Gamer scores could explain increased sales in used/cheap games and rentals, but that wouldn't explain the higher attach rate alone.
A more likely explanation is that the Xbox is very much a core demographic platform, despite MS' attempts to break into a broader market. We'll see how that works out this holiday season with the price drops and the consumer friendly Xbox360 2.0 UI this Fall.
That's not a necessarily a bad thing though since core gamers simply buy more games than any other demographic.
It's no coincidence that the same core demographic is home to virtually all gamer score addicts, who will buy cheap used games and/or rent games of questionable quality or games they never would have played otherwise, simply for the achievement points.
That was actually one of the most brilliant ideas the 360 brought to the current generation in terms of increasing replay value and to a lesser extent, selling sub-par games that happen to have easy achievements.
When I see someone with over 10k points, it doesn't make me say "Wow! That guy must be one of the best gamers on XBL!!!" It makes me say "Wow. That guy must really spend a lot of time playing Xbox games."
In effect, all the gamer score really represents is how much time a player devotes to playing games on the 360. It's an ideal tool for MS to track and monitor user base gaming habits. Yes, it's a market research survey tool.
Existing User Log In
New User Registration
Register for a free account to gain full access to the VGChartz Network and join our thriving community.
