The Console Gaming Demographic
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 14, 2005 10:11 AM EST- Posted in
- Anand
Just one week to go before Xbox 360 launches, and I'm sitting here trying to figure out whether my ridiculously overpriced pre-order bundle will ship on time or not.
The idea offering pre-orders only in bundle format is particularly interesting, mainly because I wonder what it does to the accessibility of these new generation of consoles to younger gamers. Take the bundles that ebgames offered: you had two options, you could get the core 360 bundle for $599 or the premium bundle for $699. I remember back to when I was a kid, and there was no way I'd be getting a $700 present for any day of the year. I've proposed the same question to a number of others, and no one seems to have a good response other than "my parents wouldn't have bought me a $700 console bundle when I was a kid." So I truly wonder, who is going to buy the supposed 1 million Xbox 360s that will be available in the US on November 22nd?
There is the possibility that expectations for parents have changed in the past 10 - 20 years, and that if your child wants a $700 Xbox 360 bundle, that it is a reasonable expenditure. I tend to find that hard to believe, as $700 could very well be two car payments, a rent check or pay all utilities for a month, and I do find it hard to believe that parents today would easily spend that on what essentially amounts to a single present.
The more likely option (in my opinion), is that unlike what I had originally expected, console gaming isn't hitting the new generation of kids like it did previous generations, rather it is growing up and getting to kids later on in life. Once you hit your early teens then the possibility for folks to at least start contributing to the price of a $700 bundle becomes possible. Is it just that gamers these days are forced to start later in life because of the sheer cost barrier?
Or am I totally off base here and is $700 just not considered a lot of money anymore? Hmm, if it is the latter option then that would make this the very first "I remember when _____ used to cost _____ in my day" post of my life. Not good.
The idea offering pre-orders only in bundle format is particularly interesting, mainly because I wonder what it does to the accessibility of these new generation of consoles to younger gamers. Take the bundles that ebgames offered: you had two options, you could get the core 360 bundle for $599 or the premium bundle for $699. I remember back to when I was a kid, and there was no way I'd be getting a $700 present for any day of the year. I've proposed the same question to a number of others, and no one seems to have a good response other than "my parents wouldn't have bought me a $700 console bundle when I was a kid." So I truly wonder, who is going to buy the supposed 1 million Xbox 360s that will be available in the US on November 22nd?
There is the possibility that expectations for parents have changed in the past 10 - 20 years, and that if your child wants a $700 Xbox 360 bundle, that it is a reasonable expenditure. I tend to find that hard to believe, as $700 could very well be two car payments, a rent check or pay all utilities for a month, and I do find it hard to believe that parents today would easily spend that on what essentially amounts to a single present.
The more likely option (in my opinion), is that unlike what I had originally expected, console gaming isn't hitting the new generation of kids like it did previous generations, rather it is growing up and getting to kids later on in life. Once you hit your early teens then the possibility for folks to at least start contributing to the price of a $700 bundle becomes possible. Is it just that gamers these days are forced to start later in life because of the sheer cost barrier?
Or am I totally off base here and is $700 just not considered a lot of money anymore? Hmm, if it is the latter option then that would make this the very first "I remember when _____ used to cost _____ in my day" post of my life. Not good.
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Pythias - Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - link
Not old! Responsible! It one thing to say $700 is nothing when you're a kid with a disposable income, its quite another when you're trying to make mortgage payments.
:)
JarredWalton - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
You wanna talk responsible? Well, as a decrepit 32 year old, I have to say that there's no way I would let my child play most of the games on consoles these days. Xbox and PS both target the 13+ year old market as far as I'm concerned, so it does become a bit more feasible for someone in that age range to buy one.I bought my first PC when I was 16 - worked all summer and spent $1500 on a 286! It's a matter of priorities, and my priority was having a good computer. Of course, I learned a lot more by owning a computer than anyone will learn by purchasing a console. DOS, programming, how to use word processors, modems, etc. were all things I learned by purchasing a PC when I was 16. What do you learn from a console? How to play games. I would much rather buy a teenager a moderate PC than a game console. At least then I could let them use the internet to do research.
Scary thought: in the next few weeks, nearly a billion dollars will be spent on Xbox 360 and accessories! Ouch.
Pythias - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
It may have slipped your notice. I already own a pc. How else would I post here? I can do everything I need to do with it without purchasing a video card and 856568907560897 megs of ram to play todays games on it. The ever increasing hardware requirements and power consumption is getting out of hand.
$1400 msrp for two 7800 gtx 512's in sli? Will they be capable of playing the newest games in 5 years?
How so? How are pc games more mature than console games? Do I have to be 13 to enjoy the Jak and Daxter series that my wife and I spent countless hours Playing?
Besides, what if our OS of choice doesnt support gaming?
JarredWalton - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
I actually wasn't commmenting on you specifically - just playing off the "responsible" part. Of course we all have PCs. We're not talking about buying Xbox 360's for ourselves, though; we're talking about younger kids getting these as a present. I would (MUCH!) sooner buy a PC for my child than a console. I don't know what you're talking about with the "maturity" part - my point was that Xbox and PS2 are *too* mature (in the majority of games) for a young child; that's why they would make more sense for teenagers.If I were to buy a console, I'd seriously consider the Nintendo products. Why? It's really a matter of game content. Most popular PC/Xbox/PS2 games get ported to all platforms. How many really popular Nintendo games get ported to another platform? The games are also generally more kid-oriented. I don't particularly care for them, but I already think PC gaming is superior to Xbox and PS, so why get an inferior platform that will have most of the same games (or at least the same style of games)?
My take: FPS? Get a PC with keyboard and mouse. RTS/Strategy? PC - no competition whatsoever. RPG? I hate console RPGs, but I like the PC fare: Baldur's Gate, Fallout, NeverWinter Nights, etc. That's personal preference - some people like the Japanese RPGs - but that's how I view the market. I hate MMORPGs as well, but those that like them are almost required to go with a PC. As for the areas where consoles dominate: sports games? I haven't played a computer sports game that I liked in decades! The same goes for the Beat 'em Up genre: how many Street Fighter clones do we need that have the same old gameplay with better graphics/sound?
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Mine is that there's little in the realm of console gaming that I really like. I tried Halo/Halo 2 on an Xbox and couldn't get past the awful controls that the gamepad provides.
Pythias - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
My apologies, Jarred. I jumped the gun. If it makes any difference, I wasnt attacking you. I got exited and took a defensive tone. If I have offended, please forgive me.
JarredWalton - Thursday, November 17, 2005 - link
NP - I'm pretty laid back, and figured there was a misunderstanding. Basically, I was thinking, "Responsible? Hell, anyone responsible wouldn't dare put most Xbox/PS2 games in the hands of children under 12!" I don't think violent games are going to turn a person into a killer, but there are certain topics I'd just as soon not discuss any sooner than necessary - sort of like why you wouldn't show porn to a 5 year old. LOLPythias - Thursday, November 17, 2005 - link
I cant spreak for xbox as I havent owned one but, there are plenty of games on ps2 that dont glamourize thuggery. I go console because bsd/unix/linux dont support many games natively.The "responsibility" comment was directed towards they guy who said Anand was a geezer because he questioned spending scads of money on a console :P I was merely suggesting that maybe Anand being a family man, had other priorities. Fiscal responsibility, not moral resposibility, though I'm sure he's that as well.
I promise to take my prozac and be more thoughtful in my postings. =D
Bubbacub - Friday, November 25, 2005 - link
nice to see everyone being civil and not trolling, i like anandtech ;-)AaronAxvig - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Well, then you should exercise your right of choice and choose an OS that does support gaming. Duh.
BenSkywalker - Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - link
As a father of five with four gamers(assuming number five will also be when he gets a bit older) picking the kids up consoles isn't that big of a deal. First thing is you never, ever go in on a bundle deal. If you go to an EB B&M you should be able to land yourself a pre order on the hardware alone, at least I assume that most people can as I have no problem with that at all(although, the manager of my local EB can tell you my phone number and where I live off the top of his head so YMMV). Assuming that isn't an option you revert to the old fashioned way of picking up a launch system- camping.All of the major general retail B&Ms still have first come first serve console launches, so you get down to your local Wal-Mart a good ten hours or so before the time they go on sale and get in line. Good way to socialize with fellow geeks and you can pick your kids up a 360 base model for $299 or the proper model for $399. That really isn't that much to spend on a gift for a kid for Christmas if they are big into gaming- they will be using regularly for the next five years or so and as a parent I can tell you with certainty you will be EXTREMELY hard pressed to find any other gift that that is true of. Most of the time, if a small handful of Santa's last batch is in use by June it is a shocker. When looked at from that perspective dropping $400 for a single gift really isn't a bad idea at all.