Gaming is a ‘family’ affair now..
by Allegionary (OXCGN’s Teenage Gamer)
© 2010 Alex Hilton
I love my Xbox 360 and even enjoy my father’s PS3, but during the holidays the Nintendo Wii dominates gameplay everywhere I go.
Every individual family in my humongous extended family has now purchased one and all ages are vigorously playing non-stop it seems (causing a lot of muscle strain). My local games store manager has said the Wii is still by far the best seller this holiday season, and recent statistics seem to back that up (see below).
Yet in our house the Wii only gets dusted off during the holidays or other big family or friend events. I was sure the console would finally be dying by year’s end with the sheer lack of unique games and the gimmicky nature of the console exposed.
The Wii is used more during the holidays in my house because my parents aren’t working as much, the relatives invade the city, and the family needs something to do together besides argue with each other.
The Wii is chosen by the majority because of the simplicity of use for non-gamers and gamers alike and because of the enjoyment of playing as a family when 360 and PS3 games have mostly given up on split-screen at-home fun.
Let’s ‘all’ get sporty shall we
We received Wii Sports Resort for Christmas, which is a game that consists of many different mini-games like swordplay, which involves waving the Wii remote like a sword as you try to knock your opponent off a platform. These mini games are quick, funny, and anyone can play but the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 just don’t appeal to everyone.
I tried to get people playing Halo 3 multiplayer by system-link but the controls and obvious skill levels of the players meant that only certain people won all the time no matter what the settings. Most soon gave up and wanted the Wii back.
Despite the primitive graphics and limited game genres the Wii is still fun to play. Even though most games released for it are ‘shovelware’ crap, there are some games that are still enjoyable even when the game’s environments don’t look realistic.
The Xbox or Playstation may have better graphics and game libraries but the games cannot be enjoyed the same way socially at home like the Wii.
Even though we had to take turns it was still fun to watch other members of the family play the game, and the more inexperienced the gamer, the more fun and laughter there was. Competition between look-alike Mii avatars of people just can’t be taken too seriously.
The Wii does not require multiple button pressing or sharp reflexes and isn’t only done sitting down, which is why it appeals to those in the family that would never dream of pressing buttons for hours. I have an uncle who cannot sit still for movies, let alone games, but once he started playing the Wii he couldn’t stop.
Attachments, attachments attachments = FUN
The attachments that you can attach to the Wii controller have also made the Wii more enjoyable for youngsters. We used the Wii Zapper for a game called Link’s Crossbow Training which involves holding the Wii remote in a gun-like way with the Wii Zapper and shooting the various enemies and targets by aiming and pulling the trigger. The Wii Zapper made the game a little more realistic.
The game Wii Fit is one of the favourites of my extended family because they feel like they are doing something healthy while playing. Mind you that didn’t stop them from eating more Christmas pudding.
The Wii is even good for the gamers, even though they probably get more satisfaction from their Xbox or PS3. They use the Wii more on the holidays because of the social aspect of playing as a family or as a group of friends. I could be sitting alone in my room playing my 360 and miss out on being with others, but the Wii allows me to play games with them instead.
Gamers also find it enjoyable because of the competitive aspect of playing tennis or baseball and having competition even from newbies who just hit lucky.
My mum who is a nurse has come across elderly people who would never have gotten a game console but who got a Wii for Christmas. They enjoyed the way that it does not require too much concentration at all and how it entertains them for hours. The Wii not only appeals to the younger generation but also the older generation as well.
Also, many hospital kids’ wards are getting them.
Statistics don’t lie
The NPD November 2009 sales figures show us that the Wii has sold more than the Xbox 360 or the PS3:
• Wii – 1.26M
• Xbox 360 – 819,500
• PS3 – 710,400
The Wii has sold approximately 400,000 more than the Xbox 360 and approximately 500,000 more than the PS3 in the early lead up to Christmas. It is likely that this has been the case throughout the holidays. Certainly my local game store manager says so.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 may very occasionally have local multiplayer but it is usually not as family orientated as the Wii when it does. There are a few games like Scene It?, which is a game where you can use a unique buzzer-controller to answer your questions about various movies, that are family games but there aren’t too many.
My six year old brother can beat me at tennis and feel good, where there are few games he’s allowed to play on the 360 or PS3. Those that actually do have local multiplayer he can play still upset him because he tends to come last all the time. That makes the Wii the best option for him.
Is Online gaming THAT much fun for families?
360-PS3 games are seen mostly as violent by the 'general public'
There is also a problem for the Xbox 360 and PS3 where lots of multiplayer games are online-only which means the family can’t have a social gathering to play the game and they would have to have at least two Xbox 360s or PS3s.
Another problem for 360 owners is that it costs to get Xbox Live Gold and a wireless adaptor which deters the family even more from getting an Xbox to play a multiplayer game.
The Playstation 3 may have free online multiplayer but you still need to buy at least two PS3s to enjoy the experience of the multiplayer which is a lot of money that casual or non-gamers don’t like to spend on video games. It is telling that even though the 360 and PS3 are much more competitive in price with the Wii these days that the Wii still sells so strongly.
Xboxs and PS3s may have the better graphics, dvd and blu ray (PS3), online multiplayer, more variety of games but casual and non-gamers might not understand them, find them too time consuming or intimidating, or have heard bad press over the terribly ‘violent’ games, and so they often won’t even give them a try.
With a Wii it is easy to understand what to do so the non-gamers have a go and have fun while they’re at it. Even if a child (or even one parent) wants a 360 or PS3 and even if they represent better value for money, many parents often will go the safe route and pick cutsy Wii.
However, things could all change by next holiday season…
Expect to see this incorporated into the new Xbox chassis later in the year when the NEW Xbox 720 is announced.
Microsoft has announced Project Natal, which is an add-on gadget for the Xbox 360 that can trace your movements onto the TV screen. Natal can use you as a controller and use your movements to govern what it does. For example, in a racing game it can use the position of your arms to direct the car, which resembles the way of driving a car in real life. This shows great potential in attracting casual or non-gamers in new ways.
Sony has also announced a new motion controller for the PS3 that is supposed to be better than the Wii’s controller (but kind of looks like a hand-held nightlight…). The problem with the new controller is that it can’t be used for every game (as the current ’tilting’ controller can) and you also need the Playstation Eye attachment but it does provide some buttons whereas the Natal does not.
In both cases it is a question of extra cost and if getting one might not be worth it. It will also depend on the software made for them as to how successful they will be.
The new hardware for Xbox 360 and PS3 might seem way better than the Wii but it has not yet been released so I don’t know how it will go. I am not yet convinced that the Xbox or PS3 will rule the next holidays with this new technology because it does not yet seem to replace the simple family oriented fun that Wii has to offer, and the Wii is in so many homes already now.
The Wii is a family console that appeals to everyone young and old, gamer or non-gamer and the fact that the Wiis are still selling so well every holiday means Nintendo must be doing something right.
At any rate I am going back to the Wii now to play some swordplay and knock my father off the platform again. But I’m sure I’ll get back to my 360 soon when everyone is gone and I’m sick of mini-games and last gen looks.
© 2010 Alex Hilton
Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Blogbanter, Console gaming, E3 2009, Editorial, Events, Game Dev Con 09, Game Impressions, Game Industry News, GameBanter, Gaming Videos, Handhelds, Industry News, New Xbox 360 Games, Parental Gaming, Wii News, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 News, Xbox Community Network Tagged: | CES 2010, christmas game sales, Gaming, Link’s crossbow training, Microsoft, nintendo, OXCGN, project natal, PS3, PS3 motion controller, Sony, Wii, Wii Fit, Wii Fit plus, Wii Sports Resort, Xbox 360
Nintendo certainly deserves props for what they’ve accomplished with the Wii. My sister, who hasn’t played a video game since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, bought a Wii a year ago and loves it. The system’s continued sales proves there’s a sizable market for it, and that in many cases, it’s out of the “hard-core gaming” marketplace.
In my opinion, this has been an ongoing failure with regards to the PlayStation and XBox systems. The assumption from those companies (and Nintendo, up until recently,) has been that there are “gamers” and there are “non-gamers” and the ‘twain never shall meet. Part of the rationale for making the PS2 play DVDs, for example, was a meager way to gets non-gamers to see the value of the box to them and their gamer relatives. But that’s not really broadening the market.
Wii changed the paradigm. They opened the marketplace much, MUCH wider than it was prior. They brought back people like my sister (and myself, also not a “hard-core gamer,” but friends with y’all,) into the joy and simplicity of a video game. You don’t have to have a mega-complicated, brick-like controller with zillions of buttons and moves and zzzz…Sometimes you just want to hit the damned tennis ball. It’s fun right out the box. It’s non-intimidating. It doesn’t require a decade of experience to feel at home using it.
Moreover, from a business perspective, Wii also changed the monetary paradigm as well, in that Nintendo sells each Wii at a profit, unlike the PS3 or XBox360. Prior to Wii, the three systems sold at a loss, in order to build up users, and thus make money off of licenses and games. Wii now makes money at both ends of the equation…and is the MARKET LEADER, by far, to boot.
Does that mean that XBox360 and PS3 aren’t amazing machines? Of course not. The visual leap alone is quite remarkable. (That Batman game looks freakin’ amazing.) But not everybody wants to play games the same way. And yes, I realize that both the XBox and the PS have casual games, but perhaps not everybody wants the the most expensive, state-of-the-art system around (and that’s with the manufacturer’s selling them at a loss, no less.)
I think that for this cycle, and depending on how Nintendo plays it’s cards, the next cycle, Nintendo has won the console war. And they did it by changing the interface, and thus the face of gaming. Massive, massive props.
I’m sure Nintendo has a few more tricks up their sleeves for this system…but the largest has to be the price. If the Wii is merely a tricked-out GameCube with a motion controller…even if XBox 360 and PS3 introduce add-on motion controllers to their already-more-expensive, already-sold-at-a-loss systems, all Nintendo has to do is drop the price to…$150 for a decent profit? $125 to break even on each unit? $99 for a slight loss?
They won. And won big.
Great reply, thanks mate. Only thing I would challenge you with though is in the last paragraph regarding Sony and Microsoft selling units at a loss. The “original” PS3, (Fatty) always sold at a loss, and will always sell at a loss no matter what they did. Even their CEO, Sir Howard Stinger, stated that quite clearly several time to the press. Which is WHY they set about making the Slim P3, and dropped back several of the functions and features the Fatty had. The current PS3-Slim may well be still selling at a loss, but it won’t do for too long, once they reach their return point, which will enable them to drop the price slightly to come inline with MS’s 360 (top tier).
On the other hand, MS broken even in late 2007 with “production” costs, not POS (point of sale) costs, which allowed then to then start dropping the RRP of the unit more competitively in 2008/9. And we haven’t seen the last of the price drops on the “current” models of 360. Currently they are selling the units at profit at POS and in production, and all returns are helping them drop the production costs substancially with eacth new production cycle.
This is true of ALL hardware in gaming. Always has been, always will, until we change how gaming is sold to the masses, which is now upon us – big time. Their profit is gained in software sales, and attachment rates of games to consoles. With MS leading the field throughout the entire cycle of this-gen consoles, and currently rests at around 8:1, which is huge, there’s not likelyt to be a change in that in the near future.
Which is why MS is leading the way with regards to actual RRP price points for hardware thihs-gen, and while Niftty are right out front with hardware sales they are weay behind in attachment rates and software sales, which has them hold bck on dropping the RRP on their hardware. If they did, they would not continue to make an ‘overal’ profit margin like they are.
By years end, we WILL see a new Xbox version which will have the Project Natal as part of the hardware. There will be a standalone unit to work with all previous 360′s sold todate. Their new Unified GPU/CPU motherboard is all but finished, and it will be the one pushing the new unit ahead, as this is the motherboard (the beginning of the new styles) for use in the huge social media move that MS Xbox-Div are now undertaking. The ‘current’ model 360 will see a further price drop, prob around May June (most likely announced at E3 this year, which is where they may well announce the new style of Xbox. Not that it will be available, but it will be announced somewhere around that period.
Niffty have definitely opened up the can of worms re the ‘family unit” gaming and now with the Social Media era upon us, we will see some significant changes in gaming over the next few years, especially in 2010, more so towards the end of the year.
Anyone who has the ability to write critically, should have the ability to be criticized. I think the article was well written though i do not agree with the assertions.
The PS2 and original XBOX is pretty much the same technology level as the WII. The PS2 has a much larger install base and is still fading away.
I am concerned about the smug pollution of WII owners. I know several people who own WIIs claiming proudly, though I do not know anybody who actually uses it. Every dollar invested in the garbage WII is a dollar not spent on PC, XBOX and PS3.
Gaming has traditionally been a niche market. Nintendo has done a great job of marketing in reaching out to a broader audience. It is a scam. They get you to buy into their technology, that you pretty much never used.
I am sure this has lead to less broken systems, and an unwarranted quality reporting. But people do not feel scammed as they still have their smugness to share as if they bought a Mac or an ipod. I guess i should let these people live in their bubble, and let them feel secure and confident in their purchases.
If it wasn’t for the effects of investment by established publishers, I would not care. Every dollar invested on the WII is a dollar not spent on the superior gaming technologies. Every dollar lost on the Wii is equivalent to 2 dollars lost as the money must be pulled from established projects. If you substitute Wii with PS2 or Original XBOX, and I would still be as bothered.
I am sorry if some took offense to my previous comment. I feel these people need to stop sheltering this young lad, and let him be exposed to the harshness of the real world. I didn’t question his character, or call him names.
I’m afraid, you, and many other ‘hard core’ gamers are in for a very rude shock over the course of 2010 and the years to follow., Which I’ll explain in a moment, but first.
Saying that every dollar spent on the Wii is wasted and money that could be spent on the other 2 consoles is just mindless statement, and you obviously have no grasp of what is called customer choice and consumer competition. Having run several businesses that have been in competition with others over the years, I know the need for having opposing sides so customers have choice.
It’s as silly as saying that every dollar invested in Pepsi is a dollar wasted that could be spent on Coke. Both are the same “basically” but each services a market made by consumer “CHOICE”, and therefore a valid product to make. Why stop there, why not stop making Cola that the huge chain stores sell millions of eachmonth, yet Coke/Pepsi still survive and thrive, as do the cola companies. Consumer choice advocates that there be more than a few choices in a similar area. Thathas always, and will always be the case.
PC, Sony and Microsoft have failed to capture a corner of the market, and Nintendo (Niffty) have grabbed it and are running with it. I personally do not like nor own a Wii. I have used one, and they are “fun”, but do not fit into MY lifestyle, nor gaming practices. They do however fit into just about everyone else’s “Family unit’s” lifestyle on one level, or another. Which is the market Niffty wanted. They could see that the 2 other main players were leaving a huge market open for exploitation, so they went left, when the others went straight ahead blindly, not aware of what market was laying off to the side just waiting to be tapped into.
Which leads me to my original point. I know for a fact that MS XBox DIvision are now funneling their advertising funds into “social media areas’ rather than their usual gaming media areas. That IS a fact. I know that because they have told me so, and we (OXCGN) will have much less ‘game’ ads from them (MS) in 2010 and the years to follow, as they push more and more to the social media areas.
Why, because GAMEs are becoming a limited market when compared to the enormous market that exists in the ‘social media arena’. An arena Niffty has already ‘tapped’ into but yet to fully realise (employ). AT CES last week in Las Vegas, MS especially showed very little info on games that you and I would call games per-se. They did however show a HUGE interest and display in how they will be moving quickly into the social media realm.
This was even more evident late last year when they financed MC Hammers tour of the Asia Pacific Region to not sell games, but push only Facebook, Twitter and Xbox being involved in the social media medium. One as they said at the time, as being the future of the in-home entertainment systems. I know this as I attended his General Press conferense, where the ga;llery was made up of 80% general media, and 20 gaming media. This was an Xbox press conference. They held a major function that evening at HOME, a major young night club in Darling Harbour – Sydney, and the few thousand that were there were from general media outlets, NOT gaming outlets.
Soon, your gaming console will not be just a gaming platform, and it will “primarily” be a social media outlet for the home, a hub, with gaming being but one function for that device, irrespective of platform. Jumping up and down about it, and screaming boycote, or “what about the gamers” will be of no use. We have to realise that gaming has a limited market while the social media is a market that is simply the tip of a huge iceberg. One that both MS and Sony want part of, and one that Niffty has begun to harvest.
There will always be games, and we will see more coming, but NOT as many hardcore ones as before, and we will not see the 3 main ones publishing (1st party) heavily violent games from themselves. They will have major 3rd p[arty publishers doing that. As they (S-MS-N) focus on their push to acquire the “Family Unit” over the Hardcore Gaming Fraternity. The income gained from the former far out weighs the income possible from the former. Which is WHY EA have knocked back their gaming line up for 2010 form 52-55 games in 2009, to just on or under 40 for 2010. They will be focusing more on games around family values, while still supplying games for the hardcore group, which they now see do not support their huge financial efforts in order to stay afloat.
All major 3rd party publishers LOST money in 2008 and 2009. Which shows them that they are spending millions in a market that is not giving their investors ANY RETURN. And as investors fund their publishing companies, they MUST look further afield at other ways of exploiting a market, in walks Social Media. Ubisoft invested in a movie company and made their first 2 small pictures, and are hard at work working on a major project. Plus they purchased several family game publishing companies to step into that market as well. THQ are pushing more and more into Disney Games and children/family games . . . . Get the picture.
We might not like it as gamers (hardcore), gamers who prefer say a FPS or a War game etc over a fitness game, but just look at the sales, and they will show that the fitness industry far exceeds anything the FPS and other genre’s in games could possibly think of, then look at the explosion of the social media bomb over the last 12-24 months, and you’ll see a definite path being laid open for them to follow.
Now if you (anyone) owned a business that was in business to make money, and keep investors happy, thus staying afloat, you’d be making similar choices. That I can assure you
What a crock of bull. There are enough family/gimicky games on all systems mentioned above. What you pointed out, but failed to go in-depth, is most of the games are garbage. exceptions such as Littlebigplanet aren’t even avaiilable for the Wii. People buy the Wii to be trendy, just to let it collect dust. Nintendo could sell a third party game no matter how great it is. Many established Publishers have attempted to reach out to Nintendo’s install base to find their product ignored, redeveloped and re-released to a more marketable console. The hype will die down, and nintendo will have trouble selling their console. They will find themselves without the support from the third party studios to prop them up. Microsoft and Sony will be more competitive with the gimicky motion technology The quality of Nintendo’s internally created games will suffer as they are pushed out the door to save the sinking ship. By you advocating an obsolete piece of garbage, you are misleading families and consumers that the Wii is a sound investment in entertainment, when in reality it sits collecting dust 360 days of the year. I know you made mention to the fact that it sits and collects dust in your own home. Your negligence lies in the fact that you failed to dwell in why it sits, and why you let it sit. IT IS GARBAGE! it is uninspiring, uneducational, unsupported, an underinvested. The Iphone does everything the WII does and more, and its a fricken phone!
Ahh, I’d like to point out you’re addressing a “minor” here dear fellow, not some adult. Read the heading, he’s our resident teenage gamers, and does a bloody fantastic job of it as well.
But most of all, you need to re-read the article with your biased blinkers off, and see it as it’s meant to be. He’s showing you that the tide is turning for the other two major players, and that this year, 2010, could see them oustepping Nintendo in their area of expertise and actually capture a market Niffty have yet to grab.
Plus, a hint on getting your items read online. A thing called punctuation and spacing. Place some paragraphs in there, and ppl will actually read all of your comment, as most ppl that see a huge block of text, skip right over it completely, and such things are often ignored. Thus having your comment sit there unread.
SO remember, polite interaction on this site (this is a once only warning, remember you are addressing other humans, and some that could be much younger than yourself. So do so in the same tone you’d appreciate someone “talking” with you.
By all means, have your own point of view, but leave the trash talk, and other such stuff at the door, or simply do not bother to comment. As we do NOT tolerate second offences – at all.
Thanks for your comments nevertheless, and I’m sure he and his father will address your comments when they get a chance.
I think that’s a pretty harsh take. He does talk about the shovelware, he also says the Wii comes out only during holiday periods or other periods when non-gaming or gaming family and friends are around, he says it is primitive, and he even says he had expected the Wii to be dead by now!!!!
I don’t call that advocating the console as superior. What he does say is that DESPITE all that the thing is selling because it provides casuals and gamers alike at-home interactive experiences that gaming these days on 360 and PS3 don’t with their more intimidating competitive online focus.
It is FACT that the Wii, despite we gamers predicting its demise every year, keeps selling. It doesn’t matter that most of the games are shovelware or just mini-games. I personally hope that the Natal lives up to be something more substancial than the Wii, just as fun with gamers and non-gamers, if not more, and revolutionary. I hope the PS3 motion controller brings back at-home multiplayer fun too for gamers and non-gamers.
Gamers can sneer (I sure have) at the Wii all they want, but it’s found a market traditional gaming didn’t.
The author is doubtful that the Wii will die at the end of the year even with Natal and PS3 motion controllers, because there is a big install base now. That’s a fair call- but I myself do hope that Natal and the PS3 motion controller can be as good if not better an experience and bring back some fun casual at-home social fun but with more power and diversity.
But the Wii will still be cheapest when you add the costs of all the extra bits.