They are the professional analysts whose job it is to research, keep track of, advise their clients, and opine to the media about the gaming business.
Analyze This cuts right to the chase: Rather than reporting on a subject, and throwing in quotes by analysts to support or refute a point, Gamasutra offers up a timely question pertaining to the business side of the video game industry and simply lets the analysts offer their thoughts directly to you. Each person's opinion is his own and will (probably) not necessarily agree with their fellow colleagues'.
Microsoft recently announced that it would broaden the customer base of the Xbox 360 by trying to appeal to the family demographic. Sony has also indicated that it would market the PS3 to a wider audience beyond hardcore gamers, by publishing more casual games and introducing Wii-like peripherals.
Obviously, Nintendo's success with its DS and Wii appear to be looming heavily over its competitors. Gamasutra.comwe asked Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities, Ed Barton of Screen Digest, and Billy Pidgeon of IDC:
Is it now becoming crucial for Microsoft to appeal to a wider demographic, in order to ensure the long-term survival of the Xbox 360?
Does Sony need to take a similar approach with the PS3?
Can either the 360 or PS3 stick to selling to the hardcore gamer first, and then pull in a wider audience once it has reached a critical mass in sales? This happened for the PS2, but can this strategy still work today?
Square Enix launches Final Fantasy X 25th anniversary site, revealing new Nomura art, books, music releases, and merchandise.
Look I know VIII has its issues and all that but how on earth can the do big anniversary events with new artwork and merchandise for VII, IX and X yet VIII got sweet f*** all.
They could have given it something during its 25th anniversary yet all it got was a single Happy Anniversary post on their social media.
they should know that we are OG fans of VIII as it sold truckload as well. not as much as VII or X. I personally didn't like IX but X and VI are my personal fav.
Shadow Hearts 2 covenant is another game I love. I hope one day someone can make remake, I would be delighted
Final Fantasy VIII is great and you are always the first to defend it in the comments
The Wii is now a retro console. Let’s get nostalgic about an often maligned system.
Crazy to think the WII is to the Switch 2, as the NES was to the WII back then. 20 Year difference.
My wife asks me to bust it out (heh) everyone once in a while to play bowling and tennis with the kids. There was a ton of slop on it but some good stuff as well.
Wii was great but boy howdy did it cause Microsoft to go on a dark walk with the Kinect and the disastrous XBox One launch that they arguably never recovered from.
Not nostalgic for me.. I was there.. anyone who wasnt a little kid realized it was a gamecube with shit tacked onto it, it was the "joke" system and was well below even the switch in terms of comparing it to the latest machines at the time. The machine was well loved by young people and "casual gamers" who now remember it 20 years on, or in most cases more of its sales came in the 15-20 years ago range not right at launch- but again its not nostalgic for people who were "gamers" then really, just for those who ended up with one in their house, the games , graphics, interface and online features were archaic already in 2006.
A brutal reset, a smarter story, and a return to what made it great—Mortal Kombat (2011) revived the series.
Underrated comment. I used to hate that game so much that any time my siblings asked me to play it, I just picked Hom and shut myself down mid-match.
15 years went by so fast. I remember playing through the story mode at launch.
If you only own a wii: Yes.
If you own a PS3 or Xbox 360: No.
Anyone do not agree with me... I'm letting you know... I don't consider Metroid as hardcore as Halo3 and Zelda as hardcore as Final Fantasy and Mario as Metal Gear.
I think a hardcore audience will attract more customers, for Microsoft and might keep the 360 alive, after all Microsoft been through, they need something fast to get back there lost customers, or find new ones, and this might help.
This articles question is incredibly stupid. The ps3 and 360 have hard-core gamers catered for very well. The wii however is producing games for people who don't like games, its a very shallow system which the price reflects. Even the 'hardcore' nintendo games aren't for hardcore gamers. A hardcore nintendo fan is what i'd call a battyboy. I have more of a problem with nintendo then i do with microsoft. Seriously nintendo fans must be BORED. Getting the same game franchises over and over and over and over. Theres been a mario kart for every nintendo console. How many mario games are there? Why is the wii selling so well???
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DeltaP42, i knew someone was gonna bring up the Final Fantasy arguement. Every single Final Fantasy game is completely different. They are all incredbly deep, different stories everytime, different characters...completely different. Mario Kart, you drive around and shoot turtles. Cor, hardcore. Mario is a kids game. And they're all the same. Run around, jump on mushrooms. But its the sheer quantity of mario games that get me. There must be like 40. And they are all basically the same. Look at the selection of wii games available right now. They're incredibly hardcore aren't they? *cough*. I would define a hardcore game as a very deep game or an FPS. Play length time has nothing to do with it. The closest thing Nintendo has to that is Zelda, everything else is for non-hardcore gamers
If you own a Wii, yes and if you own a PS3/360, no.
Yeah this will work...just as soon as MS and Sony lower their product price enough to compete with Nintendo. I really hate arguments like this, like the ones where cellphones take over the gaming industry. If you want to keep selling games to real "gamers", then casual mini-games aren't going to suffice.