https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/10/1...-nielsen-study
Nielsen Games’s annual Games 360 Report is a comprehensive breakdown of consumer habits in the US gaming market. It tracks everything from the shifts between console, mobile, and PC popularity to the rise and growth of new technologies and trends like VR and e-sports. It also does deep dives into just how much both the average American and the average gamer knows about the industry and where they might spend money. The survey collects data using 2,000 interviews with a 50-50 male-female split, and the raw survey data is then weighted using US Census information to extrapolate the insights to the general population.
For Microsoft’s Project Scorpio and Sony’s already-released PS4 Pro, the numbers are neither all that stellar nor all that surprising. According to the study, just 14 percent of gamers over the age of 13 have ever even heard of Project Scorpio, while just 27 percent have heard of the PS4 Pro. (The figures are far less for the general population.) When it comes to purchasing those devices, just 15 percent of gamers said they’re interested in buying Sony’s new console, while just 13 percent said Project Scorpio is on their prospective buy list.
So Microsoft and Sony clearly think it’s worth targeting those console users with Scorpio and the PS4 Pro, even if they won’t sell tens of millions of units. There is the possibility of a chicken-and-egg problem on our hands. It won’t matter how polished the new console hardware is if game developers don’t feel its worth extensive optimization, and consumers won’t want to buy the hardware unless there’s a slate of games that take advantage of the full suit of performance boosts.
This means that, even with a new PS4 on the market and a new Xbox just one month from its global unveiling, Microsoft and Sony may be wading into a market not that many consumers are interested in. Sure, there will always be the hardcore fans — those interested in the best graphics and performance — who want the latest gear. But those consumers have typically found shelter in the PC space, where modular upgrade systems allow for constant part swapping, and where consoles are seen as the poor relations.
But perhaps that’s the whole point. Microsoft and Sony may be fine with selling lower numbers of these “pro” devices, and more of the standard systems, if it can nurture an enthusiast market in the console space like the one that exists currently on the PC. In an deal world, both Microsoft and Sony are able support players across the entire platform regardless of the power of their hardware. But the potential downside is that these aggressive refresh cycles risk splitting the console market into the haves and have nots — and developers seem more wary of that than anything else.
Switch is where the future of gaming is heading anyways.
You ain't played Zelda:BOTW
