UnitSmiley said: The article kind of makes me laugh since core gamers have been what Microsoft has dropped recently. PS3 is the one catering more to the core gamer. Citing games like CoD then saying "hardcore" tickles me pink. Honestly the reasons I see for its success are all superficial ones. I HOPE I don't offend anybody as these are just my opinion and experiences. In the US, everything is a popularity contest. If it's advertised as being the best, most people will believe it to be true. Microsoft is much better at advertising than the other two. After just about every multiplat game commercial at the end you'll see "Xbox 360". I cringed when I saw a Final Fantasy XIII commercial with the 360 logo after it lol. I think Microsoft is really good and pretending they are the absolute best when it comes to everything, and most "gamers" don't know any better. Which leads me to my second point. A lot of people who call themselves "gamers" in the US really aren't. They don't love the hobby or media and they don't have a passion for it. All they care about is doing things with their friends to stay socially relevant. Again not trying to offend anybody but seriously i've met a TON of people who are 360 fans. Not one of them knew anything about gaming at all. All they played was CoD and Halo. Most of them didn't even know the difference between a multiplat and an exclusive game. Yet those same people who know nothing are so quick to attack either Nintendo or Sony. Usually with poor or outdated arguements that can be objectively disproved in a few seconds. Then they resort to "Well whatever it still sucks" I've seen the hive mind mentality with far too many 360 fans. Even to the point where when I engage them in a friendly debate (not being a jerk or anything) it becomes immediately apparent that they are still using the old arguments of "Sony has go gaemz" from 2007, which they probably heard from someone else to be honest. They never know about new and upcoming games even if it's for their system as well. And don't get me started on how most of them don't even know what Uncharted is lol. Yeah Sony is terrible at advertising but come on..how have you not at least HEARD of it before? I've shown a ton of people trailers for PS3 exclusives and they all get excited. "Whoa that looks amazing! When's that coming out?" "Any pre order bonuses?" Then I tell them it's a PS3 exclusive and they respond with "oh.." and change the subject right away. Also i'm totally in awe when I see someone pretend that they aren't interested in a game just because it's not on the 360. "Demons Souls? Psh, who would want to play that? Way too hard" then a few years later "Omg Dark Souls is the best thing ever!!" I'm not dissing REAL 360 fans, like the ones on this site (you have to be a real gamer to check and post on a videogame sales website lol) but the majority of 360 fans I have met are as casual as they come. Honestly Microsoft has done some great things like innovating the social aspect of playing online and actually I'm pretty fond of Gears myself. Sony started pretty poorly and the media sure didn't let anyone miss that fact, but they have done an outstanding job turning things around. I like Nintendo games (Pokemon omg) I like some Microsoft games (Gears) but I strongly feel that Sony is the one who isn't riding the casual train atm. I know not to associate the people I have met to be representative of the whole, but honestly I'm finding it extremely hard to see Microsofts success as nothing more than fooling those who don't know any better. Justing Bieber is popular too, I guess it's because he appeals to hardcore music lovers right? That's my opinion and I realize many might or might not agree with it, I don't mean to offend anyone. But like the thread title asks, I to have been curious as to why the 360 is so popular here. Then I look around and find my answer.
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Well you're wording is kinda silly, and many would find it offensive, but your opinion is valid.
About Advertizing, Wii is doing just as good as 360 in USA, with a much smaller advertizing budget. Nintendo's strongest region is often USA, and software typically sells best here (but Japan ties hardware/software for handhelds despite the smaller population). Could you explain why?
I agree with you, many US 360 owners are casual gamers, or Call of Duty gamers, who really aren't "hardcore." However there are exceptions, I tend to consider myself a MS/Nintendo fan, but I'm really not that into Halo or CoD. I like my 360 for games like Lost Odyssey, Gears of War, and Forza, plus a few multiplats which play better on 360 (Mass Effect trilogy, FallOut, Bayonetta, etc).
LOL, what's funny is that the 360 gamers you know are a lot like the PS3 gamers I know. Most PS3 gamers I know in person bought a PS3 either for a multiplatform series (FIFA, Madded, Call of Duty) or as a cheap Blu-Ray player and then got a couple multiplatform games for out. Outside of VGC I only know 1 PS3 gamer who knows anything about gaming, and actually has PS3 exclusives.
For the same reason CoD and Halo attract many blind casual 360 fans, FIFA and Gran Turismo attract many blind casual PS3 fans. The difference is that in USA you have more CoD nuts, and in Europe, you have more FIFA nuts.
However I agree with you. The PS3 hasn't caught on the casual train as intensively as Wii or 360. This is probably largly due to Sony's poor early marketing campaign, and difficulty making a AAA exclusive in the early PS3 years. Lets face it, pre 2009, PS3 sucked, Wii and 360 were awesome. Only halfway through the gen, Sony started to make up, and make gamers for the gamers. However if you actually count, 360 still has more exclusives. Still, I will even agree that the PS3 is currently the better system, but in order to catch the casual train, Sony needed games like LittleBig Planet and Gran Turismo earlier in the gen.