Microsoft is shitting itself. The console war has been raging hard for over two years, and it is all set to come to a head on April 29th. The day GTA IV releases. At that moment Microsoft could lose the fight… and they know it!
You’ve heard of console shifters before: games that go so supernova that their very existence is reason enough for many users to invest in an entire console. The Grand Theft Auto series is a genuine console shifter. And it also happens to be a PlayStation brand.
Yes the series has gradually become multi-format, almost begrudgingly, over the years, but the truth of the matter is that the brands PlayStation and GTA are snugly intertwined. Each game in the GTA III trilogy (the original, plus Vice City and San Andreas) debuted on the PlayStation 2 well before it saw the light of day on the competing Xbox. GTA and Sony helped each other become the biggest game series and biggest console in the world.
Here’s a telling statistic - it is estimated that San Andreas sold just under 14 million units across the two formats: 12 million of those were on the PS2. But this time it’s different; the slate is clean, right? Same day release across both formats in a new generation of gaming changes things, surely?
It’s not that simple: it’s not even a question of which is the better console as it certainly looks like the Xbox 360 version will be the superior buy. It’s because a large proportion of GTA’s fans aren’t traditional gamers. They’re casual gamers who couldn’t resist the style, flair and gameplay offered by Rockstar and added a GTA to their library of Need for Speed, SingStar and FIFA. And as such, millions of GTA fans are not up to speed on the console war thing. They don’t care which format has the best games, offers the superior online service, or has the more proficient hardware. They see GTA, and they think PlayStation.
We heard something the other day, a line of dialogue that must scare Microsoft to death. It came from the mouth of a twenty something electrician as he installed a car stereo for a mate. He said “I bought my PS3 to play GTA IV”.
That wasn’t the comment of a fanboy, or an educated decision by a gaming enthusiast who had weighed up all the pros and cons of the two systems: it was simply all he knew. There was a GTA coming out, so he went and bought a PlayStation. Microsoft is desperate to change that mentality, but what started as a broad plan has seemingly deteriorated into panic.
Phase 1: The first knowing nod from the ‘Soft that GTA IV was going to be a pivotal point in this generation’s console war came a long time ago, when they brokered a deal for exclusive content. 50 million dollars they paid, US that is, to provide the legions of GTA fans with a reason to buy an Xbox 360 instead of a PS3. That is a shit-load of cash! It reveals just how important Microsoft see GTA IV’s release because they’ll need to ship a lot of consoles, a lot of software and a lot of Microsoft Points to come out a winner on that one.
And they’re not going to: it was a waste of money. They spent 50 million clams on something only gamers are likely to understand or appreciate, the audience they don’t need to reach. Your casual gaming fan probably won’t even connect their console to the Net, and just as few will even have a basic understanding of the concept of DLC, or episodic content. It is certainly not something that will attract people like our mate the electrician away from his inherent loyalty to the PlayStation brand. What it is most likely to do is encourage bi-console gamers to opt for the X360 version of the game, which benefits who? Rockstar maybe, online Xbox 360 gamers looking for someone to play at two n the morning… we guess…
Clearly this wasn’t going to be enough so we have…
Phase 2: The we’ll-pay-you-to-opt-for-the-Xbox 360 option. You would have heard over the last few days that if you pre-order the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV from selected retailers across the country, Microsoft will hand you 500 Microsoft Points. They’ll give you $8.25.
It’s an act that reeks of desperation, masquerading as a generous gesture. First they’ve said, ‘hey we’ll have episodic content so come buy our console’ and then they’ve followed it up with a ‘no seriously, we paid heaps for this you have to buy it… hell we’ll even subsidize it for you’.
Of course this route has the same problem as its predecessor. It’s talking to gamers, not to the casual market that is going to go out and buy 5 million PS3s in and around April 29. Microsoft just doesn’t get it.
For gamers, sure, thanks for the free points, but this isn’t going to help Microsoft’s cause.
Phase 3: After paying for episodic content, and then offering to pay you, Microsoft has more cash to sacrifice in waving the GTA IV flag as vigorously as possible over their console. A price-drop. Not in Oz, not yet anyway, but elsewhere, including Europe.
At least with this step, Microsoft has a fighting chance of attracting the casuals away from the PlayStation brand. In fact, since the price-drop the console has been selling quite well we are told, with reports of a 40% increase in sales. There’s nothing like an opportunity to save a bit of cash to lure those in the cheap seats.
It’s an aggressive tactic and make no mistake, the timing of this price-drop is very deliberate. Microsoft is well aware of GTA IV’s console shifting power. And to be fair, perhaps this three-pronged approach was one grand plan from the start (does Microsoft have that foresight?), but it smells more like panic. Like they’ve just realised that they’ve done little to entice the casual market to their console - Viva Piñata: Party Animals isn’t go to win you a console war - and that GTA IV could swing the balance of power in Sony’s favour overnight.
And what of Sony? By comparison, they haven’t spent a cent on episodic content, nor handed out cash. They’ve got a much better way of ensuring that the millions of casual gamers that fell in love with their brand last generation remain true to their cause. Free online for everyone, and a deal where you get one of those new-fangled HD Sony Bravia TVs with your PS3. That’s called experience. That gets you the casual audience. Add the upcoming release of mega popular gamer’s games Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and they look to have both market’s covered: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 could very well be fooked.
Read the full article at : http://www.gameplayer.com.au/Home/F...aspx?CID=0320aba1-b135-4bc0-a44b-a668010c170e
You’ve heard of console shifters before: games that go so supernova that their very existence is reason enough for many users to invest in an entire console. The Grand Theft Auto series is a genuine console shifter. And it also happens to be a PlayStation brand.
Yes the series has gradually become multi-format, almost begrudgingly, over the years, but the truth of the matter is that the brands PlayStation and GTA are snugly intertwined. Each game in the GTA III trilogy (the original, plus Vice City and San Andreas) debuted on the PlayStation 2 well before it saw the light of day on the competing Xbox. GTA and Sony helped each other become the biggest game series and biggest console in the world.
Here’s a telling statistic - it is estimated that San Andreas sold just under 14 million units across the two formats: 12 million of those were on the PS2. But this time it’s different; the slate is clean, right? Same day release across both formats in a new generation of gaming changes things, surely?
It’s not that simple: it’s not even a question of which is the better console as it certainly looks like the Xbox 360 version will be the superior buy. It’s because a large proportion of GTA’s fans aren’t traditional gamers. They’re casual gamers who couldn’t resist the style, flair and gameplay offered by Rockstar and added a GTA to their library of Need for Speed, SingStar and FIFA. And as such, millions of GTA fans are not up to speed on the console war thing. They don’t care which format has the best games, offers the superior online service, or has the more proficient hardware. They see GTA, and they think PlayStation.
We heard something the other day, a line of dialogue that must scare Microsoft to death. It came from the mouth of a twenty something electrician as he installed a car stereo for a mate. He said “I bought my PS3 to play GTA IV”.
That wasn’t the comment of a fanboy, or an educated decision by a gaming enthusiast who had weighed up all the pros and cons of the two systems: it was simply all he knew. There was a GTA coming out, so he went and bought a PlayStation. Microsoft is desperate to change that mentality, but what started as a broad plan has seemingly deteriorated into panic.
Phase 1: The first knowing nod from the ‘Soft that GTA IV was going to be a pivotal point in this generation’s console war came a long time ago, when they brokered a deal for exclusive content. 50 million dollars they paid, US that is, to provide the legions of GTA fans with a reason to buy an Xbox 360 instead of a PS3. That is a shit-load of cash! It reveals just how important Microsoft see GTA IV’s release because they’ll need to ship a lot of consoles, a lot of software and a lot of Microsoft Points to come out a winner on that one.
And they’re not going to: it was a waste of money. They spent 50 million clams on something only gamers are likely to understand or appreciate, the audience they don’t need to reach. Your casual gaming fan probably won’t even connect their console to the Net, and just as few will even have a basic understanding of the concept of DLC, or episodic content. It is certainly not something that will attract people like our mate the electrician away from his inherent loyalty to the PlayStation brand. What it is most likely to do is encourage bi-console gamers to opt for the X360 version of the game, which benefits who? Rockstar maybe, online Xbox 360 gamers looking for someone to play at two n the morning… we guess…
Clearly this wasn’t going to be enough so we have…
Phase 2: The we’ll-pay-you-to-opt-for-the-Xbox 360 option. You would have heard over the last few days that if you pre-order the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV from selected retailers across the country, Microsoft will hand you 500 Microsoft Points. They’ll give you $8.25.
It’s an act that reeks of desperation, masquerading as a generous gesture. First they’ve said, ‘hey we’ll have episodic content so come buy our console’ and then they’ve followed it up with a ‘no seriously, we paid heaps for this you have to buy it… hell we’ll even subsidize it for you’.
Of course this route has the same problem as its predecessor. It’s talking to gamers, not to the casual market that is going to go out and buy 5 million PS3s in and around April 29. Microsoft just doesn’t get it.
For gamers, sure, thanks for the free points, but this isn’t going to help Microsoft’s cause.
Phase 3: After paying for episodic content, and then offering to pay you, Microsoft has more cash to sacrifice in waving the GTA IV flag as vigorously as possible over their console. A price-drop. Not in Oz, not yet anyway, but elsewhere, including Europe.
At least with this step, Microsoft has a fighting chance of attracting the casuals away from the PlayStation brand. In fact, since the price-drop the console has been selling quite well we are told, with reports of a 40% increase in sales. There’s nothing like an opportunity to save a bit of cash to lure those in the cheap seats.
It’s an aggressive tactic and make no mistake, the timing of this price-drop is very deliberate. Microsoft is well aware of GTA IV’s console shifting power. And to be fair, perhaps this three-pronged approach was one grand plan from the start (does Microsoft have that foresight?), but it smells more like panic. Like they’ve just realised that they’ve done little to entice the casual market to their console - Viva Piñata: Party Animals isn’t go to win you a console war - and that GTA IV could swing the balance of power in Sony’s favour overnight.
And what of Sony? By comparison, they haven’t spent a cent on episodic content, nor handed out cash. They’ve got a much better way of ensuring that the millions of casual gamers that fell in love with their brand last generation remain true to their cause. Free online for everyone, and a deal where you get one of those new-fangled HD Sony Bravia TVs with your PS3. That’s called experience. That gets you the casual audience. Add the upcoming release of mega popular gamer’s games Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and they look to have both market’s covered: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 could very well be fooked.
Read the full article at : http://www.gameplayer.com.au/Home/F...aspx?CID=0320aba1-b135-4bc0-a44b-a668010c170e
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