The Real showdown: Gears of War 1 vs Killzone 2

[Sardauk]

Gh0st4lifE said:

WereKitten said:
I can venture a guess, though: maybe more detailed demographic analysis is in order?

Even with an install base of only 6 million units, those 6 million early adopters were probably exactly the demographic Gears was targeted for.
Early adopter of the first hd console means tech enthusiast (or "graphic whore" if you only own a Wii ;) ), thus sensible to Gears' eye-candy. The Xbox brand meant Halo and local multiplayer gaming, thus I also expect those early adopters to be shooter players and happy for the local coop.

On the other hand, even today with 21M PS3s the demographic is much more varied and less NA-centric, and the carried over users who went along for the brand were never big shooter fans. Actually I wouldn't be surprised if only about one third to half of the current PS3 install base is all that interested in shooters, so I expect sales in line with Gears 1 in absolute terms.

 

Exactly, plus those early adopters must also have the highest willingness to pay, which would also explain 360's higher attachment rate. They would buy the game without being too enthusiastic about it, just to try it out at least.

Also, the buzz generated around Gears was progressive and without hick-ups as Killzones'. False claims backfire pretty quickly on the web and Sony forgets that too often.

Last but not least, the first Xbox attracted those willing to play fps on a console, while Sony never really encouraged the genre until recently.

 

Correct, I remember the first time I played the 360... it was at a friend's place. big new HD screen, good surround and Gears 1.... Waouuuuu look at that !It was really amazing at that time.

 

It definitly pushed me to buy an HD screen and a 360.

 

Now I believe the 360 hyped this genre and attracted a lot of players indeed.