-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Edge Rumor: Natal To Cost $149, Bundled With Arcade For $299
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
Zachack said:
Yes and when they connect the console up to the internet they can go out and spend £30 on a controller to buy those arcade titles, but thats assuming they actually connect their console to the Live service. I also don't think any of those titles have the drawing power of casuals on this console. We need to see what MS equivalent of Wii Sports and Wii Fit on before any of us can discuss this rumoured price point any more.
flyinpiranha
Member
Linkified said:
Dude, reducing the price of entry is what MAKES a casual spend their money. A person wanting to play Peggle isn't going to spend $20 AND $30-40 for a controller. If a controller is already included then they might.
Those games might not draw people in but there are games that make people go "hey, what are you playing" and might want to try it. You seem to think you have casuals figured out with how much they want to spend and I can tell you right now you're way off. The amount they want to spend is the LEAST amount possible. It really is that simple.
Including a controller in the bundle opens up possibilities and lowers the price of entry for enjoying games that don't require the camera.
I completely agree with you...I was just oversimplifying one reason why it's hard for some of us to see(i'm hoping I'm not putting words in your mouth but I'm including you in the "us) Microsoft doing something casual and be successful at it. It's not out of the realm of possibilities but like you seem to be saying it's going to be difficult for themVinci said:
Diablohead
Member
I kind of agree, if this is the given price point then it's too much for me, i'll wait until a ton of games use it well and the price has dropped to half of that if not more.Zzoram said:
WasteLand Soldier
Banned
Zzoram said:
yeah since its been proven that the 360 cpus are running at 100% usage at all times.
flyinpiranha said:
Yes it opens the possibilites, blurs the message the marketing department wants to go with the bundle, increases the cost of the bundle to Microsoft. In the end of the day is £30 in the long run a reasonable price for someone to increase the amount of games they can play on the system absolutely. People who buy the bundle at launch will most likely be casual gamers who are excited about the games developed purely for the camera. And thinking that a casual gamer is imediately understand how the standard controller works means why include Natal at all and just package an 360 Arcade SKU with 4 controllers.
H_Prestige
Banned
Zzoram said:
As if MS has some kind of problem with overpriced accessories.
flyinpiranha
Member
Linkified said:
I see what you're trying to say ... but it doesn't make any sense. You basically want MS to say "hey, let's ONLY give them the option of these very few titles out of the box and make sure they are completely cut off from the 1000's of titles we already have and are available online".
Casuals aren't buying it for ONLY Natal, they are buying it BECAUSE Natal. It's a huge difference. A way better pricing strategy is to be able to say you have access to ALL of these other things PLUS the new thing. It may increase the the cost to MS but that cost is minimal and most likely made easily back by selling just 2 Live games to that person.
I understand that you think people should just get Natal and have to buy a controller but that's just a horrible way to do things. Leaving out a controller completely?! Come on, any person even buying one of these things 'casual' or not has picked up a controller in their lives so it will be a good jump-in point with the inclusion of the 'new hotness' that is Natal when/if they purchase it.
If you want people to use something you don't cut them off completely from everything else. It takes away value and almost everything that MS has built up until now would be pointless. A controller is such a small cost to include to make sure EVERY person that buys this bundle also has access to EVERY game ever made for the system.
flyinpiranha said:
And you think after all Nintendo spoke about that the current controllers were intimidating that you package an intimidating product in the box, as well as you would need multiple controllers as Natal can recognise multiple users, the assumption they will connect their console to Live. And the shipping issues that a big box will have on price.
charlequin
Banned
The idea that Microsoft is going to ship a 360 SKU without a controller in the box is one of the goddamn stupidest things I've ever read on NeoGAF. WTF people.
triplestation
Member
man i got bills to pay
dead souls
Member
charlequin said:
:lol I agree completely.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Linkified said:
yes and with trophies and rumble and 360 avatars we've seen how good developers are at back-patching minor game functions to work, so i'm sure they'll be great at back-patching an entirely new control scheme
this hairbrained idea will work great and really leverage the 360's stellar software library
*shakes head*
Stumpokapow said:
What?
I never said they would back patch anything. This is a clean start for Microsoft and aiming at a new audience.
Like I hae kept sayin this bundle will be most likely not aimed at the core audience. And Nintendo kept saying the non-gamer finds the current controller intimidating so based on that why package a controller which they find intimidating? And then you have to ask what percentage of mothers who enjoy wii fit also want to play Gears/fable/halo? If the core buys this bundle they most likely will have/won't mind paying £30 for a new controller.
Paco said:
Yes its not going anywhere, but if this rumour is to be believed and they are packing Natal with an arcade SKU that screams that this bundle is strictly for casuals/non-gamers who want to jump in so to speak, why would in that instance where there is already a controller in the box feel they have to include another type of controller this year, when they will mostly just target the non-core with Natal benefits?
flyinpiranha
Member
Linkified said:
I don't even know what you're trying to say here.
It's just a really, really stupid idea to not include a controller no matter how much you 'want' people to use Natal. You do realize that Natal is a hook, it's to get people interested in gaming ... not to get them interested in ONLY Natal. MS wants these people to buy ALL of their products, not just the ones that are related to their fancy camera.
You even said it's for people who want to 'jump in' ... that's exactly what a controller would do, give them access to ALL of MS' products.
I just don't get why you think it's a good idea to completely cut off 'out of the box' access to EVERY single previous MS title ... it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
flyinpiranha said:
Right what I'm saying is that if you wanted non-gamers to buy other games on the system ala Gears/Halo/etc then the current standard controller is way to intimidating. If they add it in destroys their message about 'You are the controller' and the 'only experience you need is life experience' message. Plus then down the line if they want to jump in to other games they buy that device - just like if I wanted to play Natal Sports ?I would have to go out and buy the Natal tech.
I don't see how if they include the standard controller along with Natal they sell more copies of lego .../gears/fable/viva/bk/halo/etc. If those games appealed to the non/casual consumer they would of already bought a 360 though.
God I really can't wait for E3 so MS can finally reveal this thing and people's aurguments can begin to actually hold more weight. At the moment this thread has ground to a halt as people try to explain why their idea's are right and everyone else's are wrong. Without having spent any time with this thing. :lol
The_Inquisitor
Member
Whoever thinks the Natal/360 pack will ship without a controller is absolutely insane. There are obviously going to be games released that don't use Natal.
charlequin
Banned
Linkified said:
No, this is an incredibly expensive peripheral launching for a five-year-old console whose only redeeming feature when compared apples-to-apples to the $100 cheaper Wii as a potential "casual gamer" system is its quite excellent overall library of (mostly available incredibly cheaply) existing software -- all of which you would have people not only be unable to use, but probably become very confused and angry at the store when they buy software for the system they own and have no way to play it.
So..... yeah. Dumbest fucking idea ever.
Equus Bellator Apex
Junior Member
I try not to comment on rumors....
Pureauthor
Member
TheOddOne said:
Doesn't matter whose fault it is if the consumer gets pissed off. That's still a lost sale.
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Retailers don't know shit.sinnergy said:
PopcornMegaphone
Banned
here we go, yo
jamesinclair
Banned
Dear MS,
Why not learn from Nintendo? You may recall that motion controls were originally being developed for the GC, to launch 4-5 years after the GC came to market.
In your case, you are designing motion controls to launch 5 years after your console came to market.
Nintendo decided that:
a) Add-ons fail
b) add on splinter the marketbase
c) 5 years is enough time for a new console, as the generation is wrapping up.
So instead of launching their wand for the GC, they released a more powerful, slimmer GC, and called it the Wii. It had all the essential parts for a GC (controller ports, memory card ports) but had the advantage of being new and fresh.
Clearly, their strategy worked.
So, looking back at the most popular console ever, instead of copying their successful launch, you instead decide to launch as an expensive add on...????
Not only that....
GC cost $99.
Wii launched at $250
So essentially, people were paying $150 for the motion control. $250 for a GC bundled with motion control. People were fooled, they did no see it as an expensive add on.
Why not learn from Nintendo? You may recall that motion controls were originally being developed for the GC, to launch 4-5 years after the GC came to market.
In your case, you are designing motion controls to launch 5 years after your console came to market.
Nintendo decided that:
a) Add-ons fail
b) add on splinter the marketbase
c) 5 years is enough time for a new console, as the generation is wrapping up.
So instead of launching their wand for the GC, they released a more powerful, slimmer GC, and called it the Wii. It had all the essential parts for a GC (controller ports, memory card ports) but had the advantage of being new and fresh.
Clearly, their strategy worked.
So, looking back at the most popular console ever, instead of copying their successful launch, you instead decide to launch as an expensive add on...????
Not only that....
GC cost $99.
Wii launched at $250
So essentially, people were paying $150 for the motion control. $250 for a GC bundled with motion control. People were fooled, they did no see it as an expensive add on.
charlequin
Banned
TheOddOne said:
Yeeeeeeah, that's a great way to build market share. "It's your fault for being stupid if our idiotic product positioning strategy led you to make a mistake!" :lol
ShockingAlberto
Member
Ah ha, it worked
Leak $150 and $100 sounds great in comparison
Leak $150 and $100 sounds great in comparison
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
All the signs are pointing towards Natal being part of an almost complete relaunch of the 360... new console, new control method, new branding/name is also heavily rumoured. Plus they've got a further 30+ million consoles to sell the device to...jamesinclair said:
Who knows, though? It's all guess work at this point, and I guess this time next year we'll already know if Natal is a success or failure.
(Xbox Wave sounds shit, btw).
ShockingAlberto
Member
It's extremely common.gerg said: