Loud_Hot_White_Box said:
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2168835/intensely-loyal-playstation
"Sony has come under fire for the delivery delays and high prices of its PlayStation 3, but "intensely" loyal existing PlayStation owners are more likely to upgrade to the console than defect to rival devices from Microsoft or Nintendo. A survey of 1,725 consumers by ABI Research found that the percentage of PlayStation 2 owners showing interest in a next-generation console is lower than that of other console owners. However, their "intensity of loyalty" to Sony products was higher when considering a next-generation purchase. The poll suggested that 60 per cent of those who own a PlayStation 2 and are considering a new console are likely to buy a PlayStation 3. This compared with 45 per cent of Xbox owners looking to buy an Xbox 360, and 46 per cent of GameCube owners looking to buy a Wii. "We believe that Sony's much larger installed base, combined with higher loyalty among current generation owners, could translate into significant gains for Sony if it can convert these prospective owners," said ABI Research director Michael Wolf. "Microsoft and Nintendo, while still seeing strong overall loyalty, do not enjoy the same intensity." Nearly a fifth of survey respondents said they were likely to buy a games console in the coming year, compared with 28 per cent of active gamers. "Not surprisingly, the interest in the new generation of consoles grows significantly among the already converted," said Wolf. "While we think that the market of console owners will likely expand beyond its current bases, we believe that the market for the next one to two years will be driven by current console owners upgrading to the new generation.""
http://www.abiresearch.com/abiprdisplay.jsp?pressid=764
"A new survey has shown that despite efforts by video game console manufacturers to expand their reach to non-gamers, interest in next-generation consoles is largely centered among those who are current console gamers. |
The problem with this survey (they are the same one just the first one is reporting the results of the second url) is that it was done in October 2006, before the PS3 and Wii started selling. When they looked at the actual price tag of the PS3, the intensity died a bit.
"their interest in buying a new game console, a total of 18% said they were likely to buy one in the coming year, compared with 28% of active gamers. Interest rose even more dramatically when asking those who currently play on a console, with 42% of PlayStation 2 owners, 55% of Xbox owners and 54% of GameCube owners indicating they were likely to buy a new console."
If the numbers had panned out, in 2007, 42% of PS2 owners should have bought a PS3, or about 42M. Didn't happen. It could be argued that 'currently play' gamers were, say, only half as many, thus 21% were 'currently playing gamers'. That would be around 21M PS3 in 2007. Not there either.
A new survey is needed. One that finds out what price the PS3 needs to be before a PS2 owner will buy it. And checks to see how many PS2 buyers already have a X360 or a Wii.
'we believe that the market for the next 1 to 2 years will be driven by current console owners upgrading to the new generation.'
I suppose it was, somewhat. But the PS2 in the last 2 years has outsold the PS3. And the X360 and Wii have (combined) outsold Sony's combined PS2/3. Perhaps the Xbox and Gamecube owner had more reasons to want to upgrade more than the PS2ers.
Torturing the numbers. Hear them scream.
