May 2013 NPD Thread!

[binary solo]

RolStoppable said:

binary solo said:

It's not about games, it's about utility and budgets. Shall I get a tablet, which has X,Y,Z uses that are useful in my life, oh and it plays fun casual games, which are fun? Or shall I get a console which plays games and does some other stuff which is less useful in my life and can all be done on devices I already own or on a tablet? Or shall I get both? Hmmm can't afford both, I like motion gaming and social gaming but I already have a Wii, so tablet it is.

If I was part of that blue ocean (and I fancied a tablet) then that would very much be my line of thinking. I would almost certaily buy a tablet over a console if I could only buy one, especially if I already had a Wii. Those blue ocean folks are not invested in having the latest and greatest console, and they're less influenced by shinier visuals, better AI, and cool particle effects. There's actually not a lot of perceived value in dropping $350 for a WiiU. No more than there is perceived value in having a $500 KinectBox which is basically a universal remote contol device with some apps.

It is about games. People buy consoles to play games. The perceived value of a console comes from the games it plays and how much the console and the games cost.

The problem with your line of thinking is that it assumes some kind of purchase must be made (many people who can afford consoles don't buy them). The other problem is that your line of thinking can be applied to the last two decades between home consoles and PCs. So why did consoles sell despite PCs having X, Y, Z uses? The answer can only be the games.

You're thinking like a gamer. Your historical precedent is based on the fact that almost 100% of people buying consoles think like you, therefore they did as you have done: buy a console every generation. That's not how Nitendo's blue ocean thinks.

Perhaps as much as 50% of people who bought a Wii, and maybe 10% of people who bought a 360+Kinect, were not gamers when they bought a Wii/360+K, and they are still not really gamers to the extent that they have bought into the concept of upgrading to a new console cyclically. So these people already have a Wii or a 360. But maybe they don't have a tablet yet. Thinking as an occasional player of casual/social video games are you going to be inclined to buy another console to get what you perceive to be more or less the same experience, or are you going to buy a tablet to get other gaming and non-gaming experiences, which you perceive (mostly correctly) to be somewhat different to what you get on console?

I'm picking tablet wins that decision battle at least 75% of the time.