Zeus
11-05-2007, 05:21 AM
Microsoft is supporting the launch of the Xbox 360 arcade via a range of new advertisements for the Xbox 360 which are geared towards the family. One of their new efforts include commercials which show a father and daughter playing with 'guitar shaped controllers', with a MS rep commenting that the Xbox is a connector that brings people together. MS are serious about gaining some of the broadening demographic of gamers that the Wii has opened up.
Microsoft's new ad efforts, which include commercials that show a father and daughter playing with guitar-shaped controllers, position "Xbox as a connector that brings people together," Harris says.
That light, family-friendly attitude reflects where the industry is going, he says.
"Marketers looked at the world and said, 'Consoles shouldn't just be about gamers playing hard-core games anymore,' " he says. "Should we be talking to just an 18- or 23-year-old guy? No."
Despite conventional wisdom, it's not just young men using PC and console video games. Slightly more than a quarter of players are under 18, but nearly half are 18 to 49, and another quarter are 50 and older, according to Entertainment Software Association data provided by eMarketer.
The bid to diversify sales comes as industry revenue explodes. U.S. retail sales of video games — including portable and console hardware, as well as software and accessories — generated revenue close to $12.5 billion in 2006, up from $10.5 billion in 2005, according to the NPD Group.
News Source: <A href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/adtrack/2007-11-04-xbox-games-ads_N.htm?csp=34" target="_blank">Usatoday</a>
Microsoft's new ad efforts, which include commercials that show a father and daughter playing with guitar-shaped controllers, position "Xbox as a connector that brings people together," Harris says.
That light, family-friendly attitude reflects where the industry is going, he says.
"Marketers looked at the world and said, 'Consoles shouldn't just be about gamers playing hard-core games anymore,' " he says. "Should we be talking to just an 18- or 23-year-old guy? No."
Despite conventional wisdom, it's not just young men using PC and console video games. Slightly more than a quarter of players are under 18, but nearly half are 18 to 49, and another quarter are 50 and older, according to Entertainment Software Association data provided by eMarketer.
The bid to diversify sales comes as industry revenue explodes. U.S. retail sales of video games — including portable and console hardware, as well as software and accessories — generated revenue close to $12.5 billion in 2006, up from $10.5 billion in 2005, according to the NPD Group.
News Source: <A href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/adtrack/2007-11-04-xbox-games-ads_N.htm?csp=34" target="_blank">Usatoday</a>