Hot News

Latest News

Microsoft: Gamers 'Graduate' from Wii to Xbox 360, Claims Wii Has 'Karaoke Machine' Novelty

by Aaron Linde, Jul 07, 2008 10:47am PDT
Related Topics – xbox 360, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo Wii

Microsoft Xbox 360 product management director Aaron Greenberg has reaffirmed that the company does not see the Wii as a direct competitor to its console, explaining that Nintendo's customers may eventually "graduate to an Xbox 360 experience."

"I think that there's a difference in the type of customer that is buying the Wii," Greenberg told Gamasutra. "When you think about it, there's a difference between trying to be the number one console with nine year old gamers, and being the console that offers the most experiences from 13 to 33."

"I think for us, we don't really see the Wii as a direct competitor, we actually very much complement the Wii experience," Greenberg added. "It's obviously clear that we're going head-to-head with the PS3 in this generation. I think what Xbox will be able to do as well as the Wii is grow the market."

Greenberg's statements continue Microsoft's public snubbing of the Nintendo Wii. Last May, the company claimed that the Xbox 360 was the world's top-selling "high definition gaming console," a phrase that nicely excludes the Wii's substantial lead of 24.45M units against Microsoft's 19M.

"I think that a lot of the people that are buying that console today are not people that have generally bought consoles in the past, right? You see they're not buying games on it...it's almost like the same people that buy a karaoke machine, you know? They're not really buying it for games, they're just buying it as a novelty," Greenberg noted.


Read all the News


Comments

« Previous 1 2 Next »
44 Threads | 221 Comments*
  • #216
    Refresh Thread
    By: abovedefault x
    Reply
    At first, I got kinda angry at the graduating statement, but he is right- just not necessarily in the same context.
    I don't know ANY gamer who didn't have a Nintendo product as their first gaming system (I'm only 18 so Amiga, Commodore 64, etc. are not applicable to me. ALSO: Not saying it isn't possible). I personally started out on SNES and started playing PC games halfway through my Gamecube's lifespan, playing the Game Boy, GBC, GBA, and the N64 along the way. My friends started on the N64 and went up the Nintendo ladder from there (most of them buying Playstations and/or Xboxes as well)
    I love my Nintendo games. They were my childhood. But I do feel I have "graduated" onto hardcore gaming on my PC.
    Jul 08, 2008 10:48am PDT
  • #180
    Refresh Thread
    By: TerranUp16 x
    Reply
    Actually, I could have sworn the progression was from Wii to a gaming PC with a cheap Bluetooth dongle and GlovePIE scripts to get the best of everything- Wii controls for games like Devil May Cry 4 with superior graphics (before someone starts crying about price, I humbly submit the HD 3850 512MB for $80- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103051 not to mention that 9600GSO's go for the same price and 9600GT's can be had for $100, with 8800GT's and HD 3870's going for only a little more; and all of those cards are superior to the 360's Xenos gpu and PS3's RSX at comparable resolutions) and mods. I love my G9 gaming mouse and G15 keyboard, but when it comes to a game like Devil May Cry 4 the Wiimote/Nunchuk combo just pwns.

    I should also put a good word in for Half-Life 2 Wii- swinging the Crowbar w/the Nunchuk is just pure win =)
    Jul 07, 2008 7:20pm PDT