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Microsoft's Greenberg Claims Victory Over Sony in Core Gamer Demographic

by Aaron Linde, Apr 18, 2008 2:40pm PDT
Related Topics – Microsoft

Xbox group product manager Aaron Greenberg said Thursday that Microsoft's Xbox 360 console has picked up the core gamer demographic, citing the Xbox 360's year head start over Sony's PlayStation 3.

"I think the battle for the core user is sort of over," Greenberg told Next-Gen. "We're heading now well beyond 20 million in console sales. I feel we've secured that core buyer, and that gives us quite a bit of an advantage versus PS3, which is lateto the game and still at a price disadvantage relative to the Xbox."

Speaking on the NPD's March hardware sales data released yesterday, Greenberg suggested that the rise of the Blu-ray format over Microsoft-backed HD DVD has little to do with current hardware sales trends.

"It seems pretty clear that while Blu-ray may have won, consumers don't care. PS3 sales have actually declined week over week and month to month since the format war has ended," Greenberg added. "Games are what sell systems, and we feel pretty good about where we're at in that position."

The PlayStation 3's 2008 line-up includes several exclusive titles aimed at the core gamer demographic, including Kojima Productions' Metal Gear Solid 4 and Insomniac Games' Resistance 2, but Greenberg suggested that such efforts won't hold up against the Xbox 360's lead.

"I think the type of audience that they are going after with many of those games, frankly, are Xbox 360 owners... They're trying to go after a consumer that has already bought an Xbox 360, and frankly has a much broader lineup with more titles and more exclusives. You could say that they showed up with too little, too late."


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Comments

7 Threads | 29 Comments
  • #28
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    By: dirtypunk x
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    I think most users who were going to buy a blu-ray player within the next few years have already bought a PS3 for that purpose. Most consumers aren't early adopters and won't buy something unless there is a real reason to.

    All the new releases still come out on DVD, rentals are mainly DVD and to those who aren't technically inclined, they don't really care about the format as long as it plays movies.

    Sony isn't going to overtake Microsoft until they not only have better games, but they also have something that shows gamers that don't follow tech that it's better than their PS2. Right now, there aren't many games that really improve mechanics vastly on the PS3 vs the previous generation. Games like Gears of War on the 360 were not only a graphical improvement, they were a mechanics shift. Until the PS3 has titles that differentiate itself from the same old stale games, you might as well stick with your PS2.

    I don't think the PS3 will ever overtake the 360. People think it will because Sony has done well in the past. I think the PS3 will sell the least of the big 3.

    Apr 20, 2008 9:52am PDT