Microsoft Natal. Will we see an increase in console sales when it arrives?

[Lord N]

selnor said:

Lord N said:

selnor said:
^ You realise when it is released, Natal comes with the 360 out of the box? Meaning it will definately be supported by 3rd parties. Also you have no idea what the software is, I'm sure their will be a new type of software we have never before seen, and cannot be ported to Wii.

Pricing will likely stay the same or drop. £159 360 with Natal + games package. A year from now, thats a given.

1) Nothing concrete has been said about Natal coming out of the box. Even if it were, it wouldn't get any serious third-party support, because like I said, every 360 owner wouldn't have it.

As far as software is concerned, since when has MS released a game that has the appeal of the software that we've seen on the Wii or DS? Every "casual" game they've released like Banjo & Kazooie, Scene It, Lips, Kameo, Viva Pinata, etc has fallen short of expectations, so what makes you think this will suddenly change just because of a controller that only a fraction of 360 owners will have?

 

Without a doubt those games would have sold more on Wii, because of the demographic. But Wii family owners would not buy a 360 as is for those games. However if they used Natal and were advertised on TV as that, I bet my bottom dollar/pound that families would buy Natal. It's all about the marketing. Marketing ads in the vain of this:

Would definately sell to casual family people who own a Wii. Because it appears to be a genuine tech advancement on the wii. It's a type of marketing like this which has caused Natal's Facebook and Twitter pages to have millions of hits. It's not about the hardcore market who own a 360 already, it's about those casuals who own a wii and say wow look what this does. M$ know they have the hype, they know they have to deliver experiences that are family friendly and are not able to be done on Wii. The majority of Wii games that sell are the type of games that aren't done by Nintendo. The casuals I know, don't play SMG or Zelda. They play cooking games, brain games etc. These are easy to make better with Natal.

I don't think you understand here.

The Wii has had the Wiimote since day one. It has targeted every demographic since day one in both interface and in software. This is not true of the 360. If it's one thing you notice about the software that's driven the Wii and DS, not only does it appeal to every demographic, it's first party. Microsoft has never released a first party game with that kind of universal appeal, and third parties aren't going to take those kinds of risks with an add-on that only a small fraction of the 360 userbase will have. They simply can't afford to.

It also isn't going to sell to people who already own a Wii because most people buy only one system. It isn't just about making games that are family friendly, either. Nintendo's software isn't popular because they have some games for this demographic, and then other games for that demographic, and then other games for that demographic and so on and so forth, but it's popular because it appeals to everybody. All of the top Nintendo software this generation is challenging enough for core/hardcore/veteran gamers to enjoy and accessible enough for newcomers and casual gamers to enjoy.