- don't lie to yourself MS, you know you wanna be #1.
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7145&Itemid=2A study released Wednesday said the Nintendo Wii has the highest consumer sentiment of all new consoles, but Microsoft tells Next-Gen that it still "wouldn't trade places with anyone."
BrandIntel’s study, “Top Video Game Console Report: Consumer Insight Monitor” rated purchase intent for the Wii at 3.7, followed by Xbox 360 at 3.4. PlayStation 3 was ranked at 3.1, just above neutral on the five-point scale.
The research firm gathered the data for the report through an expansive aggregation of gamer comments made on Internet message boards and blogs.
A rep for Microsoft responded to the study in a prepared statement to Next-Gen, saying, “We are exactly where we need to be at this point in our lifecycle, and would not trade places with anyone"--an expected response from a Nintendo rival.
BrandIntel found that the Wii’s relatively low price, intuitive control scheme and general focus on the causal player drove consumer sentiment. The report showed that Xbox 360 was tops with the hardcore crowd, though.
For a while now, Microsoft has been talking about the need for the company to shed the Xbox brand’s hardcore image, but we’ve yet to see a Wii-like uptake by atypical gamers. Xbox Live Arcade has made some headway with more mainstream-focused titles, and Viva Pinata was a valiant effort, but that hardcore image could be what’s holding consumer sentiment back just behind the Wii.
“When we launched Xbox 360 back in November 2005, we knew that strategically it would be imperative for us to first win over the hearts and minds of the core gaming audience before focusing on a broader audience. If gamers didn’t love us, we didn’t stand a chance,” the rep said.
Microsoft hasn’t given up on attracting a broader audience. This holiday season, the Xbox 360 will receive more mainstream games such as Scene It?, Lights, Camera, Action, Rock Band, Guitar Hero III and Viva Pinata Party Animals.
A recent price drop for the Xbox 360 lineup placed the lowest-end Core unit (now $280) within throwing distance of the $250 Nintendo Wii from a pricing standpoint.
Microsoft said that it hadn't reviewed all of the details of the entire BrandIntel report, but claimed that internal research shows that over 90 percent of Xbox 360 owners would recommend the console to a friend.
Sony had no response to BrandIntel’s report as of press time.
