A new report released by Screen Digest suggests that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 will continue to struggle in sales in the European market. This is due to the lack of an expanding user base, according to the report. The 360 continues to appeal to the hardcore gamer, but Microsoft desperately needs the general gaming audience of Europe to show interest in the console.
The report reads, "For Xbox 360, European hardware sales seem to have hit a wall. The target market is still too focused on adult males and the brand does not enjoy the same cachet in non-Anglo Saxon markets as it does in the US and, to a lesser extent, the UK."
The Wii isn’t helping the situation. In Europe, it is dividing up the market and causing both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 to scramble for sales. Many developers, including small third-party developers, are jumping on the Wii bandwagon in order to make a "cheap" profit.
The production costs are much less when you are developing a sub-par game for an inferior console (when compared to PS3 and 360). Even so, the chance for smaller companies to make a profit is much higher when developing for the Wii rather than the two other consoles.
"Some publishers are investing much less saying they will leave the platform drivers to Nintendo and ride their coat tails by spending very little on mediocre quality titles which will give some return." says the report.
The PS3 was also criticized in the report for not educating consumers as to what components make up the PS3 and for relying too heavily on the Playstation brand itself.
The report reads, "A price drop before the end of the year is inevitable and would be in line with previous PlayStation first time price reduction timings."
The report also suggested that the PS3 could see a huge boost in sales near the end of the year because of a possible price drop and the introduction of a new online game service.
