Selling hardcore games on Xbox 360? Couldn’t be easier, says Microsoft. It’s those pesky casual titles that are trickiest to market.
Speaking in an interview with GI.biz, Microsoft’s David Dennis said that marketing games to the fledgling casual crowd is a tough proposition compared to the hardcore market. “The core are going to buy the games”, he said, “we don’t have to focus on marketing those – well, we do, but those games in a lot of ways will sell themselves because they’re such immersive and intense experiences that the core is going to buy, and buy disproportionally for the Xbox”.
With the release of Project Natal next year, however, Microsoft believe that they can successfully target both audiences simultaneously. Dennis continued, “I think as we look to Natal and the types of experiences it’s going to enable, there’s going to be both what some might call core experiences as well as casual game experiences that are easy to jump in and play, that are going to do great for Natal.”
“It’s about redefining who your customer segmentation is, and really looking at who the customers are that you have and how to have a frequent relationship with them, but also looking to new audiences. I think you can do both without alienating either.”
