| happydolphin said: Hi friends, this is a speculation thread. Yep, you're on a sales site about market analysis, and well we're gonna speculate. Anyways, on to the analysis. After watching the xbox presentation on May 21st, here are the points I came up with, leading me to believe that Microsoft is considering Nintendo its main competition for the generation ahead:
Focus on non-gaming content & partnerships: NFL Fantasy league: Microsoft entered in a 400m$ partnership over 5 years with the NFL. In the process, the presentation highlighted the importance of a fantasy league that is always up to date and can be tracked while watching live football. We remember that Nintendo showed a similar type of interactive tv content in their WiiU demonstration in June last year. Kinect 2.0 vs Nintendo's interactive market: Also, Microsoft is expanding on its Kinect experience and made that clear at their presentation. This is direct competition to Nintendo's new highly interactive experience market that they opened once again with Wii (after some of the long-lost breakthroughs during the NES era). The kinect is being beefed for higher precision and better interaction between the human and the machine. TV content on the console, a one-stop shop: On top of that, Microsoft is opening the doors to some TV content, making the One a one-stop shop for the consumer. This is a direct response to some of the TV features Nintendo presented last year, and an expansion of it. Rapid context switching: Microsoft highlighted the importance of parallel skyping while playing a game, which was an important feature in the WiiU proof of concept video. While kinect 2.0 allows to switch from one app to another using voice command and gestures, Nintendo was showcasing offering options on the gamepad to allow users to share snapshots of where they were when they last died, and cam about it on the Nintendo cam application and ask for hints, all offering a seamless experience between their games and their communications.
The flip-side Microsoft still competing with Sony in terms of the traditional market With all of that, Microsoft is continuing its legacy of high-performing hardware, and is going head-to-head with Sony once again. However, we all know that Nintendo's market is the bigger one, having sold many more units than Sony and MS individually last gen. So, I believe Microsoft realized this and is leaving Sony in the dust with their increased targetting of the market that is not dedicated gamers. They got the dedicated player, now they want to challenge Nintendo on their hold of the non-gamer market and become the ultimate gaming provider, for gamers and non-gamers. Sony might join the fray Though this far Sony only showed their games at their unveiling, it's not far-fetched to believe that they will incorporate upgrades to the PS4 prior to launch or post launch so as to allow them to compete in the expanded market. A bite in the butt Some of the policies they announced or that are speculated are hurting the ears of some dedicated gamers, some of which are the inability to play games on a friends' system, having to connect once a day to the internet and a few other non-consumer friendly measures. Will this take a toll on Microsoft's competitivity with regards to the market it competes with Sony on, that of the dedicated gamer?
Take a stab at it. |
I think it is pretty clear that Microsoft's main competition is Google and Apple. Some of the feautres of the XBone and Wii U are similar, but this is not because Microsoft is "targetting" them. This is simply because we expect multifunctionality from a device these days. It's more of the Wii U and XBone travelling, to some extent, in the same direction. I think Sony will also have a lot of these features. Remember, Nintendo debuted the Wii U at E3 2011, and they showed off TVii at September 2012. Sony may very well have a similar feature.
If Microsoft was really targeting Nintendo, they would need to show off the experiences that made the Wii successful. You can't take on Nintendo without having something to combat Mario, Wii Fit, Mario Kart, Smash, Pokemon, etc. If they were targeting Nintendo, they wouldn't focus the small games portion of their presentation on EA Sports stuff and COD. That's not how you speak to the Wii audience.
Who is Microsoft targeting? Well, I don't know how to say this nicely... but tools. The kind of people who play COD each year not because they actually like games but because all of their friends play it. The kind of people who line up for the iPhone 5 because they think it will make them cool, and the kind of people who buy a Samsung Galaxy 4 while making fun of the iPhone 5 people and not realizing that they're doing the exact same thing. The kind of person who plays fantasy football and doesn't know the difference between a safety and a cornerback. The kind of person who buys an iPad mini after they just bought an iPad 4 because last year Apple said people wanted a big screen, and this year Apple says small screens are better. The kind of person who buys beats headphones to listen to their pop music despite the fact that beats pretty much only provide only bass. The kind of person who goes to a Giants superbowl parade and says that their favorite player is Sanchez. The kind of person who never had an interest in any sort of zombie movie but watches the walking dead. The kind of person who never read a comic book but lines up at midnight for Dark Knight rises. The kind of person who cares what is trending on twitter. The kind of person who buys a tablet when they have no logical need for one. The kind of person who buys things not for utility but for status. The kind of person who put Gangnam style on their iPod like it was anything more than a novelty. The kind of person will be convinced by Microsoft that they need to multitask on their TV because that will make them tech savvy and hip. Tools. They're targeting tools.
/Hipster rant
