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Xbox360 has the highest attach rate of games after 14 months, why is that?
- Thread starter doicare
- Start date
Best combo if you want online play, next-gen graphics, a good, large game library and still a cheap solution when compared to the ps3 or a high-end pc.
That alone attracts a lot of hardcore gamers with lots of money to spend. Also, it's not easy to pirate on, but the same can be said about the direct competitors.
That alone attracts a lot of hardcore gamers with lots of money to spend. Also, it's not easy to pirate on, but the same can be said about the direct competitors.
SA-X said:lol, how about because the PS3 just came out.You need to give people some time to buy more games, most people only buy 2-3 games when they first get a new system.
Compare the PS3's attach rate at 14 months to the 360's current 5.3 and then you'll have an at least somewhat fair comparison to draw conclusions from. (or you could just compare whatever 360's attach rate was at 2 1/2 months to the PS3's current number)
The 360's attatch rate was still higher than the PS3's at this point in it's life.
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
Has anybody mentioned that the primary audience of the 360 is a remarkably cohesive, defined, and rather predictable (no troll) demographic? Sports, Driving, Shooting, Fighting, wRPG. The people that own these systems are nearly identical to each other in what kind of gaming they prefer. Very American, very white, mid-to-late 20s, and spends a lot of money on games. Definitely owns multiple systems. You think 1/5 of those games that make up the 360 attach rate includes Puzzle games, Kid games, Kart Racers, Adventures, or jRPGs? Does Blue Dragon and Viva Pinata change all of that?
I'll be the first to say that I desperately want a 360 at this point because of the appeal to my inner hard-core gamer. Price keeps me at bay for now, but it's a matter of time. However, my inner-child gamer, my inner-casual gamer, etc, all are saying, "wait!"
The seeds for success that MS has laid with the 360 might also become the seeds of its potential lack of mainstream success. Can it ever become the NES or the PS2 without appealing to a wider demographic? Is this so-called demographic of the 360 gamer really an illusion? What are the top 20 selling titles on the 360? Will the complete failure of the 360 in Japan (consistently insignificant (tm)) limit what games the 360 will get?
Perhaps the most interesting part of this whole suggestion of a target demographic and the 360 is that Sony has very deliberately tried to do the same thing. Graphics, graphics, graphics. FPS, Driving, ad naseum. The PS2's greatest launch game was SSX, almost without question (an arcadey-mainstream-snowboarding-game with bright colors and flashy scores) The PS3? Resistance (fill in your description here). I think that Sony may have made a horrible, horrible decision to go after the 360 demographic out of the gate but at that price they didn't really have a lot of other options. Sony might be able to round out their demographics in the long run with some of their exclusives (specifically, FFXIII) but I think everyone knows it will take much more than that.
Summary:
What I'm trying to get at is this: the 360 audience is very clearly defined and they are being targeted very, very well. That is why the attach rate is so high. It may also spell trouble for the 360 when it's time to cross that 20-25mill consoles sold threshold because that demographic is limited. The same exact strategy being used by Sony out of the gate may also lead to a weaker stance in next gen.
I realize that what I've said in this post may be offensive to some but it's an opinion, one in which I don't believe I was rude about or unfair. Thank you for understanding this before responding.
I'll be the first to say that I desperately want a 360 at this point because of the appeal to my inner hard-core gamer. Price keeps me at bay for now, but it's a matter of time. However, my inner-child gamer, my inner-casual gamer, etc, all are saying, "wait!"
The seeds for success that MS has laid with the 360 might also become the seeds of its potential lack of mainstream success. Can it ever become the NES or the PS2 without appealing to a wider demographic? Is this so-called demographic of the 360 gamer really an illusion? What are the top 20 selling titles on the 360? Will the complete failure of the 360 in Japan (consistently insignificant (tm)) limit what games the 360 will get?
Perhaps the most interesting part of this whole suggestion of a target demographic and the 360 is that Sony has very deliberately tried to do the same thing. Graphics, graphics, graphics. FPS, Driving, ad naseum. The PS2's greatest launch game was SSX, almost without question (an arcadey-mainstream-snowboarding-game with bright colors and flashy scores) The PS3? Resistance (fill in your description here). I think that Sony may have made a horrible, horrible decision to go after the 360 demographic out of the gate but at that price they didn't really have a lot of other options. Sony might be able to round out their demographics in the long run with some of their exclusives (specifically, FFXIII) but I think everyone knows it will take much more than that.
Summary:
What I'm trying to get at is this: the 360 audience is very clearly defined and they are being targeted very, very well. That is why the attach rate is so high. It may also spell trouble for the 360 when it's time to cross that 20-25mill consoles sold threshold because that demographic is limited. The same exact strategy being used by Sony out of the gate may also lead to a weaker stance in next gen.
I realize that what I've said in this post may be offensive to some but it's an opinion, one in which I don't believe I was rude about or unfair. Thank you for understanding this before responding.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
doicare said:
So, say all of those games you just listed were released from fall 2005 to the present, would they rate exactly now as they did then? Conversely, if you released some of the 360 games that scored in the 80's (or even the 70's) nowadays and released them in 01/02, would they score as low?
Would you give up this crusade already? The tie rate is due to good word of mouth (due to LIVE), downloadable demos (due to LIVE), and a high concentration of hardcore gamers (due to pricepoint and specs).
You don't have to be a 'mindless sheep' to enjoy Dead Rising, Splinter Cell, Gears of War, Hexic, Call of Duty 3, Uno, and Rainbow Six Vegas (my 360 collection).
I have to give a lot of credit to the downloadable demos. I would never, EVER have been interested in Rainbox Six Vegas had I not tried and loved the mulitplayer terrorist hunt demo. The Tomb Raider Legends demo convinced me that the game would actually be fun and take me back to the good time I had with the original game, so that's another game I purchased from the demo. I got a ton of mileage out of the Far Cry "capture the flag" demo, so I picked up the game. My library is only around 10 titles currently, so that's a third of my library that I wouldn't have purchased had it not been for the demos.
Of course, it can also backfire. After wanting Phantasy Star Universe like you wouldn't believe, I tried the beta demo, and then decided I didn't need to be in any rush to get it. *heh*
Of course, it can also backfire. After wanting Phantasy Star Universe like you wouldn't believe, I tried the beta demo, and then decided I didn't need to be in any rush to get it. *heh*
The Faceless Master said:
This is the answer.
It is simply more fun to play the games everyone else is playing, and of course these games change regularly. Regardless of whether or not Microsoft "wins" this generation, they have created an online platform that they should be able to leverage for a long time to come.
The biggest challenge for MS will be to see if they can extend beyond the Shooter niche they are currently dominating. Racers, fighters, action, rpg - none of these have really had break out online hits yet. They need a GT equivalent online. They need a Warcraft equivalent. etc. If they can't get these, they won't win the generation.
shidoshi said:
This is one reason why new IP does so well on the 360 as well. In the long run this will be a huge deal for MS because most devs will see the kind of exposure they can get there and automatically want to include any new IPs on the platform.
shidoshi said:
I wouldn't consider that backfiring though, I would see it as an example of them building customer loyalty. They've setup a platform that can deliver more games to you that you can enjoy while helping you avoid the ones you don't like. Furthermore, I would imagine that in the future, you would avoid a lot of games where you couldn't play a demo unless you already knew a lot about them.
doicare said:
1. The article is old.
2. It is apparently worldwide as the U.S. tie ratio should be slightly lower than 5.3 and they mention 2.7 million for Gears which is much higher than the U.S. number.
Guessing 3.5 million sold outside of the U.S. puts the non-U.S. tie ratio at ~5.6.
The Faceless Master
Member
as long as the demos make people want to buy more games that they didn't plan to than discourage the purchase of games they planned to, then the pverall system hasn't backfired, it's just getting people to buy more games they will like.shidoshi said:
blazinglazers
Member
This is the truth. The 360 has a great library, but it's the seamless community that really drives the sales. Just two weekends ago one of my friends bought R6:V after loving the demo, and after we had been playing together online he bought the vision cam because it was so hilarious seeing my custom character. We bought our vision cam originally so my roommate could video chat with his brother, via 360, in a different state. I have three fiends who will be buying Crackdown day one because we had so much fun playing the demo together over Live. And that game wasn't even on my radar until the demo, before that I thought it looked like crap.Arsenal said:
Two words: XBOX LIVE. That's the biggest reason.
Downloadable demos - much more people are getting access to demos now that you don't need a magazine subscription. Look at what the demos did for games like Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Fight Night 3, Crackdown, etc.
Friends - people play what their friends are playing. When they see their whole friends list is playing a game, they figure "Oh, maybe I should buy that too". Then everyone moves on to the next game. Also messaging - I've got quite a few (mass)-messages from people giving me a heads up on the crackdown beta thing, Halo 3 documentary, and for game releases too. That's free marketing.
Achievements / Gamerscore - i've read quite a few people saying they would buy a game just for the achievement points, and also people saying they'd prefer to get the 360 version of multiplatform games for them.
Other marketplace stuff - downloadable trailers, video documentary stuff, gamer pictures, dashboard themes, etc. All of this stuff drives hype to the games.
Downloadable demos - much more people are getting access to demos now that you don't need a magazine subscription. Look at what the demos did for games like Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Fight Night 3, Crackdown, etc.
Friends - people play what their friends are playing. When they see their whole friends list is playing a game, they figure "Oh, maybe I should buy that too". Then everyone moves on to the next game. Also messaging - I've got quite a few (mass)-messages from people giving me a heads up on the crackdown beta thing, Halo 3 documentary, and for game releases too. That's free marketing.
Achievements / Gamerscore - i've read quite a few people saying they would buy a game just for the achievement points, and also people saying they'd prefer to get the 360 version of multiplatform games for them.
Other marketplace stuff - downloadable trailers, video documentary stuff, gamer pictures, dashboard themes, etc. All of this stuff drives hype to the games.
You're count is off. I think. I'm looking at this:
http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/simpleratings.asp
And see 44 games starting at the 85% mark. 6 are XBLA games, so 38 if you're not counting those.
http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/simpleratings.asp
And see 44 games starting at the 85% mark. 6 are XBLA games, so 38 if you're not counting those.
seriously.. gamerscore and achievements. You cant go on an xbox forum without hundreds of people calling others out about their low gamerscore, or their "aim to beat 40,000GS" before their friend, proof of who got the game before retail date, etc. Its a genius idea, and.. even more suprisingly from microsoft.. an original one.
The Faceless Master
Member
what?TigersFan said:
pooteeweet
Banned
TigersFan said:
It means the exact opposite of that.
speculawyer
Member
PantherLotus said:
I think you could say the same thing about the early PS2 and xbox buyers.
I don't think it will be much of a problem for either MSFT or Sony eventually. The hardcore early-adopter is a young male shooter/sports/racer ethusiast. That's where the big money is. However, over time, as the console price drops, the other types of software will become more common and the demographic will broaden.
It may be more prominent this generation but that is only because the software publishers have more years of experience and are better at figuring out how to allocate their software development teams. Why don't you see much non shooter/sports/racer software for the xbox 360? Because it doesn't sell well. Look at Viva . . . it is a great game but got pathetic sales. Lego Star Wars 2 was another great title but only got mediocre sales on the xbox 360 (much bigger sales on older platformers.). Why? because the kiddies get the cheap platforms or hand-me down platforms.
But over time, (and more importantly, as console prices drop) things will change.
SA-X said:lol, how about because the PS3 just came out.
I guess but according to EA the PS3 attach rate is still lower than the 360 attach rate at the same time last year. *shrug*
Barf_the_Mog
powerless or are they? o_O
TigersFan said:
Anyone else just get the sudden urge to weep for humanity?
I should also point out that the Xbox and Gamecube had the benefit of riding the wave of second generation PS2 games, and as a result received tons of multiplatform support not normally due a company in their position.
The Xbox 360 on the other hand has had to compete with the last gasps of Sony's generation while having negligible Japanese support.
The Xbox 360 on the other hand has had to compete with the last gasps of Sony's generation while having negligible Japanese support.
LJ11 said:
The other 10 million people who own one. I only paid $60 for one game; Dead Rising and it wasn't worth it.
The best thing about the high attach rate is that by browsing various forums and ebay, you can get games for cheap. I got a mint Gears for $35 shipped only two months after launch. There's no need to buy 360 games new, because the price drops so fast. EB's used prices are a ripoff though, only $5 off.
And, just to clarify-- is there a reason you're not using the PS2 release date as March 2000? Many of your games came out well after 14 months of the PS2 being released. I didn't check all of games in your list, but 4 out of the 5 I checked were "wrong":
Madden NFL 2002 - 8/29/2001 (17 months)
Grand Theft Auto III - 10/22/2001 (19 months)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - 11/12/2001 (20 months)
Final Fantasy X - 7/19/2001 in JP (16 months)
So, for the sake of argument, your figures are not really accurate, from an apples-to-apples point of view.
Madden NFL 2002 - 8/29/2001 (17 months)
Grand Theft Auto III - 10/22/2001 (19 months)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - 11/12/2001 (20 months)
Final Fantasy X - 7/19/2001 in JP (16 months)
So, for the sake of argument, your figures are not really accurate, from an apples-to-apples point of view.
Xbox fans are just that much more loyal and hardcore. It seems every 360 title is rated as "the next big thing" so all 360s owners go out and buy it to pledge their support, Nintendo fans do this a lot too but you have to realize that 360 is an expensive system and that in general 360 gamers have more disposable income that those of other consoles, save the PS3. Also those craftily retarded achievement points aim directly at those gaming perfectionists that are validated by a large e-penis, they'll buy more games just on the principal that it'll score them more points.
Game demos do jack-**** I garuantee it. For every demo that makes you want a game there's at least one other that will completely turn you off, especically given the high price of games.
Game demos do jack-**** I garuantee it. For every demo that makes you want a game there's at least one other that will completely turn you off, especically given the high price of games.
All the OP's statistic serves is as evidence of the completely obvious (given the mediocre adoption rate) fact that the console's audience is primarily composed of hardcore gamers.
That's the reason the tie is so high. It has nothing to do with demos, quality of games, or anything Microsoft has done. As countless analysts have mentioned, this tie ratio is so high it is troublesome because it demonstrates that the average Joe isn't adopting the system en masse and if the 360 outperforms the PS3 in the long term without a surge in adoption rates, will certainly serve as a case study for how "mainstream game consoles" serve an increasingly narrowing niche and not a mass market.
That's the reason the tie is so high. It has nothing to do with demos, quality of games, or anything Microsoft has done. As countless analysts have mentioned, this tie ratio is so high it is troublesome because it demonstrates that the average Joe isn't adopting the system en masse and if the 360 outperforms the PS3 in the long term without a surge in adoption rates, will certainly serve as a case study for how "mainstream game consoles" serve an increasingly narrowing niche and not a mass market.
pooteeweet
Banned
2600 said:
Ssh. People bought games on PS2 cuz they were awesome games. People buy games on 360 cuz they're zealots.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
PantherLotus said:
I did:
DeaconKnowledge said:
pooteeweet
Banned
Juice said:
Countless? I have a feeling I could count the anaylsts that said selling too much software is a bad thing.
Speevy said:
I just realized the OP is specifically talking abou US sales. (Even if the attach rate figure is WW?).
Anyway, now that I think about it, I guess it doesn't really matter that the PS2 was out 7 months earlier in Japan. The point is attach rates vs. the number of quality games, regardless of how they came into being.
You people are thinking too much...The 360 launched at a time when people were ready to upgrade their aging ps2s and xboxes. Had the PS3 launched at the same time, it would probably been a different story regardless of price. I still think that a lot of people who've "jumped in" were ps2 fans unwilling to wait an extra year. Add to that the fact that the 360 was the must own, must have item of X-Mas 2005 and you've got a possible success story.
In the end, it was more about timeing...MS capitalized while Sony faltered. It's only going to get worse as this is starting to feel more and more like the DS vs PSP.
In the end, it was more about timeing...MS capitalized while Sony faltered. It's only going to get worse as this is starting to feel more and more like the DS vs PSP.
Somnid said:
I agree with many of your points, but I believe Xbox gamers flock to new games really quickly, because they don't want to feel left out on Live. It sucks when the usual guys you play X game with all take off and start playing Y. You end up wanting to join them, so you make the purchase. Guys on Live are always asking each other "which game are you getting next?" This "community" approach that MS is trying to foster, not only through Xbox Live but with other products including Vista, is really taking fold.
After playing NBA Street and GRAW 2 I saved $120, so demos can go either way IMO.
goldenpp72
Member
I think the attach rate is high due to demos and the games being good. I will say I wouldnt own half of my games had there been no demos for them, I can't be assed to bother renting.
community aspect.
when people see what all their friends are playing, they'll buy the game so they can play along and chat with them about the game, at the same time. i've bought crappier games just to play with friends on live, and had more fun doing that than playing a higher rated game elsewhere.
when people see what all their friends are playing, they'll buy the game so they can play along and chat with them about the game, at the same time. i've bought crappier games just to play with friends on live, and had more fun doing that than playing a higher rated game elsewhere.
Mana Knight
Banned
It's because many Xbox fans have a lot of money; therefore, they buy a lot of games. I've seen many mediocre games sell over 100k on release, like Over G Fighters, N3, Cromehounds, and others.
I don't really think Xbox 360 has very many good games at all (I've played most all the good ones too).
I don't really think Xbox 360 has very many good games at all (I've played most all the good ones too).
That argument makes no sense against the original argument. What does it matter what those games would score today? The comparison is with THEIR OWN 14 MONTH PERIODS, so all that should be relevant is the critical reception within those time periods alone.Sho_Nuff82 said:
Not that I'm really going to sit back and defend the position or anything since using Gamerankings is sort of arbitrary and asinine. Though, to be fair, my entire collection of 360 games is Oblivion, Gears of War, Lumines, free Hexic, and free Texas Hold 'Em, so I can't really sit back and say the 360 lineup to date has been terribly compelling either.
But the future looks totally awesome for the 360, so I'm glad I've saved my money now for what's coming.
Karma Kramer
Banned
doicare said:
So have we answered your question yet... or are you just going to keep pretending you still don't know and keep reminding us how poor xbox 360 software is compared to other consoles?
Because it seems you already knew the answer to the question but just posted this thread to get a rise out of the xbox community.
krypt0nian
Banned
Mana Knight said:
ok.
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