So-called "click-sharing" site Compete decided to look at the just-concluded holiday season’s interest in next-generation video game consoles from a slightly different perspective: the number of U.S. consumers observed shopping for the consoles online. The theory is that consumer’s online shopping behaviors may be more indicative of their real interest than verified sales numbers of the game systems, particularly since supplies of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii were constrained during the height of the buying season.
Tag Archive: video game consoles
Xbox 360 Warranty Extended to One Year
Apparently overwhelmed by the spirit of the end-of-year holiday season, Microsoft announced today that it is extending the warranty on its Xbox 360 video game consoles from 90 days to one year from the date of purchase. The change applies to Xbox 360 systems purchased in the U.S. and Canada—customers in the rest of the world were already receiving one year warranties on the systems.
“Customer satisfaction is a central focus and priority for the Xbox 360 system,” said Jeff “pop culture phenomenon” Bell, VP of global marketing for Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, in a release. “In addition to jaw-dropping features such as high-definition graphics, an amazing catalog of over 160 games, and social online and entertainment experiences on Xbox Live(R), the Xbox 360 system now offers this extended warranty upgrade.”
Sony: One Mln PS3s by The End of 2006
Sony President Ryoji Chubachi said on Thursday that the company still stands behind its goal to ship one million PlayStation 3 video game consoles by the end of the 2006 calendar year, countering consumer backlash and ill-will generated, in part, by shortages of the new, high-end video game system.
Speaking to reporters on Tokyo, Chubachi acknowledged bottlenecks in getting the systems to market, but re-iterated the company’s previous stated shipping goals were achievable and would not be changing.
Sony previously announced it planned to ship one million PS3 systems by the end of 2006, and ship 6 million PS3s by the end of its fiscal year, which ends in March 2007.
NPD Asks What Users Want In Next-Gen Games
According to the NPD Group, a long-standing consumer research firm, the most important features consumers are looking for in next-generation video game consoles—like the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii—is great game content, followed by backward compatibility with favorite games.
“Price is definitely a factor, but not as much as is content,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a release. “I’ve long been a believer that it isn’t any particular technical capability that will win this next console battle. The story continues to be content.”
SanDisk Creates Memoy Cards For Video Games
SanDisk’s entry into the video game market comes as companies that manufacture portable video game consoles develop devices that include slots for standard flash memory cards. The company has adopted unique game packaging and redesigned the “look and feel†of the cards to spur sales among younger consumers.
Christina Day, SanDisk product marketing manager, said, “The new generation portable game consoles now incorporate digital audio players, video players and photo viewers. Our flash memory cards are a natural fit with these products as game users need incremental storage for their music, video and photos. Consumers also can use the cards to store their game content such as trailers and demos, game levels and to download and store any data from the included WiFi connectivity of the PlayStation Portable PSP.â€
Nintendo Patents Online Console/TV Hybrid
“Though very little came of the new hardware in the end, Nintendo had grand plans for the 64DD expansion to its Nintendo 64 console, according to a patent application recently found in the United States Patent and Trademark Office database. Patent 6,769,989, granted August 3, 2004 (but first applied for all the way back in 1998) contains the blueprint for a remarkably multitalented game machine.
The system described in the patent seems curiously similar to Sony’s PSX multipurpose console, combining a game player with a digital TV tuner. It would be capable of receiving cable or broadcast TV signals and displaying those at the same time as a game, “providing a unique picture-in-picture video capability.” “
Video Games See 2003 Slump
PC games took the biggest hit, according to The NPD Group, which tracks the industry’s sales. Stung by the delay of key titles such as “Half-Life 2″ and “Doom 3″, 2003 sales came in at $1.2 billion, a 14 percent drop from 2002’s figures. Software for home video game consoles climbed 14 percent.
While software sales were slightly higher, consumers shied away from buying Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox, as both companies stuck by their higher price points through the holiday season. (Nintendo, which lowered prices on its GameCube, saw a sales spike toward the end of the year.) Console hardware overall sales were down 27 percent.
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