell upon the GC (& upcoming Rev. if the past can be used as a predicator) MP, (1,323,897) MP:Echoes (601,453) RE:Remake, (554,489) RE0, (469,990) RE4, (614,476) etc. "Exclusivity," even if it be timed seems to be the major sales incentive for mature themed titles to sell well on their platform.

I'm not so sure relying upon 2 IPs illustrates that adult-oriented titles sell well on the GCN.

 

[Li Mu Bai]

I'm not so sure relying upon 2 IPs illustrates that adult-oriented titles sell well on the GCN.

Well, tally all of the exclusive children, or even semi-childlike appearing software totals upon the the XBX vs. those of the mature rated titles upon the GC. Mature cross-platformers tend not to do well, though there are exceptions like TC:SoLA that exceeded 320k on the GC. Killer 7, while selling abysmally is still beating its PS2 counterpart. The two IPs represent 5 seperate titles, & I'm certainly not saying that Nintendo has their mature oriented software problem solved. (the public's perception) Though I'm certain their portfolio expansion within this realm will yield more growth & sales than MS's foray into the children's market to be sure. Miyamoto even stated they were working on more mature themed titles, Nintendo is really attempting to internally develop & acquire some quality fpsers. (yes, Halo/2's sales were definitely noticed)

 

[Ty]

Well, tally all of the exclusive children, or even semi-childlike appearing software totals upon the the XBX vs. those of the mature rated titles upon the GC. Mature cross-platformers tend not to do well, though there are exceptions like TC:SoLA that exceeded 320k on the GC. Killer 7, while selling abysmally is still beating its PS2 counterpart. The two IPs represent 5 seperate titles, & I'm certainly not saying that Nintendo has their mature oriented software problem solved. (the public's perception) Though I'm certain their portfolio expansion within this realm will yield more growth & sales than MS's foray into the children's market to be sure. Miyamoto even stated they were working on more mature themed titles, Nintendo is really attempting to internally develop & acquire some quality fpsers. (yes, Halo/2's sales were definitely noticed)

Don't get me wrong, I never stated that kid-oriented titles sold well on the Xbox. I was merely bringing up the fact that two IPs don't really make much of a case for adult titles doing well on the GCN.

I'm glad that Nintendo admits that they need to expand their demographic. Here's hoping that they succeed.

 

[Platon]

The advantage of having "kiddie" games and marketing to kids is that families might have esier time to pick the console since then the whole family can use it. I can imagine that many families would avoid getting an xbox360 because only dad would be able to play and not games would be there for the kids. Now having TV series and comics with the protaginsts of some of the xbox games, is the way to go...